Guidelines for use of the perceptual dimensions of color for mapping and visualization
Cynthia A. Brewer · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1994
The color scheme typology that I propose matches the organization of the perceptual dimensions of color to the logical orderings in data sets that are displayed graphically. The appropriate use of color in complex data displays, such as thematic maps, allows patterns to be easily observed. In this paper, ten color scheme types are matched with systematic paths through HVC perceptual color space to provide guidance on color selection for a complete range of data visualization challenges. I also describe errors in the perceptual structuring of HLS, HSV, and HSB color models commonly available for computer graphics.