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<p class="info">UPDATE 2021-01-19 14:21 +0200: The <code>color-tools.el</code> is now called
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<code>ct.el</code>.</p>
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<p>The Modus themes come with a customisation option to tweak the looks of
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programming modes (there are lots of customisation options—consult the
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<a href="https://protesilaos.com/emacs/modus-themes">official manual</a>):
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<code>modus-themes-syntax 'faint</code>. The present entry documents the
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refinements that were introduced to a subset of those “faint” colours.</p>
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<p>In this report I am making use of the new <a href="https://github.com/neeasade/ct.el">ct.el library</a>,
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developed by Github user neeasade. Even though it is not available in
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any package archive as of this writing, I highly recommend it to every
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Emacs user who has an interest in colour and/or who is a theme designer.
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Consider it as a complement to the built-in <code>color.el</code> Emacs library
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(check the source code with <code>M-x find-library</code> and then insert <code>color</code>).
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What it offers compared to the built-in option is an element of
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convenience, as it lets us use the colour space of our choice. In my
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case that is RGB while the notation is hexadecimal.</p>
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<p>Colour enthusiasts are also encouraged to read neeasade’s essay:
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<a href="https://notes.neeasade.net/color-spaces.html">Reasoning about colors</a>.</p>
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<p>The <code>color-tools</code> function that introduces a new test to my workflow is
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<code>ct-name-distance</code>, which applies the CIE Δ<em>E</em> 2000 formula. For the
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purposes of this article, I am also applying <code>ct-contrast-ratio</code>, even
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though there exists <code>modus-themes-contrast</code> as part of my themes, which
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builds on the same WCAG formula for contrast in relative luminance
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between two values (implemented in <code>modus-themes-wcag-formula</code>).</p>
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<h2>Old and new values for “faint” blues and magentas</h2>
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<p>The tables below merely present the affected variables and the change in
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values assigned to them. The overall intent is to slightly increase the
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saturation of those colours while accounting for differences between
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them in lieu of their intended purpose, which is to highlight code in a
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more subtle way than the default aesthetic of the themes—read the doc
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string of <code>modus-themes-syntax</code>.</p>
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<p><code>cyan-faint</code> and <code>cyan-alt-other-faint</code> for Modus Operandi have also
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been corrected for hueness, mainly by reducing their red light channel.
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Other changes are more subtle.</p>
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<pre><code class="language-org">#+DESCRIPTION: Affected values for Modus Operandi
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| Internal name | Old | New |
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|-------------------------+---------+---------|
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| cyan-faint | #12506f | #005077 |
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| cyan-alt-other-faint | #2e584f | #125458 |
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| blue-faint | #002f88 | #003497 |
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| blue-alt-faint | #003f78 | #0f3d8c |
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| blue-alt-other-faint | #1f0f6f | #001087 |
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| magenta-alt-faint | #70256f | #7b206f |
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| magenta-alt-other-faint | #5f3f7f | #55348e |
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#+DESCRIPTION: Affected values for Modus Vivendi
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| Internal name | Old | New |
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|-------------------------+---------+---------|
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| blue-alt-faint | #a4b0ff | #a0acf5 |
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| blue-alt-other-faint | #8fc5ff | #87c8ff |
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| magenta-alt-other-faint | #d0b4ff | #cfa6ff |
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</code></pre>
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<p>Here is a picture of the same table with <code>M-x rainbow-mode</code> enabled, so
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if it does not look clear please open it in another window:</p>
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<p><img alt="Modus themes select faint colours" src="https://protesilaos.com/assets/images/attachments/modus-themes-review-faint-2021-01-11.png" /></p>
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<p>Notice the fine tweaks (yes, those are the lengths we go to).</p>
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<h2>Harmonising colour distance for Modus Operandi</h2>
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<p>The following table only concerns Modus Operandi (we employ another
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technique for Modus Vivendi—next section). It measures the distance
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of the new values relative to black and white (CIE Δ<em>E</em> 2000). A value
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of 100 is the maximum and it would mean in practical terms that the
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closer our values are to the maximum, the more they appear as variants
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of black for our light theme.</p>
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<p>The table must thus be read as an attempt to slightly “brighten up”
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those values and/or normalise the distance between some of them. As
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such compare columns 2 to 4 and 3 to 6 (all tables are in <code>org-mode</code>
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notation).</p>
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<pre><code class="language-org">#+DESCRIPTION: Modus Operandi cie-DE2000 distance for faint blues and magentas
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| old | #ffffff | #000000 | new | #ffffff | #000000 |
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|---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------|
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| #12506f | 58 | 27 | #005077 | 58 | 28 |
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| #2e584f | 55 | 28 | #125458 | 58 | 27 |
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| #002f88 | 71 | 29 | #003497 | 68 | 31 |
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| #003f78 | 65 | 27 | #0f3d8c | 65 | 30 |
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| #1f0f6f | 83 | 28 | #001087 | 81 | 30 |
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| #70256f | 64 | 31 | #7b206f | 62 | 32 |
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| #5f3f7f | 59 | 32 | #55348e | 63 | 32 |
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#+TBLFM: $2='(ct-name-distance $1 @1$2);%0.0f :: $3='(ct-name-distance $1 @1$3);%0.0f :: $5='(ct-name-distance $4 @1$5);%0.0f :: $6='(ct-name-distance $4 @1$6);%0.0f
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</code></pre>
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<p>[ does anyone know of a more succinct <code>#+TBLFM</code> expression? ]</p>
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<p>An interesting observation to make with regard to the innate properties
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of the channels of light, is how <code>#001087</code> and its old <code>#1f0f6f</code>
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(<code>blue-alt-other-faint</code>) is perceived as being closer to black while
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compared to pure white, even though it is impressed in more-or-less the
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same way as the other colours when compared to pure black (the
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discrepancies in the values shown on row 6, relative to the other rows).
