# Discernibility of (rainbow) colormaps¶

Author: Matthew Petroff

Date: 2019-08

In [1]:
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import matplotlib
import colorspacious
import colorcet


In [2]:
turbo_colormap_data = np.array([[0.18995,0.07176,0.23217],[0.19483,0.08339,0.26149],[0.19956,0.09498,0.29024],[0.20415,0.10652,0.31844],[0.20860,0.11802,0.34607],[0.21291,0.12947,0.37314],[0.21708,0.14087,0.39964],[0.22111,0.15223,0.42558],[0.22500,0.16354,0.45096],[0.22875,0.17481,0.47578],[0.23236,0.18603,0.50004],[0.23582,0.19720,0.52373],[0.23915,0.20833,0.54686],[0.24234,0.21941,0.56942],[0.24539,0.23044,0.59142],[0.24830,0.24143,0.61286],[0.25107,0.25237,0.63374],[0.25369,0.26327,0.65406],[0.25618,0.27412,0.67381],[0.25853,0.28492,0.69300],[0.26074,0.29568,0.71162],[0.26280,0.30639,0.72968],[0.26473,0.31706,0.74718],[0.26652,0.32768,0.76412],[0.26816,0.33825,0.78050],[0.26967,0.34878,0.79631],[0.27103,0.35926,0.81156],[0.27226,0.36970,0.82624],[0.27334,0.38008,0.84037],[0.27429,0.39043,0.85393],[0.27509,0.40072,0.86692],[0.27576,0.41097,0.87936],[0.27628,0.42118,0.89123],[0.27667,0.43134,0.90254],[0.27691,0.44145,0.91328],[0.27701,0.45152,0.92347],[0.27698,0.46153,0.93309],[0.27680,0.47151,0.94214],[0.27648,0.48144,0.95064],[0.27603,0.49132,0.95857],[0.27543,0.50115,0.96594],[0.27469,0.51094,0.97275],[0.27381,0.52069,0.97899],[0.27273,0.53040,0.98461],[0.27106,0.54015,0.98930],[0.26878,0.54995,0.99303],[0.26592,0.55979,0.99583],[0.26252,0.56967,0.99773],[0.25862,0.57958,0.99876],[0.25425,0.58950,0.99896],[0.24946,0.59943,0.99835],[0.24427,0.60937,0.99697],[0.23874,0.61931,0.99485],[0.23288,0.62923,0.99202],[0.22676,0.63913,0.98851],[0.22039,0.64901,0.98436],[0.21382,0.65886,0.97959],[0.20708,0.66866,0.97423],[0.20021,0.67842,0.96833],[0.19326,0.68812,0.96190],[0.18625,0.69775,0.95498],[0.17923,0.70732,0.94761],[0.17223,0.71680,0.93981],[0.16529,0.72620,0.93161],[0.15844,0.73551,0.92305],[0.15173,0.74472,0.91416],[0.14519,0.75381,0.90496],[0.13886,0.76279,0.89550],[0.13278,0.77165,0.88580],[0.12698,0.78037,0.87590],[0.12151,0.78896,0.86581],[0.11639,0.79740,0.85559],[0.11167,0.80569,0.84525],[0.10738,0.81381,0.83484],[0.10357,0.82177,0.82437],[0.10026,0.82955,0.81389],[0.09750,0.83714,0.80342],[0.09532,0.84455,0.79299],[0.09377,0.85175,0.78264],[0.09287,0.85875,0.77240],[0.09267,0.86554