One colour rule
Never make colour the only way to understand a chart. Use colour plus a label, icon, pattern, line style, or direct text.
Your dashboard may be opened on a phone, projector, or low-brightness laptop during judging. The meaning should survive all three.
Why this matters
Many people cannot easily tell red from green, or blue from purple. Even users with normal vision struggle when colours are low contrast or too similar.
A recruiter or judge should not need to guess which line is which. If your chart answers a project question, the colour choices must help that answer.
Choose safer colours
Do each one yourself, then tap it to tick it off. The ticks are only a checklist for you: they are not marked or scored.
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Common colour mistake
Beginners often use bright random colours because the chart looks more active. That can make the chart harder to read.
Do not use colour like decoration. Use it to separate groups, highlight a finding, or show status.
Check with AI
You can ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude to review your colour plan. Paste your chart labels and colour hex codes.
Check the reply yourself. AI may say a palette is accessible without testing actual contrast. Use a contrast checker for text and important labels.
Accessible chart colours
This small Chart.js example uses blue and orange instead of red and green. It also labels each dataset, so colour is not the only clue.
The dashed line gives another visual difference. This helps when colours look similar.
const data = {
labels: ['Mon', 'Tue', 'Wed', 'Thu', 'Fri'],
datasets: [
{
label: 'Successful UPI payments',
data: [42, 55, 61, 58, 70],
borderColor: '#0072B2',
backgroundColor: '#0072B2',
tension: 0.2
},
{
label: 'Failed UPI payments',
data: [8, 6, 7, 5, 4],
borderColor: '#D55E00',
backgroundColor: '#D55E00',
borderDash: [6, 4],
tension: 0.2
}
]
};Test your chart
Do each one yourself, then tap it to tick it off. The ticks are only a checklist for you: they are not marked or scored.
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Do this now
Do each one yourself, then tap it to tick it off. The ticks are only a checklist for you: they are not marked or scored.
0 of 5 done