Color picking: The initial 20s

Abstract

Color pickers are widely used in all kinds of display applications. They vary greatly in their utility, depending on user expertise. We focus on nonprofessional, occasional users. Such users may spend from a few seconds up to a few minutes to select a color. Yet, typically they reach final accuracy within the initial 20s. Additional effort leads to random walks in the neighborhood of the target. We explore the efficaciousness of five generic color pickers, analyzing the results in terms of generic user interface properties. There is a major dichotomy between three-slider interfaces, and those that offer some form of 2D selectivity. The accuracy in RGB coordinates is about one-tenth to one-twentieth of the full scale (often 0-255 in R, G, and B), whereas a little over 100 hues are resolved. The most efficient color picker, which is presently rarely used in popular applications, is much more efficient than the worst one. We speculate that this derives from a closer match to the user's internal representation of color space. The study results in explicit recommendations for the implementation of user-friendly and efficient color tools.