Seminar: Colors That Don't Lie: Visualizing Alpine Hazards with Scientific Integrity
Date:
Location:
SLF Davos
Organised by:
SLF
Speakers:
Dr. Fabio Crameri, Undertone.design and International Space Science Institute, Switzerland
Moderators:
Cristina Pérez
Languages:
EN
Type of event:
Presentations and colloquia
Audience:
The target audience are scientists, students and the interested public.
WSL Seminar Series Talk:
Colors That Don't Lie: Visualizing Alpine Hazards with Scientific Integrity
by Dr. Fabio Crameri, Undertone.design and International Space Science Institute, Switzerland
Abstract ¶
Whether mapping avalanche release zones, modelling debris flow runout, or illustrating decadal shifts in alpine permafrost, every scientific figure tells a story, and the colours you choose determine whether that story is told truthfully. Colour is one of the most powerful tools in scientific visualisation, yet it is rarely taught formally. The result: researchers oscillate between rigorous application and well-meaning but misleading convention. A poorly chosen palette can distort gradients, obscure critical features, or exclude part of your audience; sometimes all three at once. In this talk, Fabio will cover the essentials of perceptually accurate and accessible colour use, from why the rainbow colormap systematically misleads to picking the right palette for your next natural hazard map or rock-fall simulation. Fabio will introduce the Scientific colour maps, a freely available suite of rigorously designed palettes already widely adopted across Earth and climate sciences. By the end, even without prior background, you will have the practical tools to immediately improve your figures and hopefully the conviction to bring your colleagues along too.
You can join in person or via Teams:
More Information about the WSL Seminar Series