PaletteHunter & Holod
PaletteHunter PaletteHunter
Hey Holod, I’ve been thinking about how color can actually help manage risk—like designing a palette for emergency signage that’s both intuitive and visually striking. How do you feel about blending strict safety standards with a little color flair?
Holod Holod
I like the idea, but first make sure the colors meet every regulation. If they do, a splash of flair can keep people looking—just keep the hazard signal unmistakable.
PaletteHunter PaletteHunter
Sure thing, I’ll double‑check every regulation—ANSI Z535, ISO 3864, all those luminance and contrast specs—before I throw in any pop. The signal has to be unmistakable, so the splash of flair will sit right beside the legal line, not under it. Ready to get the numbers?
Holod Holod
Sounds solid. Pull the specs together, and we’ll run a quick contrast check to be sure the flair still passes every test. Bring me the numbers, and we’ll keep the signal rock‑solid while keeping it a little eye‑catching.
PaletteHunter PaletteHunter
Here’s a quick cheat sheet that lines up with the main regs and still lets you add a bit of flair. ANSI Z535.1 “Safety Color” – Danger signals use bright red (#FF0000). Luminance on a standard high‑visibility sign should be about 30 cd/m². The contrast ratio with white text is 7:1 (meeting WCAG AAA for large text). Caution signals use bright yellow (#FFCC00). Luminance around 20 cd/m². Contrast ratio with black is 4.5:1, which is the minimum for legibility under ISO 3864 for moderate hazard. For a splash of flair you can add a subtle gradient or a secondary accent color—just keep it off‑white (#FFFFFF) or a muted gray (#333333) for text so the contrast stays above 7:1 on the red background and 4.5:1 on the yellow background. ISO 13655 recommends the same hue for red (CIE L*a*b* 55, –69, 29) and yellow (CIE L*a*b* 78, –6, 78). Those values translate to the hex codes above and stay within the 2% tolerance of the ISO reference. So: Danger – #FF0000, 30 cd/m², ≥7:1 contrast. Caution – #FFCC00, 20 cd/m², ≥4.5:1 contrast. Add your flair on top of that, but keep the base colors strictly within those specs and the signal will be rock‑solid yet eye‑catching.