Concept
1. The palette (5 colours is enough)
| Role | Use for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Neutral dark | text, numbers, titles | #1F2937 (charcoal) |
| Neutral light | non-highlighted bars, gridlines, borders | #D1D5DB (light grey) |
| Background | sheet / card background | #FFFFFF or #F7F7F7 |
| Accent | the ONE thing you want noticed | #1F4E78 (brand blue) |
| Semantic | good / warning / bad — status only | #1B873F green · #D97706 amber · #C62828 red |
Write the hex codes on your Documentation sheet (Module 8) and reuse them everywhere.
2. One accent colour
Grey everything, then colour only what matters: the current year's line (last year in grey), the selected region's bar, the KPI that's off-track. When everything is coloured, nothing stands out.
3. Semantic colours mean status — nothing else
Red and green should only ever mean bad and good. Don't use green as "Electronics" and red as "Furniture" — viewers will read them as good/bad. And remember direction: for costs, lower is green (Analysis track, Module 7).
4. Set it up in Excel
- Theme colours: Page Layout → Colors → Customize Colors → set Accent 1 = your accent, Accent 2–6 = greys/semantic → save as "ExcelWalaa Dashboard". New charts and shapes then use your palette automatically.
- Cell styles: Home → Cell Styles → New Cell Style for "KPI Value", "KPI Label", "Section Title" — change once, update everywhere.
- Chart template: format one chart → right-click → Save as Template (.crtx); use Insert → Charts → Templates next time.
5. Accessibility
About 1 in 12 men has some colour-vision deficiency, most commonly red–green.
- Never rely on colour alone: add ▲▼, "+/−", or words ("Behind target").
- Prefer blue/orange for two-series comparisons instead of red/green.
- Use enough contrast: dark text on light background (contrast ratio 4.5:1 or more for normal text). Avoid light grey text on white for numbers.
- Test: take a screenshot and view it in grayscale — can you still tell the series and statuses apart?
6. Backgrounds and dark mode
White or very light grey backgrounds print well and match most reports. Dark dashboards look dramatic on a TV but print badly and reduce contrast for small text — use only for wall screens.
Common mistakes
A different colour for every bar (Excel's "Vary colors by point"). Red/green for categories. Pale text that fails contrast. Gradients and 3-D shading.