Update "Symbol" Set to Accommodate Color Blindness

Robby CK

Hi there.

Two people at my current client are color blind.

When using the Red/Yellow/Green/Gray "Symbol" set in a sheet, I learned all the colors in this symbol set appear as grey to them:

Changing the colors (darker reds/maroons and 'golder' yellows work to provide variation), or adding a letter to the center of the symbol (E.g., "R" for red, "G" for green, "Y" for yellow and an 'empty' gray) would make this symbol set usable by some color blind individuals.

Or... some better idea, of course!

PS Maybe add a "Tag" for idea submission for an "Accessibility" value?

Andrée Starå

Hi @Robby CK

I hope you're well and safe!

Here's a possible workaround or workarounds

• You could use Emojis instead and combine them with text.

https://getemoji.com

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe, and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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Robby CK

Hi, @Andrée Starå .

Thanks for the emoji idea. Please share a bit more on how this would work.

My independent research showed "Symbol" column-type values cannot be customized. (https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/2480241-column-type-reference)

Cheers,

Rob

Andrée Starå

@Robby CK

Happy to help!

You would use a number/text column with a formula.

Something like this. =IF([Column C]@row = 1, "🔴", "🟪")

Make sense?

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jasonrude

Thanks for this thread @Robby CK.

As someone who is red/green colour-blind, interpreting this sort of traffic lighting is a common challenge, and one that's (understandably) hard for most people to grasp. I can tell you from experience though, it's tough when you're the only one in the meeting that can't understand the material.

Your suggestion will make the product more inclusive and accessible, so hopefully it gets traction!

Jason

enzo_vaire

@Robby CK thank you for raising this - I was about to do this myself and found your post.

@Andrée Starå - yes, I have used the emojis as a workaround before seeing this post, but it's an extra step to think about. It seems odd that Smartsheet has a specific 'Symbol' type which one needs to ignore because neither the Symbol type can be configured, nor does it take into account colourblind people (quite a large number of people in fact).

A separate idea talks about using a colourblind palette - that would help, and if it also changed the symbols it would be a great solution.