Stop 05 · Data VisualizationTopics · 3/10

Color Theory for Dashboards

In short

Colour is the loudest thing on a chart. Use it everywhere and nothing stands out. Use it on purpose and you can point the reader's eye exactly where you want.

Using color with intent — a single accent color to highlight the key insight, sequential palettes for ordered data, and colorblind-safe palettes so charts remain readable for everyone.

The jaadu with a palette paints grey bars on an easel and one bright orange bar.

Think of it like this

The one orange cone on the road

A long grey road with one bright orange cone: you notice the cone instantly, without trying. That's how colour should work on a dashboard. Keep most things calm and grey, and save the bright colour for the one thing that needs attention.

Watch it happen

Rainbow vs purposeful colour

Every bar a colour

Eye has nowhere to land
Colours suggest meaning that isn't there
Hard for colour-blind readers

Grey plus one accent

The key bar stands out instantly
Colour carries one clear meaning
Works in print and for most viewers

Default to grey. Add one accent colour for the point you're making, and keep its meaning the same across the dashboard.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Categorical palettes

Distinct colours for unordered groups like cities. Keep it to a handful, or readers can't tell them apart.

Sequential palettes

Light to dark of one hue for ordered values, like low to high sales.

Diverging palettes

Two hues meeting at a neutral middle, for values above and below a target or zero.

Colour-blind safe

Avoid relying on red vs green alone. Blue and orange is a common safer pair.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Using red for 'North region' on one chart and for 'loss' on another.

Do this instead

Give each colour one meaning across the whole dashboard and stick to it.

Oops

Using a rainbow scale for ordered numbers.

Do this instead

Use a single-hue light-to-dark scale. Rainbows have no natural order to the eye.

Your mission

Recolour a chart

~20 min

Quick check

You're showing profit change by city, with some cities above zero and some below. Which palette fits?

Go deeper

1Rebuild a chart using one accent color instead of a rainbow of colors.
2Check a chart's palette against a colorblind simulator.
3Learn the difference between sequential, diverging and categorical color palettes.