Colour scheming

A good colour scheme relies on several important factors. Firstly, the colours selected should have sufficient visual contrast, so visually impaired people may recognise objects crucial to their ability to navigate the building. But it is also important the colours compliment each other to create an attractive colour scheme.

The Approved Document to Part M (2004) and BS 8300:2001 Guidelines recommend the appropriate levels of visual contrast between adjacent surfaces based on a difference of LRV (Light Reflectance Value) between two adjacent colours. But it does not consider issues such as aesthetics, or how colour schemes can be created to improve the environment for visually impaired and fully sighted people. Project Rainbow, however, established that a level of colour difference based on LRV and hue was found by most visually impaired people to produce a discernible difference affording more flexibility in colour scheming.

To help create a colour scheme that meets the requirements of all users of buildings Dulux Trade has two key tools to help you.

The new Trade Colour Palette fanbook is the only colour tool that identifies LRV easily in its notation for every colour and offers the most comprehensive choice of colours available for professional users to aid colour scheming. To create a further dimension to your colour schemes the fanbook can be used to produce subtle and understated or visually striking combinations by mixing tonal and harmonious colours; or contrasting and tonal colours.

The Dulux Trade CD allows you to identify a colour palette reference and therefore the LRV for its key colour ranges. You can colour scheme from a pre-designed scheme or a selected colour and then by choosing your level of visual contrast, based on a DDA Guideline, you can create a colour specification for all key colours of your scheme that clearly identifies the level of visual contrast in the colour palette notation.