2

I have a google map which presents the distance from a particular location.

The map consists of a set of polygons, where a polygon encircles an area which is the same distance from the point. So in other words, I colour a region which is between 0 and 5 minutes from the point in one colour, between 5 and 10 in another colour, and so on up to 120 minutes. This gives me 20 different colours.

What rgb colours would you recommend I use to give a nice contrast on my map. Perhaps there is a standard algorithm for this. Otherwise I can use a lookup table since its only 20 different colours.

Thanks,

Barry

Baz
  • 12,713
  • 38
  • 145
  • 268

1 Answers1

0

One possibility is to choose a single colour and set the Opacity so that the circles get progressively fainter as the radius increases. Whether this is a good solution may depend on what the importance of the information is.

UPDATE: A better solution is to adopt the MySociety colours as in this map which shows travel times to London. They've done a lot of this and if you write to them, they'll almost certainly let you have the scales they use.

peter.murray.rust
  • 37,407
  • 44
  • 153
  • 217
  • I'd prefer different colours so as to distinguish between adjacent polygons. However, I wish for 0 to 5 minutes, and 5 to 10 minutes. for example, to have colours which are still perceived as being near. – Baz Apr 22 '12 at 09:22
  • Understood. There are scales of temperature and contour height which might work. But a scale from red to blue is probably psychological inappropriate. I would certain add some aspect of either opacity of whitening the hue. Your outer circle will have a very large visual impact. – peter.murray.rust Apr 22 '12 at 09:53