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Not always as high quality images as something like Unsplash, but range of available images is much bigger.

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From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

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Video: How to create a better research poster

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Video: How to create a better research poster

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This <20 minute video explains some of the potential pitfalls of academic poster sessions, and how your poster design can help overcome them. Some unconventional ideas but good to reflect on!

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How to create a better research poster in less time (#betterposter Generation 1)

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See how your poster would appear to someone who perceives colours differently, e.g. with different kinds of colour vision deficiency

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If you are not suffering from a color vision deficiency it is very hard to imagine how it looks like to be colorblind. The Color BLIndness S imulator can close this gap for you. Just play around with it and get a feeling of how it is to have a color vision handicap.

As all the calculations are made on your local machine, no images are uploaded to the server. Therefore you can use images as big as you like, there are no restrictions. Be aware, there are some issues for the "Lens feature" on Edge and Internet Explorer. All others should support everything just fine.

So go ahead, choose an image through the upload functionality or just drag and drop your image in the center of our Color BLIndness S imulator. It is also possible to zoom and move your images around using your mouse - try it out, I hope you like it.

If there are any issues with the Color BLIndness Simulator please send a note through the contact page. Thanks. If this simulator is not correctly working for you, you could still try the old version which can be found at Coblis.v1 - Color Blindness Simulator.

As it is not not so easy to describe color blindness it comes in handy, that some smart people developed manipulation-algorithms to fake any form of color vision deficiency. The algorithms transform any picture into the same picture as seen by red-, green-, blue- or completely colorblind people.
I would like to thank Michael from ColorJack for providing the color blindness matrix, which was used for the first version of the Color BLIndness Simulator. The actual version ist based on the jsColorblindSimulator-Project developed by MaPePeR. He made it possible to use just client resources and added some very cool features like pan&zoom. At the moment the HCIRN Color Blind Simulation function is used, which is freely available for non-commercial use. The Color Blind Simulation function is
copyright (c) 2000-2001 by Matthew Wickline and the
Human-Computer Interaction Resource Network ( http://hcirn.com/ ).
It is used with the permission of Matthew Wickline and HCIRN,
and is freely available for non-commercial use. For commercial use, please
contact the Human-Computer Interaction Resource Network ( http://hcirn.com/ ).

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If you are not suffering from a color vision deficiency it is very hard to imagine how it looks like to be colorblind. The Color BLIndness S imulator can close this gap for you. Just play around with it and get a feeling of how it is to have a color vision handicap.

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Tools to help you make "colourblind friendly" graphics

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Tools to help you make "colourblind friendly" graphics

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This story is part of a series on bringing the journalism we produce to as many people as possible, regardless of language, access to technology, or physical capability. Find the series introduction, as well as a list of published stories here.

I am one of the8% of men of Northern European descent who suffers from red-green colorblindness. Specifically, I have a mild case of protanopia (also called protanomaly), which means that my eyes lack a sufficient number of retinal cones to accurately see red wavelengths. To me some purples appear closer to blue; some oranges and light greens appear closer to yellow; dark greens and brown are sometimes indistinguishable.

Various color spectrums for different color vision deficiencies. Wikimedia Commons.

Most of the time this has little impact on my day-to-day life, but as a news consumer and designer I often find myself struggling to read certain visualizations because my eyes just can't distinguish the color scheme. (If you're not colorblind and are interested in experiencing it, check out Dan Kaminsky's iPhone app DanKam which uses augmented reality to let you experience the world through different color visions.)

As information architects, data visualizers and web designers, we need to make our work accessible to as many people as possible, which includes people with colorblindness.

Color is critical

Color is frequently used to quickly convey meaning. It's an important choice for any visualization, but making one that's attractive, informative and easily distinguishable by colorblind people trips up many designers.
The NPR Visuals team worked through these challenges this spring in a visualization for a story on how school districts spend money.

"Early on after some doing some exploration of the data we knew we were going to do a district level choropleth map," said Katie Park, deputy graphics editor at NPR. "We thought that it would be easier to read with a diverging color palette where the center value was the U.S. average. When you get into divergent color palettes you realize that colorblindness might become an issue."

