chapter four

4 Choosing colors

 

This chapter covers

  • The subtractive and additive models of color
  • Some common color spaces you’ll encounter
  • Where to find pre-made color palettes, and how to make them for yourself
  • Choosing inclusive colors

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

4.1 A little (or maybe big) bit of color theory

4.1.1 The additive model of color

4.1.2 The primary colors of light

4.1.3 The subtractive model of color

4.1.4 Color vision deficiency

4.2 A few color spaces

4.2.1 RGB space

4.2.2 HSB or HSV space

4.2.3 HSL space

4.2.4 The CIELAB or L*a*b* color space

4.3 Different kinds of color palettes and how to make them

4.3.1 Continuous palettes

4.3.2 Discrete palettes

4.3.3 Coming up with categorical color palettes

4.4 Inclusive color palettes

4.4.1 Designing for color blindness

4.4.2 WCAG and color guidelines

4.4.3 Colors across cultures

4.5 Summary

4.6 References