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Improved Color Maps

Improved Color Maps

 

Please increase the number and variety of color maps available in the legend, and/or allow the user to import or create their own color map.  Even the limited legends in Sim Mechanical are more flexible and useful.

 

The present color maps are very limited, and out of date with regards to current standards of data visualization - and may even cause users to be in violation of accessibility standards.  In particular, the default rainbow map is:

(a) bad for color-blind users, a surprisingly large percentage of the population,

(b) bad because it artifically creates distinctions between regions while making it hard to judge real gradients.

(c) hard to use with the other color maps because they look similar but have different meanings.

 

However, there's not much alternative in Sim CFD at present... The greyscale color maps allow accurate visualization of realistic gradients, but are hard to see on neutral-colored backgrounds, and not very exciting.  The thermal color maps are good but only for very specific uses.

 

There are a ton of resources on the web for explaining why rainbows are (usually) not appropriate

- classic: Rainbow Color Map (Still) Considered Harmful

- shorter: How The Rainbow Color Map Misleads

- target audience: Why Should Engineers and Scientists Be Worried About Color?

-etc.

 

As well as good sources for generating and specifying useful color maps, and which is appropriate wil vary depending on the use (Color Brewer is popular).  There are even ones that describe how to create a non-distorting disability-friendly rainbow (The Rainbow is Dead, Long Live the Rainbow!).

 

This seems like low hanging fruit and will keep people from turning to external software to do high value plotting of results.

3 Comments
ryan.arnaudin
Alumni

Hi nhahn. Thanks for the detailed request, along with the resources. We will take a look at how much effort this might entail. 

ryan.arnaudin
Alumni
Status changed to: Under Review
 
nhahn
Advocate

Glad to hear this is still being considered.  I think it would be a nice improvement.

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