The NPR graphics team knew they wanted a divergent choropleth map to help show the differences in school spending by district. After considering accessibility for colorblind people, this was the palette they chose.

Park said that the default color schemes designers might use - like green for positive values and red for negative values - tend to cause problems for colorblind readers.

Meanwhile, common colorblind friendly palettes like magenta/green or orange/purple are devoid of meaning. Pink, for example, doesn't convey negativity like red does. Others, like blue/red, are already imbued with too much cultural meaning and would be confusing in a non-political map.

Sometimes you can get away with using a single hue and varying its lightness. But sometimes a project calls for a multi-hue scale or a diverging scale. (If you're interested in reading more, The New York Times' Gregor Aisch wrote a blog post about his library chroma.js that goes into more detail on multi-hue scales)

Three tools to help

There are a few simple tools to help ensure that your projects are colorblind-friendly.

1. Start by using the color schemes on ColorBrewer, which gives you sequential, diverging, and categorical (sometimes called binary) palettes that are colorblind safe. You can use these and modify them to fit your style guide. "I try to find a good compromise between our colors, the colors that work in ColorBrewer, and the things that look good on the page," Park said, noting that she'll tinker with the colors in Illustrator until she's happy with the palette. "Usually my trick is to tweak the shades a little bit so that the greens have a little bit more blue in them," Park added. "But the problem with that is that if you're greens get too blue then you start to look like you have a political map or the colors just don't read as intuitively."

ColorBrewer, generates colorblind-friendly color palettes. NPR's Katie Park starts with the colors here and then tweaks to find colors that look good on the page.

2. Gregor Aisch's chroma tool is also useful for optimizing your diverging color palettes. It can help you take two or more colors and generate a full scale of in-between values.

The chroma.js-powered Color Scale Helper is an easy way to generate sequential and diverging color palettes.

3. Before publishing, you should check your work. Color Oracle and Sim Daltonism both let non-colorblind people simulate colorblindness on their screens.

Sim Daltonism lets you see your visualizations as though you were colorblind. Image from Flickr/Richard Ricciardi

The great thing about picking a palette, is that once you have it, you can use it again and again.

Taking a few minutes before publishing a project to make sure it's colorblind friendly is an easy way to make your work have a bigger impact.

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Three tools to help you make colorblind-friendly graphics

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This story is part of a series on bringing the journalism we produce to as many people as possible, regardless of language, access to technology, or physical capability. Find the series introduction, as well as a list of published stories here. I am one of the8% of men of Northern European descent who suffers from red-green colorblindness.

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Free images

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High quality photos you can use for free.

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Beautiful Free Images & Pictures | Unsplash

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Beautiful, free images and photos that you can download and use for any project. Better than any royalty free or stock photos.

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RGB values can then be entered in PowerPoint.

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A useful booklet from the University of Liverpool.

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Creating an academic poster in PowerPoint

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Creating an academic poster in PowerPoint

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This guide from the University of Stirling provides detailed step-by-step instructions to produce an academic poster in PowerPoint.

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A whole bank of colour trios that work well together.

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Color Combinations | Color Schemes | Color Palettes

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A tool for web developers to test website color combinations, along with a library of pre-selected combinations.

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Pick out colour combinations for your poster.

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Color makes a design come alive.

It can attract attention, set a mood, and even influence our emotions and perceptions.

But sometimes it can be hard to know where to start when choosing a color palette for your design project.

So we've done the hard work for you- giving you 100 color combinations inspired by nature, food & drink, travel, and everyday items.

Want to use these color combinations in Canva? Click here to sign up for free if you haven't already (if you haven't - are you kidding me?!).

Canva lets you change the colors of your design by entering the hex code in the color menu. Check out the video below for a quick tutorial on how:

Web designer? Check out The Color Combinations of 50 Stunning Websites.