,0.76230],[0.09320,0.87211,0.75237],[0.09451,0.87844,0.74265],[0.09662,0.88454,0.73316],[0.09958,0.89040,0.72393],[0.10342,0.89600,0.71500],[0.10815,0.90142,0.70599],[0.11374,0.90673,0.69651],[0.12014,0.91193,0.68660],[0.12733,0.91701,0.67627],[0.13526,0.92197,0.66556],[0.14391,0.92680,0.65448],[0.15323,0.93151,0.64308],[0.16319,0.93609,0.63137],[0.17377,0.94053,0.61938],[0.18491,0.94484,0.60713],[0.19659,0.94901,0.59466],[0.20877,0.95304,0.58199],[0.22142,0.95692,0.56914],[0.23449,0.96065,0.55614],[0.24797,0.96423,0.54303],[0.26180,0.96765,0.52981],[0.27597,0.97092,0.51653],[0.29042,0.97403,0.50321],[0.30513,0.97697,0.48987],[0.32006,0.97974,0.47654],[0.33517,0.98234,0.46325],[0.35043,0.98477,0.45002],[0.36581,0.98702,0.43688],[0.38127,0.98909,0.42386],[0.39678,0.99098,0.41098],[0.41229,0.99268,0.39826],[0.42778,0.99419,0.38575],[0.44321,0.99551,0.37345],[0.45854,0.99663,0.36140],[0.47375,0.99755,0.34963],[0.48879,0.99828,0.33816],[0.50362,0.99879,0.32701],[0.51822,0.99910,0.31622],[0.53255,0.99919,0.30581],[0.54658,0.99907,0.29581],[0.56026,0.99873,0.28623],[0.57357,0.99817,0.27712],[0.58646,0.99739,0.26849],[0.59891,0.99638,0.26038],[0.61088,0.99514,0.25280],[0.62233,0.99366,0.24579],[0.63323,0.99195,0.23937],[0.64362,0.98999,0.23356],[0.65394,0.98775,0.22835],[0.66428,0.98524,0.22370],[0.67462,0.98246,0.21960],[0.68494,0.97941,0.21602],[0.69525,0.97610,0.21294],[0.70553,0.97255,0.21032],[0.71577,0.96875,0.20815],[0.72596,0.96470,0.20640],[0.73610,0.96043,0.20504],[0.74617,0.95593,0.20406],[0.75617,0.95121,0.20343],[0.76608,0.94627,0.20311],[0.77591,0.94113,0.20310],[0.78563,0.93579,0.20336],[0.79524,0.93025,0.20386],[0.80473,0.92452,0.20459],[0.81410,0.91861,0.20552],[0.82333,0.91253,0.20663],[0.83241,0.90627,0.20788],[0.84133,0.89986,0.20926],[0.85010,0.89328,0.21074],[0.85868,0.88655,0.21230],[0.86709,0.87968,0.21391],[0.87530,0.87267,0.21555],[0.88331,0.86553,0.21719],[0.89112,0.85826,0.21880],[0.89870,0.85087,0.22038],[0.90605,0.84337,0.22188],[0.91317,0.83576,0.22328],[0.92004,0.82806,0.22456],[0.92666,0.82025,0.22570],[0.93301,0.81236,0.22667],[0.93909,0.80439,0.22744],[0.94489,0.79634,0.22800],[0.95039,0.78823,0.22831],[0.95560,0.78005,0.22836],[0.96049,0.77181,0.22811],[0.96507,0.76352,0.22754],[0.96931,0.75519,0.22663],[0.97323,0.74682,0.22536],[0.97679,0.73842,0.22369],[0.98000