Color Ramps

 

The linear color ramp creates a smooth, even transition from dark to light, making it predictable but sometimes lacking in visual contrast. The diverging ramp, which adjusts progression using a power function, emphasizes the darker tones longer and shifts more rapidly toward the lighter end, creating a more natural gradient for perception.

Compared to ColorBrewer, which is designed for visual clarity and accessibility, the linear ramp can sometimes appear too uniform, making differences harder to distinguish. ColorBrewer’s ramp incorporate perceptual adjustments, similar to the diverging ramp, which improves contrast and differentiation. The diverging ramp I created mimics this effect by slowing transitions in darker areas and accelerating them toward the light end.

The adjusted ramp is closer to ColorBrewer’s approach, as it enhances contrast and improves readability, while the linear ramp feels more basic and less optimized for real-world visualization needs.