Data has become the most powerful tool in business today, and telling its story effectively is critical. Yet one of the best communicators—color—is the most neglected tool in data visualization. With this book, DATAcated founder Kate Strachnyi provides the ultimate guide to the correct use of color for representing data in graphs, charts, tables, and infographics.

Ideal for data and business analysts, data scientists, and others who design infographics and data visualizations, this practical resource explores color tips and tricks, including the theories behind them and why they work the way they do. ColorWise covers the psychology, history, and culture of many different colors. This book is also a useful teaching tool for learning about proper use of color for data storytelling techniques and dashboarding.

You'll explore:

• The role that color theory plays in data visualization and storytelling
• Various color techniques you can use to improve data visualizations
• How colors affect your audience's understanding of data visualizations
• How to use color intentionally to help guide your audience
• Tips for using colors that people with color vision deficiency can interpret
• How to apply the book's guidelines for use in your own projects

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Color Theory and History

Chapter 2. Data Visualization and Data Storytelling

Chapter 3. Types of Colors Used in Data Visualization

Chapter 4. How to Tell a Story with Color

Chapter 5. Selecting a Color Scheme for Your Data Visualization

Chapter 6. Data Visualization Color Tips

Chapter 7. Accessibility and Addressing Color Blindness

Chapter 8. Color and Cultural Design Considerations

Chapter 9. Common Pitfalls of Color Use in Data Storytelling

Chapter 1 0. Additional Examples

It’s the day of the big interview for the job you’ve been after all your life. You wake up extra early, eat a healthy, energizing breakfast, take a 30-minute jog to get all your synapses firing, and take a hot shower to feel fully ready to conquer the world. You’ve got your clothes all laid out to impress the interview team with your sense of style and professionalism and head out the door in your bright red jacket, lime green pants, and neon purple shirt. Look out world, here you come!

Cringeworthy, right? Unless the position you are interviewing for is a clown at the circus, those colors are not going to do the job today or any other day. We are extraordinarily cautious with the colors we choose to wear, the colors we paint our homes with, the colors we choose for our cars, even the colors we select for our oh-so-important smartphone cases!

Yet when it comes time to select colors for our infographics and data visualization creations, we often act like someone shook up a rainbow and spilled it all over the floor. Color is by far the most abused and neglected tool in data visualization. We abuse it by making color choices that make no sense, and we neglect it when we populate our hard work with software default settings, which are a good place to start but can be customized to suit your needs.

The lack of focus and commitment to color is a perplexing thing. When used correctly, color has no equal as a visualization tool—in advertising, in branding, in getting the message across to any audience you seek. Data analysts can make numbers dance and sing on command, but they sometimes struggle to create visually stimulating environments that convince the intended audience to tap their feet in time. Sales and marketing experts understand the customer’s mindset, but often cannot seem to help from turning simple charts and graphs into a kaleidoscope of shades and hues that require a roadmap to figure out which side is up.

Fortunately, in the preceding example, we don’t have to design our own fashions, although we do need to be responsible for being the best infographic tailors we can be to get color combinations that fit our purposes, engage our intended audiences, and draw the eye to the exact spot we want it to deliver the intended message every time.

Why I Wrote This Book

As founder of DATAcated, I see a staggering and frustrating amount of data visualizations where color is being poorly used on a weekly basis. Dozens of years ago when color was still a luxury on paper reports, and most businesses were still living in a black-and-white environment, misusing color wasn’t the death knell that it is today. But with every business worth its salt the world over now fully embracing the digital revolution, real-time collaboration, and all of the bells and whistles that go with these advances, knowing how to use color appropriately has evolved from a nicety to a necessity.

We learn about color from an early age, but understanding how it connects our eyes to our brains and how the proper usage can transform graphics is an elusive subject for many. That’s why I decided to undertake this book: to go on a mission to educate business and data professionals on the proper use of color.

The power of the internet and digital technology has clogged every industry and every niche with a glut of businesses all pursuing the same finite number of customers. That means companies need to scrape and claw for the type of differentiation that will elevate them away from the competition and crystalize why their offering is the best one on the market, whether that’s for end-use customers, in business-to-business (B2B) relationships, or to promote their own projects inside the company environment.

Who This Book Is For

The audience for this book includes data analysts, business analysts, data scientists, or anyone who has to deliver insights, design infographics and data visualizations, build dashboards, and tell data stories.

This book can be used as a reference when building data visualizations or as a teaching tool used to learn about proper use of color for data storytelling techniques and dashboarding.

Now that we’ve established the what, why, how, and who of this book, it’s time to dig in and take a tour through our own history, biology, and psychology to understand how we process color, how it has been used over time, and what powerful, often subconscious effects it has on our minds.

Review

"Everyday, in businesses all around the world, I see the unintentional mis-use of color, leading to poorer insights from data. The correct use of color can really propel data storytelling and dashboard design to new heights. Kate Strachnyi has done an amazing job pulling together everything you will ever need to know about the use of color for effective data visualisation."

- Bernard Marr, bestselling author of Data Strategy

"Color is one of the most important tools in your visual storytelling toolbox. Kate explores all the essential aspects of color and provides a comprehensive guide for how aspiring and experienced data storytellers can use it more effectively."

- Brent Dykes, Author, Effective Data Storytelling: How to Drive Change with Data, Narrative, and Visuals, Chief Data Storyteller, AnalyticsHero, LLC

"Color is one of those things we often take for granted, especially when it comes to data. Colorwise opened my mind to the ways color can be used to greatly improve the storytelling impact of data visualizations." 

- Joe Reis, Author of Fundamentals of Data Engineering, data engineer, recovering data scientist

"This book is a fun deep-dive into color theory and how the use of color can bring your data visualization to a whole new level. I love all the included graphics and examples included in this book; it makes the learning fun and easy. I'd recommend this book to ANY data professional focusing on conveying convincing stories through data visualization. If you want your visualizations to really "pop" and stand out to your audience, the use of color (and this book), are for you."

- Avery Smith, Founder of Data Career Jumpstart

"Kate is an expert at shining a light on Data Storytelling. She is able to both paint a vivid vision and bring light to shady details. Color is a powerful tool in Data Storytelling. But only you use it wisely. This book will teach you how!"

- Gilbert Eijkelenboom, Founder of MindSpeaking, Author of People Skills for Analytical Thinkers

From the Author

I absolutely loved working on this book. I can report back that it was a rollercoaster ride from the beginning to the end; full of ups, downs, and adventures. I'm extremely passionate about teaching others visual best practices for data storytelling and visualizaiton. ColorWise will help with this mission by demonstrating the steps required to intentionally use color to tell your data story.

About the Author

Kate Strachnyi is the Founder of DATAcated, providing brand amplification for data companies. Kate has delivered several courses and presentations on data storytelling, dashboard techniques, and visual best practices. Additionally, Kate is the host of the DATAcated Conference (that gathers thousands of data professionals) and the DATAcated On Air Podcast. Kate was appointed a LinkedIn Top Voice of Data Science & Analytics in 2018 & 2019.

She’s also the founder of the DATAcated Circle – a community for ALL data professionals to engage in discussions. The Circle is also a hub to receive training / educational resources on data visualization best practices. She’s the mother of two girls and enjoys running ultra-marathons and obstacle course races.