,0.73000,0.22161],[0.98289,0.72140,0.21918],[0.98549,0.71250,0.21650],[0.98781,0.70330,0.21358],[0.98986,0.69382,0.21043],[0.99163,0.68408,0.20706],[0.99314,0.67408,0.20348],[0.99438,0.66386,0.19971],[0.99535,0.65341,0.19577],[0.99607,0.64277,0.19165],[0.99654,0.63193,0.18738],[0.99675,0.62093,0.18297],[0.99672,0.60977,0.17842],[0.99644,0.59846,0.17376],[0.99593,0.58703,0.16899],[0.99517,0.57549,0.16412],[0.99419,0.56386,0.15918],[0.99297,0.55214,0.15417],[0.99153,0.54036,0.14910],[0.98987,0.52854,0.14398],[0.98799,0.51667,0.13883],[0.98590,0.50479,0.13367],[0.98360,0.49291,0.12849],[0.98108,0.48104,0.12332],[0.97837,0.46920,0.11817],[0.97545,0.45740,0.11305],[0.97234,0.44565,0.10797],[0.96904,0.43399,0.10294],[0.96555,0.42241,0.09798],[0.96187,0.41093,0.09310],[0.95801,0.39958,0.08831],[0.95398,0.38836,0.08362],[0.94977,0.37729,0.07905],[0.94538,0.36638,0.07461],[0.94084,0.35566,0.07031],[0.93612,0.34513,0.06616],[0.93125,0.33482,0.06218],[0.92623,0.32473,0.05837],[0.92105,0.31489,0.05475],[0.91572,0.30530,0.05134],[0.91024,0.29599,0.04814],[0.90463,0.28696,0.04516],[0.89888,0.27824,0.04243],[0.89298,0.26981,0.03993],[0.88691,0.26152,0.03753],[0.88066,0.25334,0.03521],[0.87422,0.24526,0.03297],[0.86760,0.23730,0.03082],[0.86079,0.22945,0.02875],[0.85380,0.22170,0.02677],[0.84662,0.21407,0.02487],[0.83926,0.20654,0.02305],[0.83172,0.19912,0.02131],[0.82399,0.19182,0.01966],[0.81608,0.18462,0.01809],[0.80799,0.17753,0.01660],[0.79971,0.17055,0.01520],[0.79125,0.16368,0.01387],[0.78260,0.15693,0.01264],[0.77377,0.15028,0.01148],[0.76476,0.14374,0.01041],[0.75556,0.13731,0.00942],[0.74617,0.13098,0.00851],[0.73661,0.12477,0.00769],[0.72686,0.11867,0.00695],[0.71692,0.11268,0.00629],[0.70680,0.10680,0.00571],[0.69650,0.10102,0.00522],[0.68602,0.09536,0.00481],[0.67535,0.08980,0.00449],[0.66449,0.08436,0.00424],[0.65345,0.07902,0.00408],[0.64223,0.07380,0.00401],[0.63082,0.06868,0.00401],[0.61923,0.06367,0.00410],[0.60746,0.05878,0.00427],[0.59550,0.05399,0.00453],[0.58336,0.04931,0.00486],[0.57103,0.04474,0.00529],[0.55852,0.04028,0.00579],[0.54583,0.03593,0.00638],[0.53295,0.03169,0.00705],[0.51989,0.02756,0.00780],[0.50664,0.02354,0.00863],[0.49321,0.01963,0.00955],[0.47960,0.01583,0.01055]])
matplotlib.cm.register_cmap(name='turbo', cmap=matplotlib.colors.ListedColormap(turbo_colormap_data))

