Using Color Effectively

Color is the first thing your audience sees. Used well, it guides attention and reinforces meaning. Used poorly, it creates confusion and misleads.

The one-color rule

Use one color to highlight the most important element in your chart. Everything else should be neutral (gray, light blue). This is the single most impactful change most people can make to their charts.

Before: every bar in a bar chart is a different color.

After: all bars are gray except the one you're talking about, which is highlighted in your brand color.

Semantic color

Some colors carry meaning that your audience will apply whether you intend it or not:

Use semantic color intentionally. If you color something red but it's not negative, you'll confuse your audience.

Accessibility

About 8% of men and 0.5% of women have some form of color vision deficiency. The most common is red-green color blindness. Avoid using red and green to distinguish between two important categories. Use blue and orange instead.