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EconStor: Somewhere over the rainbow: How to make effective use of colors in meteorological visualizations
<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>EconStor: Somewhere over the rainbow: How to make effective use of colors in meteorological visualizations</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> <meta name="Generator" content="DSpace 6.4" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <meta name="description" content="EconStor is a publication server for scholarly economic literature, provided as a non-commercial public service by the ZBW." lang="en" /> <meta name="title" content="Somewhere over the rainbow: How to make effective use of colors in meteorological visualizations" /> <meta name="gwt:property" content="locale=en" /> <!-- STW suggest GWT Moduldeklaration //--> <meta name='gwt:module' content='eu.zbw.EconStor.InfoPopup.Main=eu.zbw.EconStor.InfoPopup.Main' /> <meta name='gwt:module' content='eu.zbw.MoreStatsInfo.Main=eu.zbw.MoreStatsInfo.Main' /> <meta name='gwt:module' content='eu.zbw.RePEcCitEc.Main=eu.zbw.RePEcCitEc.Main' /> <!-- /STW GWT Moduldeklaration //--> <!-- STW suggest Popup und tagcloud //--> <link rel="preload" as="image" href="/image/logo-econstor-dark.png" type="image/png"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" href="/cssJawrPath/gzip_503057302/bundles/cssbundle.css" /> <link href="https://www.econstor.eu/bibtexexport/10419/101098/Stauffer2013Somewhere.bib" rel="describedby" type="application/x-bibtex" /> <link href="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/101098" rel="cite-as" /> <link href="https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/101098/1/77519056X.pdf" rel="item" type="application/pdf" /> <!-- /STW suggest Popup //--> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon"/> <script type="text/javascript" src="/jsJawrPath/gzip_N1522907711/bundles/jQuerylib.js" defer="defer" ></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/jsJawrPath/gzip_N495451078/bundles/lib1.js" defer="defer" ></script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="print" href="/cssJawrPath/gzip_2124493305/bundles/print.css" /> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/open-search/description.xml" title="DSpace"/> <link rel="schema.DCTERMS" href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" /> <link rel="schema.DC" href="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" /> <meta name="DC.creator" content="Stauffer, Reto" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.creator" content="Mayr, Georg J." xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.creator" content="Dabernig, Markus" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.creator" content="Zeileis, Achim" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DCTERMS.issued" content="2013" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" /> <meta name="DC.identifier" content="http://hdl.handle.net/10419/101098" scheme="DCTERMS.URI" /> <meta name="DCTERMS.abstract" content="Results of many atmospheric science applications are processed graphically using colors to encode certain parts of the information. Colors should (1) allow humans to process more information, (2) guide the viewer to the most important information, (3) represent the data appropriately without misleading distortion, and (4) be appealing. The second requirement necessitates tailoring the visualization and the use of color to the viewer for whom the graphics is intended. A standard way of deriving color palettes is via transitions trough a certain color space. Most of the common software packages still provide palettes derived in the RGB color model or "simple" transformations thereof as default. Confounding perceptual properties such as hue and brightness make RGB-based palettes more prone to misinterpretation. Additionally, they are often highly saturated, which makes looking at them for a longer period strenuous. Switching to a color model corresponding to the perceptual dimensions of human color vision avoids these problems. We show several practically relevant examples using such a model, the HCL color model, to explain how it works and what its advantages are. Moreover, the paper contains several tips on how to easily integrate this knowledge into software commonly used by the community, which should help readers to switch over to the new concept. The switch will result in a greatly improved quality and readability of visualized atmospheric science data for research, teaching, and communication of results to society." xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.language" content="eng" xml:lang="en" scheme="DCTERMS.RFC1766" /> <meta name="DC.publisher" content="Innsbruck: University of Innsbruck, Research Platform Empirical and Experimental Economics (eeecon)" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.relation" content="Working Papers in Economics and Statistics No.2013-37" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.subject" content="C19" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.subject" content="C88" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.subject" content="Q59" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.subject" content="330" xml:lang="en" scheme="DCTERMS.DDC" /> <meta name="DC.subject" content="color palettes" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.subject" content="HCL colors" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.subject" content="RGB