In [3]:
def sinebow(h):
h = 0.5 - h
return (
np.sin(np.pi * h) ** 2,
np.sin(np.pi * (h + 1 / 3)) ** 2,
np.sin(np.pi * (h + 2 / 3)) ** 2
)
matplotlib.cm.register_cmap(name='sinebow', cmap=matplotlib.colors.ListedColormap([sinebow(t) for t in np.linspace(0, 1, 256, False)]))


## Calculate and plot discernibility¶

For each color in the colormap, the perceptual distance in CAM02-UCS is calculated for every additional color in the colormap. The weighted average is then taken, with the squares of the distances in the colormap between the colors used as weights. The reasoning behind this metric is that it is much worse to confuse distant locations in a colormap than adjacent locations. For color vision deficiencies, the method of Machado et al. (2009) is used to adjust the colors before the perceptual distance is calculated. For cyclic colormaps, the wrapping is taken into consideration in the colormap location distance calculation.

In [4]:
def calc_discernibility(cmap, cyclic=False):
num_colors = cmap.shape[0]
jab_colors = {
'norm': colorspacious.cspace_convert(cmap, 'sRGB1', 'CAM02-UCS'),
'deut': colorspacious.cspace_convert(cmap, {
"name": "sRGB1+CVD",
"cvd_type": "deuteranomaly",
"severity": 100
}, 'CAM02-UCS'),
'prot': colorspacious.cspace_convert(cmap, {
"name": "sRGB1+CVD",
"cvd_type": "protanomaly",
"severity": 100
}, 'CAM02-UCS'),
'trit': colorspacious.cspace_convert(cmap, {
"name": "sRGB1+CVD",
"cvd_type": "tritanomaly",
"severity": 100
}, 'CAM02-UCS')
}
deltas = {}
weighting = lambda i, j: (i - j)**2 if not cyclic else min((i - j) % 256, (j - i) % 256)**2
for t in jab_colors:
deltas[t] = []
for i in range(num_colors):
deltas[t].append(np.average([
colorspacious.deltaE(
jab_colors[t][i],
jab_colors[t][j],
input_space='CAM02-UCS',
uniform_space='CAM02-UCS'
) for j in range(num_colors)
], weights=[weighting(i, j) for j in range(num_colors)]))
return deltas

In [5]:
def plot_discernibility(cmap, cyclic=False):
deltas = calc_discernibility(matplotlib.cm.get_cmap(cmap)(np.arange(256))[:, :3], cyclic)
# Color cycle was created using https://colorcyclepicker.mpetroff.net/, with colors picked to match deficient cones
colors = {'norm': '#4e4e4e', 'deut': '#99e411', 'prot': '#fb8080', 'trit': '#4eacf5'}
lines = {'norm': '-', 'deut': '--', 'prot': ':', 'trit': '-.'}
for i, t in enumerate(deltas):
plt.plot(deltas[t], label=t.title(), c=colors[t], ls=lines[t], zorder=-i)
plt.ylabel('ΔE')
plt.xlim(0, 255)
plt.ylim(20, 100)
plt.legend(ncol=4, loc='upper center', frameon=False)
ax = plt.gca().axes
ax.get_xaxis().set_visible(False)
ax.text(0.02, 0.02, cmap.title(), ha='left', va='bottom', transform=ax.transAxes, fontsize='x-large')
plt.gca().axes.get_xaxis().set_visible(False)
plt.tight_layout()
plt.savefig(cmap + '.svg')


### Rainbow colormaps¶

In [6]:
plot_discernibility('jet')

In [7]:
plot_discernibility('turbo')

In [8]:
plot_discernibility('rainbow')


### Cyclic colormaps¶

In this case, the metric needs to be modified to take this into account. Just like Turbo is a better version of Jet, Sinebow is a better version of HSV. Twilight is a perceptually uniform cyclic colormap, which is much more consistent and colorblind-friendly, at the expense of average discernibility.

In [9]:
plot_discernibility('hsv', cyclic=True)

In [10]:
plot_discernibility('sinebow', cyclic=True)

In [11]:
plot_discernibility('twilight', cyclic=True)


### Perceptually uniform linear colormaps¶

The "V" shape of the metric for these colormaps is expected, since for a linear colormap, the center is closest to the greatest number of other colors. Note that the discernibility of Cividis, which was optimized with color vision deficiencies in mind, is the most consistent between normal color vision and various color vision deficiencies, although Viridis is also okay in this regard.

In [12]:
plot_discernibility('viridis')

In [13]:
plot_discernibility('cividis')


### Diverging colormaps¶

These show a "V" shape, similar to linear colormaps, although this is less pronounced in Matplotlib's Coolwarm colormap. Peter Kovesi's blue-gray-yellow colormap is perceptually uniform, so its discernibility profile is much closer to that of perceptually uniform linear colormaps.

In [14]:
plot_discernibility('coolwarm')

In [15]:
plot_discernibility('cet_bjy')