Accessibility in Pixel Art: High Contrast Palettes

Approximately 8% of men and 0.5% of women have some form of color vision deficiency. Creating accessible pixel art through thoughtful palette choices ensures everyone can enjoy your games and artwork. This guide covers colorblind-friendly design and high-contrast options.

Understanding Color Vision Deficiency

Types of Color Blindness

• Protanopia/Protanomaly: Reduced sensitivity to red light. Red appears darker, red-green distinctions are difficult.
• Deuteranopia/Deuteranomaly: Reduced sensitivity to green light. The most common type. Similar difficulties with red-green.
• Tritanopia/Tritanomaly: Reduced sensitivity to blue light. Rare. Blue-yellow distinctions are difficult.
• Achromatopsia: Complete color blindness (seeing only grayscale). Very rare.

The Red-Green Problem

Because deuteranomaly and protanomaly are most common, purely red vs. green distinctions are problematic. Many games' "poison = green, fire = red" conventions are invisible to colorblind players.

Designing Colorblind-Friendly Palettes

Don't Rely on Hue Alone

The golden rule: never convey information through color (hue) alone. Always include a secondary indicator—value difference, pattern, shape, or icon.

Maximize Value Contrast

Even if someone can't distinguish red from green, they can distinguish light from dark. Ensure game-critical elements differ significantly in brightness, not just hue. Use PixelPaletteSwap to create variants where one color is clearly darker than another.

Blue and Orange Work Well

The blue-orange axis is distinguishable by most colorblind individuals. Consider using blue vs. orange instead of red vs. green for team colors or opposing factions.

Avoid Problematic Combinations

Combinations that look similar to many colorblind users:

• Red and Green (at similar brightness)
• Red and Brown
• Green and Brown
• Blue and Purple
• Light green and Yellow

Creating Accessibility Options

Colorblind Mode

Offer an in-game colorblind mode that swaps problematic colors. Using PixelPaletteSwap, create alternate versions of all sprites where red health is replaced with blue, or green bonuses become yellow.

High Contrast Mode

For players with low vision, extreme value contrast helps visibility. Create high-contrast variants by:

• Increasing the gap between light and dark colors
• Using pure black for outlines and shadows
• Using very bright colors for important elements
• Reducing midtones to emphasize extremes

Symbol/Pattern Addition

Where palette swapping alone isn't enough, consider sprite modifications that add patterns or symbols. A red enemy and red-to-players-swapped-blue enemy could also have different markings.

Practical Palette Adjustments

Health and Damage

Instead of green (healthy) vs. red (damaged), try:

• Blue (healthy) vs. Orange (damaged)
• Green (healthy) vs. Gray/Desaturated (damaged)
• Full brightness vs. Dimmed brightness

Teams and Factions

Replace red vs. green teams with:

• Blue vs. Orange
• Purple vs. Yellow
• Light vs. Dark (different brightness)

Environmental Hazards

Instead of relying on color alone (green poison, red fire, blue ice), pair hazards with distinct shapes and add value contrast against backgrounds they appear on.

Testing Your Accessibility

Simulation Tools

Use colorblindness simulation tools to preview how your artwork appears to colorblind users. Many image editors include these filters, or use online simulators. Review your palette swaps through these lenses.

Grayscale Test

Convert your artwork to grayscale. If critical information becomes indistinguishable, add value contrast. All gameplay-important distinctions should be visible in grayscale.

Player Feedback

If possible, have colorblind players test your game. Real-world feedback is invaluable for catching issues simulators might miss.

Accessible Palette Recommendations

Several established palettes are designed with accessibility in mind:

• ColorBrewer palettes: Scientifically designed for distinguishability
• IBM's accessible palette: Corporate-tested for inclusivity
• Wong palette: An 8-color scheme optimized for colorblind viewers

You can import these as reference images in PixelPaletteSwap and swap your colors to match their accessible options.