Book excerpt: The increasing use of color in electronic displays has been one of the major developments in the computer interface in recent years. Color not only adds an aesthetic quality to displays but is also an effective way of conveying complex information. It has important uses in tasks where identification, coding, and response times are critical. Unfortunately, many interface designers have little scientific appreciation of the effective and productive use of color in displays in the context of the human visual system. This book provides both the theoretical background and the practical guidelines for effective use of color in the computer display.**Effective Color Displays may be used as a tutorial text for courses on color displays or a practical guide for hands-on design. It will be essential reading for programmers, engineers, and psychologists concerned with color applications at the user interface. The book provides an introduction to both the color visual and display systems and develops into a full practical text for effective color display design. Color illustrations, as well as functions for color manipulation in C, look-up tables for color coordinates, and a checklist for display environments are included.