Yes, but do they grow because they can? Or do they grow because they should?
Put another way, how many users are going to understand ALL those shades and subtle signals in a don't-make-me-think (i.e., Steve Krug) sort of way?
And how accessible are all those (too often) lower contrast combos?
I appreciate the finer points of your answer but it still feels to me like designers are imposing their form-over-function will on the users, and shouldn't we be past that at this point?
That is, ultimately, was HSL The Problem? Or was is more guilt by being in the wrong place, used in the wrong way, at the wrong time?
They've got primary, secondary, warning, danger and info and alerts. Each one has a unique background, border and text color, and the text contrast meets accessibility standards. So that's 15 colors just there.
Alerts like this are super common for any UI with forms. You could simplify each alert to use only one or two colors (which puts limits how you can make them look), but do you think this example is over designed as is?
> Put another way, how many users are going to understand ALL those shades and subtle signals in a don't-make-me-think (i.e., Steve Krug) sort of way?
You'd assume the user can tell the danger color from info, but the different shades of the danger color wouldn't have a different meaning except for emphasis and to help with the information hierarchy. Even if your UI was greyscale, you'd want different shades to help here too.
Can you point to a UI you like? How many colors and shades does it have?
My understanding is color alone is not enough as a signal for alerts. There are enough people who have issues with color differentiation that color isn't enough. So if we presume this to be true - and it is :) - well now we've add all these colors to "the brand" *and* also have too much confidence in what they can accomplish for all users.
Look. I'm not saying there's absolute right or wrong. But I do believe there's enough myths and false gods kicking around that someone needs to stand up and say, "Wait a minute..." I'm that guy today. I'm that person.
> My understanding is color alone is not enough as a signal for alerts. There are enough people who have issues with color differentiation that color isn't enough.
Yes, it's standard practice that you don't rely only on color for information. But for people that can see those color differences (about 90% of the population don't have color blindness) it's a very worthwhile improvement so isn't it overkill to ignore these people? And what's the problem with tweaking the shades so they match the brand a little better?
What are you advocating as an alternative? How many colors and shades?
Put another way, how many users are going to understand ALL those shades and subtle signals in a don't-make-me-think (i.e., Steve Krug) sort of way?
And how accessible are all those (too often) lower contrast combos?
I appreciate the finer points of your answer but it still feels to me like designers are imposing their form-over-function will on the users, and shouldn't we be past that at this point?
That is, ultimately, was HSL The Problem? Or was is more guilt by being in the wrong place, used in the wrong way, at the wrong time?