INCLUSIVE COLOUR
Example: The Crown Trade colour C7832S reflects 83% of light and so the LRV is 83. In an interior if we use C7832S on the walls and use B8080A (a colour with LRV of 8) on the adjacent doors a visual contrast of 75 LRV is achieved; much more than the required 30 points difference. To achieve effective contrast in practice, the design of an interior environment needs to be broken down and surfaces addressed individually. Key items such as handrails, switches and stair nosings
Inclusive Colour There is a growing number of people in the UK known to be visually impaired and this trend is consolidated by the country’s ageing population. It is critical that specifiers develop a greater understanding of visual impairment and specifically how impairment can affect a person’s perception and way finding behaviour. A sixty year old has one third retinal luminance of that of a 20 year old when viewing the same luminance. Their reaction time adjusting to different luminance levels is slower, moving from a dark corridor to a well-lit lounge for example. It has been proven people find it much easier to differentiate a tonal difference between colours (light against dark or vice versa) than between different colour hues such as red and green. Understanding the size and shape of a space for the visually impaired is less of a sub conscious process than it is for the fully-sighted. When entering an environment, people considered visually impaired rely on their residual vision to seek visual clues, firstly scanning the upper wall and ceiling (the least cluttered areas of a room) to establish its dimensions. Having gathered this information the visually impaired look for contrast between large or critical areas. Intelligent colour contrasts between ceilings and walls, floors and walls, doors and walls can put the space into context and ensure the environment is easier and safer to navigate.
LRV Light Reflectance Value Every colour has a Light Reflectance Value (LRV) which is the amount of light reflected by a surface when illuminated by a light source (normally daylight but it could be a combination of natural & artificial light). The more light that is reflected the lighter the colour and the higher the LRV. The surface of dark colours will absorb more light and reflect less thus the reflectance value for dark colours will be lower than light colours. When providing inclusive colour schemes, adjacent colours should ideally vary by more than 30 points. If an area is well lit (lux levels greater than 200) a minimum of 20 points LRV should suffice. Identifying the light reflectance value is very easy to achieve using the Crown Trade Fan Deck and unique SCAN code system. It is easy to create a wide range of inclusive schemes that meet legal requirements and are also aesthetically pleasing. With Crown Trade Scan colour codification system the middle two digits of the colour code show the LRV. The greater the value the lighter the colour.
Better for All By adopting the principles of visual contrast in this way, it is possible to make a real improvement to wayfinding for the visually impaired while still creating an aesthetically pleasing colour scheme. As contrast can be produced through varying illuminance, the result is a colour scheme that is both practical and desirable. This allows architects, designers and specifiers to create inclusive environments that fully embrace the concept of access for all, without compromising
the interior design of a building. For further information contact the Specification Services team on 0330 0240310.
should also be emphasised through visual contrast, with greater tonal difference required for smaller items.
It’s not just paint.
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