Event Ticket Seat Selection for Users with Colorblindness

UniversityTickets

Outcome: New UI built and deployed to 200+ schools.

Overview

UniversityTickets was a live-event ticketing platform for universities. Colorblind users couldn't identify which seats were available in the seating chart — a critical flaw that prevented a significant portion of users from completing a purchase independently.

The solution involved designing in grayscale, using icons and seat numbers for clarity, and validating with colorblindness simulation software across all vision types. The final design improved accessibility for every user, not just those with color vision deficiency.

The Problem

Users with colorblindness couldn't identify which seats were available.

The original seating chart relied entirely on color to communicate seat status. For users with red/green colorblindness — the most common form — available and unavailable seats were visually indistinguishable.

Standard Vision

Red/Green Colorblind

Vision Types & Testing Tools

There are 8 types of color vision. It is not practical to recruit and test with a user of each vision type — so the right approach is to use simulation software to see what different users actually experience.

Sim Daltonism is a free Mac app that simulates all vision types using a floating overlay over any area of the screen. Keyboard shortcuts let you cycle through each type instantly — making it practical to test every state of a UI against every vision type in seconds.

Colorblindness Simulation

Sim Daltonism was used to validate the solution against all vision types, confirming that seat status was fully distinguishable for every user.

Standard Vision

Deuteranopia (Red/Green)

Protanopia (Red/Green)

Achromatopsia (Monochromatic)

Design Approach

Design in grayscale to ensure accessibility for all users.

Designing in grayscale forces clear distinction between states without relying on color — making accessibility a constraint rather than an afterthought. Icons and seat numbers were added so every seat's status is readable regardless of vision type.

Final Solution

Updated (Standard Vision)

Previous (Red/Green Colorblind)

Updated (Red/Green Colorblind) — seat status is now fully distinguishable without relying on color.

Takeaways

1. Design first in grayscale to ensure products are accessible for all users — color should enhance, not carry meaning.
2. There are several types of color blindness — a solution that works for red/green colorblindness may not work for all vision types.
3. Simulation tools make inclusive testing practical. Variantor colorblindness simulation glasses ($450) exist for physical testing, but free software like Sim Daltonism covers all 8 vision types instantly.

Next Steps

Current — better alignment could be achieved with a different application of icons.

Future — available seat color could be set to a client's brand color.