Third Rule

In Chapter 5, the third rule on using color for representing information talks about allowing the background of image to have more muted colors, allowing the smaller parts to stand out more. This allows for more differentiation between the message or information that needs to be shown and the information that is also included but whose meaning is not the central idea. Also, because the background tends to be the much larger area, if it were to have bright and strong colors, it would create an unpleasant experience for the viewer.

One example that illustrates this rule well is this map of Boston’s T system from 1967. The background colors are clearly much softer and more muted than the rest of the image, allowing the most important, but much smaller information, to really stand out. Even though the colors of the background are much more faint, it is still clear what they represent without them being so garish that it creates an unflattering or confusing effect.

1967 Boston T Map