Effectiveness of Color-Picking Interfaces Among Non-designers

Abstract

There are relatively few studies on the effectiveness of color picking interface. This study therefore set out to measure both the efficiency in terms of task completion time and preference of four color-picking interfaces found in many design software applications including RGB, HSL, map and palette. A controlled experiment was conducted involving n = 16 participants without formal design training. The results show that the map and RGB interfaces were preferred by the participants while the palette interface resulted in the shortest task completion times. The HSL was the least favorable color picking interface for the given cohort of users. The results indicate that the palette, map and RGB color pickers found in entry level software probably are the most suitable for users without training in the use of colors.