colors" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.subject" content="HSV colors" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.subject" content="perceptually-based colors pace" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.title" content="Somewhere over the rainbow: How to make effective use of colors in meteorological visualizations" /> <meta name="DC.type" content="Working Paper" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="DC.rights" content="http://www.econstor.eu/dspace/Nutzungsbedingungen" xml:lang="en" /> <meta name="citation_keywords" content="Working Paper; color palettes; HCL colors; RGB colors; HSV colors; perceptually-based colors pace" /> <meta name="citation_publication_date" content="2013" /> <meta name="citation_title" content="Somewhere over the rainbow: How to make effective use of colors in meteorological visualizations" /> <meta name="citation_technical_report_number" content="2013-37" /> <meta name="citation_publisher" content="Innsbruck: University of Innsbruck, Research Platform Empirical and Experimental Economics (eeecon)" /> <meta name="citation_language" content="eng" /> <meta name="citation_author" content="Stauffer, Reto" /> <meta name="citation_author" content="Mayr, Georg J." /> <meta name="citation_author" content="Dabernig, Markus" /> <meta name="citation_author" content="Zeileis, Achim" /> <meta name="citation_pdf_url" content="https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/101098/1/77519056X.pdf" /> <meta name="citation_abstract_html_url" content="https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/101098" /> <meta name="citation_technical_report_institution" content="Working Papers in Economics and Statistics" /> </head> <body > <a class="sr-only" href="#content">Skip navigation</a> <div id="sideflag"><div id="sideflagaservice">A service of the</div><div id="sideflagzbw"><a href="http://www.zbw.eu" class="linksideflag" target="_blank">zbw</a></div></div> <header class="navbar"> <div class="econstorbrandingheader"> <div class="container econstorbranding"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-5" > <a href="/" class="navbar-econstorbrand" /><img src="/image/logo-econstor-dark.png" id="brandinglogo" width="235" height="62" loading="eager" alt="EconStor - Make Your Publications Visible. 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//--> </script> <div class="well">Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: <code id="citationhandle">https://hdl.handle.net/10419/101098</code> <button type="button" class="btn btn-default btn-sm" id="citationhandlecopy" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="right" title="copy to clipboard" > <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-copy" aria-hidden="true"></span><span class="sr-only">copy to clipboard</span></button></div> <div class="metadatacontainer" id="itemmetadatacontainer" > <div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-4 metadataFieldLabel dc_title">Title: </div><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-8 metadataFieldValue dc_title" lang="en"><h1 id="itemtitle"><a href="https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/101098/1/77519056X.pdf" target="_blank" >Somewhere over the rainbow: How to make effective use of colors in meteorological visualizations <span class="fa-regular fa-file-pdf" aria-hidden="true" style="color:red;"></span></a></h1></div></div> <div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-4 metadataFieldLabel dc_contributor_author">Authors: </div><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-8 metadataFieldValue dc_contributor_author" lang="en"><a class="author"href="/browse?type=author&value=Stauffer%2C+Reto">Stauffer, Reto</a><br /><a class="author"href="/browse?type=author&value=Mayr%2C+Georg+J.">Mayr, Georg J.</a><br /><a class="author"href="/browse?type=author&value=Dabernig%2C+Markus">Dabernig, Markus</a><br /><a class="author"href="/browse?type=author&value=Zeileis%2C+Achim">Zeileis, Achim</a></div></div> <div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-4 metadataFieldLabel dc_date_issued">Year of Publication: </div><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-8 metadataFieldValue dc_date_issued" lang="en">2013</div></div> <div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-4 metadataFieldLabel dc_relation_ispartofseries">Series/Report no.: </div><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-8 metadataFieldValue dc_relation_ispartofseries" lang="en">Working Papers in Economics and Statistics No. 2013-37</div></div> <div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-4 metadataFieldLabel dc_publisher">Publisher: </div><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-8 metadataFieldValue dc_publisher" lang="en">University of Innsbruck, Research Platform Empirical and Experimental Economics (eeecon), Innsbruck</div></div> <div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-4 metadataFieldLabel dc_description_abstract">Abstract: </div><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-8 metadataFieldValue dc_description_abstract" lang="en">Results of many atmospheric science applications are processed graphically using colors to encode certain parts of the information. Colors should (1) allow humans to process more information, (2) guide the viewer to the most important information, (3) represent the data appropriately without misleading distortion, and (4) be appealing. The second requirement necessitates tailoring the