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November 11, 2004
Red vs Blue: One More Time!
Yes it's another electoral map.
I've seen blended red, blue, and purple maps, and I've seen maps with surface area altered to reflect population, but I haven't seen any map address the fundamental unfairness of comparing a strong red to a strong blue.
Google "RGB to Luminosity" and you'll see that there is a weighted average that represents the relative strengths of colors in human perception. The common equation for converting RGB to Luminosity according to the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) is:
luminosity = 0.299 x red + 0.587 x green + 0.114 x blue
To put this equation to use in Photoshop, use Image > Mode > Grayscale. Do not use Image > Adjustments > Desaturate -- that is the wrong equation. To see why it's wrong to use "desaturate," check here.
You can see from the maps above that a strong blue has the same luminosity as -- not a strong red -- but a pretty dull red.
Posted by digital artform at November 11, 2004 10:04 AM