Nature

01. Fresh & Bright

Fresh greenery and colorful blossoms make springtime a welcome sight after a long winter. This color palette features bright shades of green and coral that will make your design pop. These types of colors might be used for a spring- or summer-season event poster or perhaps an advertisement that wants to come across as fresh and youthful.

02. Subdued & Professional

Red and blue are some of the most common colors that businesses use for branding, and for good reason. Red says "confident and powerful," while blue says "calming and trustworthy." This palette offers a little bit of both, with slightly desaturated shades that aren't overpowering. To the conservative blue and gray hues, the brick red shade adds a burst of extra color that is still professional. This would work well in any corporate context or for a more "serious" design project.

03. Dark & Earthy

Desert landscapes are full of dramatic contrasts, and so is this color scheme. For an unexpected color combination that is more toned down than bright and garish, try this pairing featuring shades of plum and reddish-orange.

04. Crisp & Dramatic

Iceland's natural beauty is legendary, and this palette tries to capture its dramatic contrasts. The warm, grayish undertones of the top two colors contrast nicely with the cooler greens. A range of lighter and darker shades makes it easy to combine any two or three of the colors and have them still complement each other.

05. Cool Blues

Monochromatic color schemes (made up of the various tints, tones, or shades of one color) are extremely versatile. While this palette may not qualify as monochromatic according to the technical definition, for visual purposes, it creates a similar effect. With a color as multipurpose as blue, this combination could be used just about anywhere.

06. Outdoorsy & Natural

If you have a brand or need a design that emphasizes natural or "green" qualities, a color palette featuring greens and browns is a logical choice. Rather than your typical dull shades, this palette brightens things up with a splash of lime green.

07. Watery Blue-Greens

08. Primary Colors With a Vibrant Twist

09. Refreshing & Pretty

Crisp turquoise hues set off bright yellow and bubblegum pink for a palette almost reminiscent of Easter candy. If the pink makes the palette too "girly" for your design's purposes, just leave it out and opt for the top two aqua shades plus the yellow for a bright, clean combination.

10. Playful Greens & Blues

The bluish shades at the top and bottom of this selection have gray undertones, which makes them almost neutral - a great foundation for playing with more daring tones like the lime green.

11. Fresh & Energetic

The almost neon shades of blue and green balance out the other two more conservative colors and add a bright freshness that gives the combination some kick. This kind of scheme might work well for a fitness brand or any design that needs to balance a businesslike feel with an energetic vibe.

12. Surf & Turf

This landscape features both warm and cool colors in both bright and subdued shades. The beachy, mellow color palette inspired by it draws from those contrasts for a combination that brings to mind relaxing island vacations - just one example of how we can associate color with certain places, moods, or emotions.

13. Autumn in Vermont

14. Icy Blues and Grays

Contrasting warm grays with cool, glacial blues makes for a dynamic color scheme that's more visually interesting than your average combination of drab blues and grays. If you're in need of a palette that's more restrained, instead of opting for navy and dark gray, try these lighter, brighter hues.

15. Birds & Berries

16. Day & Night

17. Stylish & Retro

The muted shades of this color scheme have a vintage vibe, with the light aqua and gold particularly being colors that were popular in the 1950s and 60s. But that doesn't mean this combination looks dated. These colors (and the mid-century modern aesthetic in general) have seen a resurgence in popularity and still look stylish.

18. Shades of Citrus

19. Sunset to Dusk

20. Bright & Tropical

21. Warm Naturals

22. Bold Berries

23. Summer Sunflower

This combination has an outdoor feel to it, like a summer baseball game: you have the red dirt of the baseball diamond, the green grass in the outfield, the bright sun in a blue sky overhead. However, it's more subtle (and has more variety of color) than, say, the more obvious greens and browns in #6.

24. Modern & Crisp

Pairing black and white with bright, crisp shades of green makes for a modern palette that is sophisticated without being too serious. Instead of pairing red or blue with your black and white, freshen things up with some green.