visualization and the use of color to the viewer for whom the graphics is intended. A standard way of deriving color palettes is via transitions trough a certain color space. Most of the common software packages still provide palettes derived in the RGB color model or "simple" transformations thereof as default. Confounding perceptual properties such as hue and brightness make RGB-based palettes more prone to misinterpretation. Additionally, they are often highly saturated, which makes looking at them for a longer period strenuous. Switching to a color model corresponding to the perceptual dimensions of human color vision avoids these problems. We show several practically relevant examples using such a model, the HCL color model, to explain how it works and what its advantages are. Moreover, the paper contains several tips on how to easily integrate this knowledge into software commonly used by the community, which should help readers to switch over to the new concept. The switch will result in a greatly improved quality and readability of visualized atmospheric science data for research, teaching, and communication of results to society.</div></div> <div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-4 metadataFieldLabel dc_subject_keyword">Subjects: </div><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-8 metadataFieldValue dc_subject_keyword" lang="en">color palettes<br />HCL colors<br />RGB colors<br />HSV colors<br />perceptually-based colors pace</div></div> <div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-4 metadataFieldLabel dc_subject_jel">JEL: </div><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-8 metadataFieldValue dc_subject_jel" lang="en">C19<br />C88<br />Q59</div></div> <div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-4 metadataFieldLabel dc_type">Document Type: </div><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-8 metadataFieldValue dc_type" lang="en">Working Paper</div></div> <div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-4 metadataFieldLabel">Appears in Collections:</div><div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-8 metadataFieldValue"><a href="/escollectionhome/10419/71911">Working Papers in Economics and Statistics, Universit盲t Innsbruck</a><br/></div></div> </div><br/> <div class="panel panel-info"><div class="panel-heading">Files in This Item:</div> <div class="row"><div class="row"><div id="t1d" class="col-xs-6 col-sm-4 metadataFieldLabel">File</div> <div id="t2d" class="hidden-xs col-sm-3 metadataFieldLabel">Description</div> <div id="t3d" class="col-xs-6 col-sm-2 metadataFieldLabel">Size</div><div id="t4d" class="hidden-xs col-sm-3 metadataFieldLabel">Format</div></div> <div class="row"><div class="col-xs-6 col-sm-4 metadataFieldValue"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/101098/1/77519056X.pdf">77519056X.pdf</a><br/><a class="download btn btn-primary"target="_blank" href="https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/101098/1/77519056X.pdf">download file <span class="fa-solid fa-file-pdf" aria-hidden="true" ></span></a></div><div class="hidden-xs col-sm-3 metadataFieldValue"></div><div class="col-xs-6 col-sm-2 metadataFieldValue">800.14 kB</div><div class="hidden-xs col-sm-3 metadataFieldValue">Adobe PDF</div></div></div> </div> <div class="container row"> <div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3 blcontainer"><a class="statisticsLink btn btn-primary" href="/esstatistics/10419/101098?year=2024&month=10" >Download Statistics</a></div> <div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3 blcontainer"><a class="bibtexLink btn btn-primary" href="/bibtexexport/10419/101098/Stauffer2013Somewhere.bib" >BibTeX-Export</a></div> </div><br /> <div class="container row"> <div class="shariff" data-services="["twitter","facebook","whatsapp","telegram","reddit"]" data-title="Somewhere over the rainbow: How to make effective use of colors in meteorological visualizations" data-url="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/101098" data-theme="standard" data-button-style="icon"></div> </div><br /><br /> <div class="container row"> </div> <br/> <br/> <p class="submitFormHelp alert alert-info">Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.</p> </div> <script type="application/javascript"> document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function load() { if (!window.jQuery) return setTimeout(load, 50); jQuery(function ($) { $(function () { $('[data-toggle="tooltip"]').tooltip(); $('#citationhandlecopy').on("click", function( event ) { var handletext = $('#citationhandle').text(); window.alert('copied to clipboard:" '+ handletext+'"'); navigator.clipboard.writeText(handletext); }); }); }); }, false); </script> </div> </main> <footer > <div id="econstorfooter"> <div class="container econstorfootercontainer"> <div id="es_footer" class="row"> <div class="col-12"><a href="/htmlmap" aria-hidden="true" style="display:none; visibility: hidden;"></a><ul class="bottomnavi"> <li><a href="/contact">Contact</a></li> <li>| <a href="/Impressum">Imprint</a></li> <li>| <a href="/Datenschutz">Privacy</a></li> <li>| <a href="/staticpagessitemap">Sitemap</a></li> <li>| <a href="/erklaerung-zur-barrierefreiheit">Accessibility</a></li> <li>| <a onclick="javascript:document.repost.locale.value='de'; document.repost.submit();" href="?locale=de"> Deutsch </a></li> </ul></div> </div> </div> </div> </footer> <!-- Copyright (c) 2000-2023 etracker GmbH. 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