Guidelines for the Use of Color in ATC Displays

Color is probably the most effective, compelling, and attractive method available for coding visual information on a display. However, caution must be used in the application of color to displays for air traffic control (ATC), because it is easy to do more harm than good. The only thing that is truly obvious about the use of color on displays is that its benefits and drawbacks depend upon the task. This paper offers general guidelines on how color should, and should not, be used, but does not define a specific color-coding scheme. These guidelines are based in what is known about human vision, display capabilities, the knowledge gained from the lessons learned from the uses of color in the cockpit and ATC environments, and human factors best practices.