25. Timeless & Nautical

Food & Drink

26. Neutral & Versatile

Neutral colors like the shades of gray and tan here are very versatile and can be paired with almost anything. A color scheme of all neutrals, however, can be quite nice, too. Depending on how you apply it to a design, it can be upscale and sophisticated (think branding for a luxury hotel) or calming and comfortable (think the décor of a favorite neighborhood coffee shop).

27. Cheerful Brights

28. Garden Fresh

29. Summer Barbeque

30. Berry Blues

31. Lemonade Stand

32. Serene & Spa-Like

Calming, spa-like greens and blue - great by themselves - look a little more lively with a splash of raspberry as an accent color. Adding a brighter or bolder accent color to a more restrained selection is a nice technique to liven up a color palette and give it a little extra interest.

33. Fun & Tropical

This happy blend of colors doesn't take itself too seriously. Have a summer party invitation to design? Maybe a children's event poster or advertisement? A palette like this one will make it clear where the fun is at.

34. Spicy Neutrals

Shades ranging from light to dark make it easy to apply this color palette to a design. There's enough contrast that you can choose a background color, a text color, and an accent color or two just from these four.

35. Pastels

Applications for a pastel palette will be somewhat limited - designs having to do with Easter, spring, babies, or tea parties are pretty safe choices. Pastel colors generally come across as pretty and delicate, so you'll want to make sure your design calls for a similar mood if you want to use a color combination like this one.

36. Bold & Cultured

37. Sunny Citrus

38. Crisp Complementary Colors

Red and green is one of three pairs of complementary (or opposite) colors on the traditional color wheel; others include orange/blue and violet/yellow. When combined, these colors make a striking, high-contrast impression that can be a little jarring if you don't use them carefully. That's why, for this palette, the reds and greens have been balanced and toned down (not full saturation like the red and green you see on Christmas decorations) for a fresher twist on a complementary color palette.

39. Warm & Rustic

40. Neon Night

41. Jewel Tones

42. Polished & Inviting

Warm grays with a pop of golden yellow is a combination you'll see sometimes in interior design and home décor contexts. It's primarily neutral (and the warmness of the grays feels calming and inviting) but the yellow adds some cheerfulness and energy for an overall palette that's refined but not stuffy.

43. Fresh Greens

44. Wintery Reds

Reminiscent of winter berries and bare branches against a snowy sky, this combination of colors would make a great alternative to your traditional Christmas or holiday palettes. The rich reds paired with violet-tinged grays feel festive, but sophisticated.

45. Summer Fiesta

46. Chocolaty Browns

Who says brown has to be boring? Add some red and violet undertones, and you have a full, rich color palette that - like these chocolate cupcakes - feels a little decadent.

47. Naturally Elegant

48. Cozy & Warm

49. Violet Sunset

50. Strawberries & Cream

Travel

51. Grecian Holiday

52. Bold & Basic

White, black (or in this case, very dark navy), red, and yellow is a very common combination. But with these saturated shades, it certainly isn't boring. If you're looking for a bold palette that doesn't mess around with unusual colors but that still makes a strong, eye-catching statement in your design, this type of color scheme is an easy one to apply.

53. Vineyard Neutrals

54. Modern & Urban

55. Misty Greens

56. Sunkissed Village

Many cliff-hugging villages along the Mediterranean coast are painted in warm pastels. You can replicate that sunny, carefree look with this selection of shades and bring a little of the Italian dolce vita to your design, creating a warm and welcoming effect.

57. Sun & Sky

58. Aqua Blues

59. Urban Oasis

60. Candy-Coated Brights

These vibrant hues look like they belong in a candy store, and they're sure to give a design some youthful energy. Just make sure that it's okay that the overall effect of the design is a little "loud," because like the graffiti they're inspired by, these colors certainly aren't quiet; they're out to make a statement.

61. Muted & Antique

62. Classy & Timeless

It's hard to replicate a metallic effect with just flat color, but dark blue and gold is a timeless combination that you'll see on everything from swanky party invitations to the official colors of elite schools and sports teams. To add a little class to a design, try some combination of the two colors. (If you can manage to get your design printed with gold foil accents, even better!)

