Our latest version of Mekko Graphics now gives you the ability to have multiple custom palettes for your charts. Here you will find palettes that we have created to make it easy for you to download and change the look of your charts quickly.
Using Color the in Your Charts
When you use color the right way it will enhance and clarify a presentation. An effective use of color will group related items and point your attention to the important information. You want to present your information in an organized manner, making it easy for the viewer to understand the roles and the relationships between the elements.
Backgrounds
As a general rule, you should use a white background for your charts and graphs. While dark backgrounds were historically recommended for projected slides or computer displays to minimize the problem of projector light washing out visuals and text when displayed in a dark room, this is no longer the case. Modern displays and digital projectors are bright enough that they can be viewed in normal room lighting.
Choosing Colors in a Palette
It’s not always a good idea to apply all the colors in the palette at the same time. Using too many colors in a single chart can be confusing. Making strategic color choices to compare and contrast your data effectively will make your chart much more meaningful.
Contrast and Analogy
Contrast and analogy are the principles that define color design. Contrast is used to separate segments or categories. Analogy is used to group items together.
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In this chart two color groups are used to differentiate two categories, project back log of less than or more than 80 hours. Analogous colors are used for segments within the same group; blue tones for segments in the more than 80 hours group and green tones for segments in the less than 80 hours group.
In this chart contrasting colors are used to distinguish distinct segments that are not related to each other.
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In this chart a contrasting color is used to highlight one key series of of data.
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