Color

There are 3 main uses for color in a visualization:

• Patterns

• Labeling

• Highlighting

We encode quantities with color to visualize patterns in the data. Segmentation and heat maps are popular examples for this.

Color can also be used to label or group items together.

Highlighting is used to allow the viewer to focus on a specific part of the visualization. For example, highlighting a certain line in a line chart that has multiple lines.

This section deals with 3 aspects of color in visualization:

1. Color Perception

2. Color Specification

3. Color Use