Riso
ChartBeauty house colours: fluorescent pink and print blue.
#ff3d8b #1d3a6b #0f9b9b #ffb000 #8a5cf6 #ff7a45
All colours stay distinct in this view (closest pair ΔE 42)
ChartBeauty / Chart colour palettes
Chart colour palettes
Ten palettes with hex codes, checked the way your audience will actually see them. Switch the vision mode to preview each one through the most common types of colour blindness.
Okabe–Ito
Designed by Masataka Okabe and Kei Ito to stay distinct for all common colour-vision types.
#e69f00 #56b4e9 #009e73 #f0e442 #0072b2 #d55e00 #cc79a7
All colours stay distinct in this view (closest pair ΔE 26)
Tol bright
Paul Tol’s qualitative scheme, tested for colour-blind readers.
#4477aa #ee6677 #228833 #ccbb44 #66ccee #aa3377
All colours stay distinct in this view (closest pair ΔE 35)
Viridis
Perceptually uniform ramp from matplotlib; ideal for ordered data.
#440154 #3b528b #21918c #5ec962 #fde725
All colours stay distinct in this view (closest pair ΔE 38)
Sunset
Warm-to-cool; lively on light backgrounds.
#f94144 #f3722c #f8961e #f9c74f #90be6d #43aa8b
All colours stay distinct in this view (closest pair ΔE 22)
Ocean mono
Single-hue blues; calm and on-brand for finance and tech.
#03256c #2541b2 #1768ac #06bee1 #9adcf0
All colours stay distinct in this view (closest pair ΔE 21)
Candy
Soft brights for lifestyle and beauty accounts.
#ff5d8f #ff97b7 #7bdff2 #b2f7ef #ffd166 #c77dff
All colours stay distinct in this view (closest pair ΔE 18)
Earth
Muted naturals for food, travel and wellness.
#7f5539 #b08968 #606c38 #283618 #dda15e #bc6c25
All colours stay distinct in this view (closest pair ΔE 20)
Neon night
Maximum punch on the dark background.
#39ff14 #ff2079 #00e5ff #ffe600 #b026ff
All colours stay distinct in this view (closest pair ΔE 73)
Ink mono
Greyscale; lets one highlighted colour do the talking.
#111827 #374151 #6b7280 #9ca3af #d1d5db
All colours stay distinct in this view (closest pair ΔE 19)
Test your own brand colours
Pick up to five colours. The strip is re-drawn for each colour-vision type using the Machado, Oliveira and Fernandes (2009) model, and each swatch is checked against WCAG’s 3:1 minimum for chart elements on a white background.
A ΔE (colour difference) under about 12 means two colours are easy to mix up in a small chart legend.
Typical vision
Deuteranopia
Protanopia
Tritanopia
Greyscale
vs white3.311.23.41.84.2
How to choose chart colours
- Match the palette to the data. Unordered categories (platforms, products) need different hues. Ordered values (low to high) need one hue getting darker, or a perceptually uniform ramp like Viridis.
- Don’t rely on colour alone. Label slices and bars directly, as ChartBeauty does, so the chart still works in greyscale.
- Highlight with restraint. Grey out everything except the one category your post is about.
- Check contrast against your background. Pale yellows and mints often fail the 3:1 minimum on white; they work better on the dark background.
Questions
What is a good colour palette for charts?
For categories, use a qualitative palette with clearly different hues, such as Okabe–Ito or Paul Tol’s bright scheme, which were designed to stay distinguishable for colour-blind readers. For ordered data (low to high), use a single-hue or perceptually uniform ramp such as Viridis.
How many colours should a chart use?
As few as the data needs. Five to seven distinct categorical colours is the practical limit before readers start confusing them; beyond that, group categories or highlight one and grey out the rest.
How common is colour blindness?
Red–green colour vision deficiency affects roughly 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women of Northern European descent, according to the NHS and the Colour Blind Awareness organisation. On a post with thousands of views, many readers see your chart differently.
What contrast do chart colours need?
WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 3:1 contrast between meaningful graphical objects and their background (success criterion 1.4.11). The table on this page checks every colour against white and dark backgrounds.
Can I use these palettes in the chart maker?
Yes, every palette here is one click away in the Style panel of every ChartBeauty chart maker, and you can save your choice as your brand kit.