Color
The choice of color(s) to be used in a visualization affects the scientific utility of the visualization and has a large psychological impact on the audience. Throughout this paper, a consistent color scale (a.k.a. datamap) has been used. This color scale associates low data values with the color blue and high data values with the color red. Values between the data minimum and maximum are mapped to hues that transition from red to yellow to green to cyan (light blue) to blue. People are accustomed to interpreting blue as a "cold" color and red as a "hot" color. For this reason, lay persons more easily understand this color spectrum. It also provides a reasonably high degree of color fidelity, allowing discrimination of small changes in data values.
However, many times color scales with vivid colors like red are deemed too alarming. Since there is not a universally (or even scientifically) accepted standard for color spectrums used for data presentation, the use of softer shades of color and the elimination of red or other garish colors from the spectrum cannot be challenged on a scientific or legal basis. The consequence of this is the distinct possibility of two different visualizations that both communicate the same information with completely different colors. Often the choice of colors is made on aesthetic or political grounds, governed more by the party being represented and their role in the site than by scientific reasons.
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