63. Cosmopolitan

64. Cheerful & Friendly

65. Nightlife

The ink colors that all printers use (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black; abbreviated CMYK) make a striking combination on their own, similar to the neon and illuminated signs of a big city at night.

66. Coastal

67. Maritime Brights

68. Vintage Charm

69. Understated & Versatile

70. Arctic Sunrise

Blue and gray always work nicely together (and you could certainly use the bottom three selections of this palette by themselves) - but the addition of a light coral pink, along with the brighter blues, gives this combination a little extra sparkle.

71. Mediterranean Afternoon

Lunch at an Italian restaurant, anyone? Some of the things most often associated with Italian cuisine - wine, rich tomato sauce, fresh handmade pasta - all make an appearance in this color scheme. Try it out to add some warmth and flavor to a design. The inclusion of a creamy neutral shade balances out the more colorful selections; you can use it as a background or base color and one or more of the others as tasteful accents.

72. Hazy Grays

73. City Sights

74. Retro & Relaxing

75. Green Fields

Everyday Items

76. Distinctive & Unexpected

77. Sleek & Modern

Black, gray, and white are always acceptable, usable colors. But add some cobalt blue, and those run-of-the-mill neutral shades become a backdrop for a modern, attractive palette that could work for any design style, from corporate to trendy.

78. Orange Accent

79. Beyond Black & White

Red or blue might be common pairings for basic black and white, but here, a deeper red along with a brighter turquoise blue gives a fresh twist to a familiar combination.

80. Shabby Chic Neutrals

81. Warm & Cool

82. Industrial & In-Control

83. Autumn Oranges + Complementary Neutrals

84. Pool Party

85. Classic Metallics

86. Subtle & Versatile

Reminiscent of colors you might see decorating a beach house, this palette is slightly nautical, slightly faded and vintage, but the hues included here won't box you into a certain style. They're pretty versatile and subtle, and won't overwhelm your design.

87. Professional & Traditional

88. Light & Natural

Photo credit: Flickr/Teresa Romano

89. Shadowy & Dramatic

90. Golden Afternoon

91. Dark & Handsome

Dark wood, leather, old books - things you might find in an English pub or one of those gentlemen's clubs you see in old movies. If your design could use some suave sophistication, try out this combination of rich browns plus a lighter, smoky neutral shade.

92. Technology Meets Nature

93. Cheerful Blues + Pink

94. Exotic & High-Impact

95. Back to School

96. Bright & Painterly

97. Urban Living

98. 1950s Kitchen

99. Smoky Purples

100. Trendy & Metropolitan

We hope that left you feeling inspired. Let us know in the comments section if you know of a color combination that deserves a spot in the list.

Happy designing!

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100 Brilliant Color Combinations and How to Apply Them to Your Designs - Learn

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Color makes a design come alive. It can attract attention, set a mood, and even influence our emotions and perceptions. But sometimes it can be hard to know where to start when choosing a color palette for your design project.

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Check the contrast between your text and background colours for accessibility.

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Normal Text

The five boxing wizards jump quickly.

Large Text

The five boxing wizards jump quickly.

Graphical Objects and User Interface Components

Web accessibility testing can be difficult! The experts at WebAIM can audit your web site and provide a detailed report to help you remediate accessibility and WCAG compliance issues.

Learn more about WebAIM Evaluation Services

Explanation

Enter a foreground and background color in RGB hexadecimal format (e.g., #FD3 or #F7DA39) or choose a color using the color picker. The Lightness slider can be used to adjust the selected color.

WCAG 2.0 level AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. WCAG 2.1 requires a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 for graphics and user interface components (such as form input borders). WCAG Level AAA requires a contrast ratio of at least 7:1 for normal text and 4.5:1 for large text.

Large text is defined as 14 point (typically 18.66px) and bold or larger, or 18 point (typically 24px) or larger.

Hint: Colorzilla is an excellent tool for extracting the color value from any page element. Additionally, WAVE can analyze contrast ratios for all page text elements at once.

Use our link contrast checker to evaluate links that are identified using color alone.