Channels, Fall 2017

Channels • 2017 • Volume 2 • Number 1 Page 9 a mass of text. Technical communicators could also utilize color to help reach users who might have a more difficult time reading information online. Color can not only aid in a document’s legibility, but it also can act as an effective signaling cue. Color can signal where one section of information ends and another begins, group pieces of relevant data together, and reveal relationships within a document. However, technical communicators must carefully decide which colors should be used and where it should be placed. In a U.S. safety manual, for example, the color red means warning or danger. Users from an American background will immediately notice the red signaling cue and likely read the information. In other cultures, the connotative meaning of danger might be relayed in a different color, so technical communicators should research what colors might mean in different cultures and contexts. Doing so might prevent injury or even save someone’s life. Lastly, color can show hierarchal levels in documents, especially long ones. Headings combined with color will stand out from the main text and allow users to skim and navigate the information. Readers will easily distinguish the levels of importance and determine where their attention should go first. Hierarchal levels provide structure and organization for a document. Adding color will enhance the organized information. The benefits of using color outlined above are just the surface of what technical communicators can do with color theory. The scope of this paper can only look at a few benefits, but there are numerous possibilities that information designers can employ to better their documents. Perhaps the only boundaries that limit them from effectively using color are their imaginations, fears, and uncertainties. Conclusion People have always used color in various aspects of life and history, but only recently has its influence on the human mind and emotions become more obvious. Despite differing opinions of how color is perceived and understood, there is no doubt that color is a crucial part of the human experience that bleeds into the workplace. Technical communicators will often wonder what they could do to make their documents stand apart from the rest of the competition that clamors for attention. They may be surprised to realize that they do have a tool that could help them achieve their goal: color. It is a powerful, subtle, and influential stimulant that has emotional, psychological, and cross-cultural consequences for the users. Unfortunately, technical communicators often tend to shy away from using color. This should not be the case. If used with deliberate and informed intent, color can create an organized, understandable, clear, and potentially memorable product that users will comprehend and enjoy using. Technical communicators should be willing to apply color to their work, but they must be informed and knowledgeable about how to use it. Something as simple as color can