Abstract :
Quantitative displays are by definition those that provide information in measurable amounts. A qualitative display on the other hand provides condition or state information about a particular thing or parameter. Colour can be used in both a quantitative and qualitative fashion on either quantitative or qualitative displays. Some intriguing combinations exist, and a number of them are discussed. A great amount of data has been generated showing the benefits of colour as a classifier in a symbolic search task. Air traffic controllers, for example, could benefit significantly by redundant colour coding of the geometric symbols they are currently searching and processing mentally. Coding by spectral colours has been compared to shading, and this subject needs careful consideration. In addition the colour parameters of hue, saturation, and brightness must be considered in concert when attempting to provide effective coding, particularly on light emitting devices such as cathode ray tubes. Finally, many rules about selecting colour for display applications are found in the literature. This paper attempts to look at both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of colour display applications and provide additional rules which address the human information processing factors.