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This is because the blue channel, here represented as pure blue
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(<code>#0000ff</code>), is the darkest among the three components of the RGB
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triplet that we are using (green is the brightest, red is medium (though
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not precisely)).</p>
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<h2>Color distance between the values of Modus Vivendi</h2>
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<p>While we tested our colours against black and white for Modus Operandi,
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that technique was not suitable for Modus Vivendi. This is because a
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dark theme has different requirements and the reason is that the human
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eye is more attuned to spot differences in colour against a dark
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backdrop (and colour is, in essence, an expression of light, while the
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pure black main background of Modus Vivendi is meant to represent the
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absence of light—notwithstanding screen technology that always uses
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light even for black).</p>
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<p>As such, we are mostly interested in adjusting the distance between the
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colour values that were deemed somewhat problematic (always in relative
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terms, as those tweaks are virtually not discernible by the untrained
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observer).</p>
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<pre><code class="language-org">#+DESCRIPTION: Modus Vivendi cie-DE2000 distance OLD
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| | | Distance |
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|---------+---------+----------|
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| #a4b0ff | #8fc5ff | 10.2885 |
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| #8fc5ff | #d0b4ff | 19.9316 |
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| #d0b4ff | #a4b0ff | 10.5743 |
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#+TBLFM: $3='(ct-name-distance $1 $2);%0.4f
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#+DESCRIPTION: Modus Vivendi cie-DE2000 distance NEW
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| | | Distance |
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|---------+---------+----------|
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| #a0acf5 | #87c8ff | 13.2249 |
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| #87c8ff | #cfa6ff | 24.2411 |
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| #cfa6ff | #a0acf5 | 11.7710 |
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#+TBLFM: $3='(ct-name-distance $1 $2);%0.4f
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</code></pre>
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<h2>Contrast compared to the main (and relevant) background values</h2>
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<p>For the sake of completeness, the following tables confirm that the new
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values are consistent with the overarching design principle of the
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themes for a minimum contrast in relative luminance between background
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and foreground of 7:1 or higher.</p>
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<pre><code>#+DESCRIPTION: Modus Operandi WCAG contrast for select "faint" colours
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| | #ffffff | #f8f8f8 | #f0f0f0 |
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|---------+---------+---------+---------|
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| #005077 | 8.70 | 8.19 | 7.63 |
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| #125458 | 8.63 | 8.12 | 7.57 |
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| #003497 | 10.84 | 10.20 | 9.51 |
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| #0f3d8c | 10.16 | 9.57 | 8.92 |
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| #001087 | 14.75 | 13.89 | 12.94 |
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| #7b206f | 9.22 | 8.68 | 8.09 |
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| #55348e | 9.26 | 8.72 | 8.12 |
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#+TBLFM: $2='(ct-contrast-ratio $1 @1$2);%0.2f :: $3='(ct-contrast-ratio $1 @1$3);%0.2f :: $4='(ct-contrast-ratio $1 @1$4);%0.2f
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#+DESCRIPTION: Modus Vivendi WCAG contrast for select "faint" colours
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| | #000000 | #110b11 | #181a20 |
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|---------+---------+---------+---------|
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| #a0acf5 | 9.71 | 9.00 | 8.05 |
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| #87c8ff | 11.74 | 10.87 | 9.72 |
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| #cfa6ff | 10.55 | 9.77 | 8.74 |
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#+TBLFM: $2='(ct-contrast-ratio $1 @1$2);%0.2f :: $3='(ct-contrast-ratio $1 @1$3);%0.2f :: $4='(ct-contrast-ratio $1 @1$4);%0.2f
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</code></pre>
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<p>As has been noted before, such as in the recent review of the <a href="https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2020-12-27-modus-themes-review-rainbow-delimiters/">faces
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that pertain to the rainbow-delimiters package</a>,
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there are a lot of considerations to be made when designing a theme. My
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opinion is that this endeavour stands at the intersection of art and
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science. We employ scientific insight in support of our choices, while
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we exercise artistic judgement or freedom in interpreting the propriety
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of every result in its particular context. And we do so in a
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non-dogmatic way, meaning that we are prepared at all times to review
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our work and challenge our assumptions.</p>
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<p>Consequently and despite the fact that we remain committed to the
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minimum 7:1 contrast ratio, we cannot tolerate some inadequate technique
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of procedurally picking colours which conform with a target of that
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sort, nor can we confine ourselves to arbitrary constraints such as
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relying only on 4, 8, 16 colours or whatnot. Constraints need be
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conducive to the primary design objectives and must thus remain subject
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to continuous interpretation and evaluation, in order to stay in sync
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with the evolving requirements of the project.</p>
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<p>It is the designer who sets the constraints and delineates the
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boundaries of their artistic discretion, so that there necessarily
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exists an element of auto-nomy (self-determination) as opposed to
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hetero-nomy (determined by an other [source]), pursuant to the tenets of
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the project. The minimum contrast ratio is inviolable, yet there is
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wide range of scenaria that remains to be tested and carefully examined
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even after accounting for that principle.</p>
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