Will the real (map) shading, please stand up?

Whilst at university, as a geography undergraduate, I was used to hearing the old stereotype that my course was all about ‘colouring in’. Part of me wished it was a case of choosing the right crayons… However, a few years down the line, in the world of geospatial analysis, besides all the fascinating analysis we do, sometimes the basics of picking the right colours is indeed important to make output legible and accessible. Although ArcGIS and other GIS packages provide built in colour transitions and symbologies, sometimes, especially with web development, a surprising amount of time can be taken getting colours correct, whether this be chloropleth maps, print outs or making it colour blindness accessible (see more here from Europa Technologies).