← VCE Spreadsheets, SQL & Visualisation

Using colour in a visualisation

A small, consistent set of colours where each colour has one meaning. Use the same colour for the same category, and never rely on colour alone, so colour-blind viewers can still read it.

Part of: VCE Applied Computing - U1O1 - Data analysis — Module 82, VCE Data Analytics - U3O1 - Data Analytics — Module 120, VCE Data Analytics - U4O1 - Development and Evaluation — Module 69, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 2 — Data-Driven Problems and Solution Requirements — Module 124, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 3 — Interactions Between Users, Data and Digital Systems — Module 141

Understanding Using colour in a visualisation in VCE Spreadsheets, SQL & Visualisation

What it does: Adding line styles and labels carries the information in a second way, so it does not depend on colour alone. Blue and orange are easy to tell apart for most colour-blind viewers, while red and green are often confused. A limited palette keeps the visualisation clear. Too many colours make it hard to tell what each one means. Use the same colour for the same category across the whole visualisation so viewers do not have to relearn the meaning. A good palette gives each colour a purpose, such as one colour per category. Colours must be used consistently. If one colour has two meanings, viewers will misread the data.

Common mistakes: A palette should be small. Twelve colours is too many to tell apart or remember. It should be about 3, as in the correct line. The same category must keep the same colour in every chart. Cats is orange in chart1, so it must stay orange in chart2, not change to green.

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Free printable worksheet with full answer key — or add this module to a class and your students practise it interactively.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 71–86) and word search (Modules 55–86).

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Learning
Duo
A student's dashboard uses 12 different bright colours for one chart. What is the better choice?
Use a small palette of a few coloursAdd even more colours so it looks lively
Matches
Pass = green, Fail = red (no labels or symbols)
↓
Relies on colour alone, so a red-green colour-blind viewer cannot tell Pass from Fail. Add text labels or symbols.
Applying
Meanings
Term
colour palette
Meaning
A small, consistent set of colours where each colour has one meaning. Use the same colour for the same category, and never rely on colour alone, so colour-blind viewers can still read it.
Practice
<style>
Testing
Gaps
= ["navy", "orange", "grey"]
Check Answer
Spots
1palette_size = 12
2colour(Sales) = navy

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Quick Questions

1. A student's dashboard uses 12 different bright colours for one chart. What is the better choice?
A. Add even more colours so it looks lively
B. Use a small palette of a few colours ✓
A limited palette keeps the visualisation clear. Too many colours make it hard to tell what each one means.
2. Your bar chart shows Sales, Support and Admin in blue, green and orange. On the next chart in the same report, which choice is better?
A. Keep Sales blue, Support green and Admin orange ✓
B. Swap the colours so each chart looks different
Use the same colour for the same category across the whole visualisation so viewers do not have to relearn the meaning.
3. Which statement about colour in a visualisation is correct?
A. Each colour in the palette should have one clear meaning ✓
B. Colours should be picked at random for variety
A good palette gives each colour a purpose, such as one colour per category.
4. A map uses only red and green to show 'fail' and 'pass'. How can you make it easier for colour-blind viewers?
A. Make the red and green brighter
B. Add labels, icons or patterns as well as colour ✓
Never rely on colour alone. Labels, icons or patterns carry the information even if the colours look the same.
5. True or false: A red and green pairing is a colour-blind safe choice.
A. False ✓
B. True
Red and green can look very similar to people with red-green colour blindness. Blue and orange is a safer pairing.

Match the Pairs

palette = ["navy", "orange", "grey"] → A limited palette: a small set of colours chosen on purpose, rather than a rainbow of random colours
Sales = blue, Costs = blue → Same colour for the same category in every chart, so the viewer learns what each colour means
Colour should not be the only way to show information, so colour-blind viewers can still read the chart → line style = solid or dashed + direct label
A colour-blind safe choice uses colours that differ in lightness, such as blue and orange, instead of red and green → colours = ["blue", "orange"]
Pass = green, Fail = red (no labels or symbols) → Relies on colour alone, so a red-green colour-blind viewer cannot tell Pass from Fail. Add text labels or symbols.
palette = [red, blue, green, pink, yellow, purple, lime, teal] → Too many colours in the palette. Reduce it to a few colours, each with one clear meaning.

Key Term

colour palette
A small, consistent set of colours where each colour has one meaning. Use the same colour for the same category, and never rely on colour alone, so colour-blind viewers can still read it.

Fill in the Blanks

1. palette = ["navy", "orange", "grey"]
Hint: Type the variable name for the small, consistent set of colours
2. colour_of("Sales") = "blue" bar.fill = colour_of("Sales")
Hint: Type the function name that looks up the one colour used for a category
3. if len(palette) > 5: print("Too many colours")
Hint: Type the comparison operator that checks whether the palette is too big
4. if not has_labels: add_labels(chart)
Hint: Type the keyword that reverses the condition, so labels are added when they are missing
5. chart.set_palette("colourblind_safe")
Hint: Type the method name that applies a chosen set of colours to the chart

Spot the Error

Question 1
A palette_size = 12
B colour(Sales) = navy
C colour(Costs) = orange
D label_each_bar = true
Line A — A palette should be small. Twelve colours is too many to tell apart or remember. It should be about 3, as in the correct line.
Question 2
A chart1: colour(Cats) = orange
B chart1: colour(Dogs) = grey
C chart2: colour(Cats) = green
D chart2: colour(Dogs) = grey
Line C — The same category must keep the same colour in every chart. Cats is orange in chart1, so it must stay orange in chart2, not change to green.
Question 3
A title = Pass rate
B good = green, bad = red
C add_labels = true
Line B — Red and green look alike to many colour-blind viewers. Use a colour-blind safe pair such as blue and orange: good = blue, bad = orange.
Question 4
A colour(Cats) = navy
B style(Cats) = dashed
C colour(Dogs) = orange
D style(Dogs) = dashed
Line B — Both lines now share the same style, so colour is the only difference. Colour should not be the only way to carry information. Cats should keep a different style, such as solid.
Question 5
A colour(High) = dark_blue
B colour(Medium) = mid_blue
C colour(Low) = pink
D legend = true
Line C — Pink adds a colour outside the limited palette and breaks the dark-to-light blue scale. Low should be light_blue so the shades stay consistent.

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