Everyday Data Visualization

4 Choosing colors

This chapter covers

• The subtractive and additive models of color
• Some common color spaces you’ll encounter
• Where to find premade color palettes and how to make them for yourself
• How to choose inclusive colors

I don’t know about you, but I cannot intuitively match colors to save my life. I kid you not, I legitimately keep a little color wheel in my closet that I use when picking out my clothes on those rare days when I leave my house to do something besides grocery shopping. So, while I can’t promise that this chapter will tell you a secret that will magically demystify how to create a nice color palette (i.e., a group of colors that go nicely together for use in a design), I do promise to help you understand color better, ...