Measurements & formulas

Color difference

(Delta E)

The scientific measurement of perceived difference or distance between two colors.

The latest color difference formula is Delta E 2000. The minimum value of 1 stands for a "just noticeable difference" between two colors.

Delta-E: 52.63

How it affects UI design

Color difference can be used to measure the difference of colors for a variety of sighted users, however it is not a substitute for contrast evaluation.

Color vision deficiency "safe" colors must pass a certain threshold of color difference for their simulated counterparts.

Sources:

  1. Mark D. Fairchild (2013). Color Appearance Models. 3rd edition. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Pages 414-415
  2. R.W.G. Hunt (2004). The Reproduction of Colour. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Pages 110, 112, 670-671
  3. R.W.G. Hunt, M.R. Pointer (2011). Measuring Colour. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Pages 61-62
  4. Color difference. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_difference