Using Color in Statistical Graphs and Maps

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the general topic of color in the design of informational graphics. It is intended to promote effective usage of color, some of the components of which are a) purposeful, information-laden graphics, b) clarity, i.e., graphics that are relatively transparent to the information, c) efficiency, i.e., graphics that can be read quickly, and d) “truthfulness,” i.e., graphics that transmit information that stands up to scrutiny. It promotes, at least implicitly, avoidance of color as chart junk, map junk, or multimedia junk—uses that are at best non-functional and at worst take our attention away from the information on which we should be focusing (cf. Tufte, 1983).