[IxDA Discuss] Use of colors/shapes in tools for education

[Paul Eisen]

> The tool that I am evaluating basically uses 6-8 different colors to 
> convey certain "scopes". It seems to me that users (in this case
students) > might take too long to learn the differences or associate a
color with the > appropriate scope.

Oliver, from my memory of my (almost ancient) experience in this field,
unless there are well understood meanings to the color/shape codes -
that is, they are not just arbitrary - 6-8 assigned colors would take a
while to learn, and require frequent rehearsal. So these would be
appropriate as the primary codes only for people motivated to learn the
application and spend many hours in it. It is probably much better to
rely on heading text or meaningful images to convey the scope. 

I'd be curious what other practical advice people have to offer.

Paul Eisen
Principal User Experience Architect
tandemseven
http://www.tandemseven.com