Colours

afcharts provides colour palettes as set out by the Government Analysis Function.

These palettes have been developed to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 for graphical objects. The colours in the main palette for categorical data all have at least a 3:1 colour contrast ratio with white (#ffffff), as well as with adjacent colours in the palette.

Things to consider when using colour

Using afcharts colour palettes does not guarantee that your charts will be accessible. The Government Analysis Function has published guidance on other steps you should take to ensure the accessible use of colour. afcharts should be used in conjunction with the advice given in these guidance documents.

The following are a few key things to consider when using colour in data visualisations:

Only use colour if absolutely necessary
Do not rely on colour alone to communicate a message
Use colour consistently when producing a series of plots
Limit the number of different colours you use; ideally an absolute maximum of four
Use colour palettes in the order presented to ensure adjacent colours have sufficient contrast with each other

Government Analysis Function colour palettes

The Government Analysis Function guidance also contains suggested colour palettes. These are provided in afcharts. To use an Analysis Function palette, set palette_type = "af" when using any of the scale_ colour functions.

Main palette

The main palette should be used with categorical data.

Note: the cells in the ‘Example of colour’ column may appear blank to screen reader software. They contain a colour fill, but no data.

Colour name	Hex code	Example of colour
dark-blue	#12436D
turquoise	#28A197
dark-pink	#801650
orange	#F46A25

The main2 palette should be used if only two colours are required as the dark blue and orange colours have the best colour contrast with each other. If only two colours are required and another palette from the main family is used, main2 will be used instead.

Note: the cells in the ‘Example of colour’ column may appear blank to screen reader software. They contain a colour fill, but no data.

Colour name	Hex code	Example of colour
dark-blue	#12436D
orange	#F46A25

The main6 palette is available if an extended palette is required.

Note: the cells in the ‘Example of colour’ column may appear blank to screen reader software. They contain a colour fill, but no data.

Colour name	Hex code	Example of colour
dark-blue	#12436D
turquoise	#28A197
dark-pink	#801650
orange	#F46A25
dark-grey	#3D3D3D
light-purple	#A285D1

Sequential palette

The sequential colour palette should be used for data where the order has some meaning.

Note: the cells in the ‘Example of colour’ column may appear blank to screen reader software. They contain a colour fill, but no data.

Colour name	Hex code	Example of colour
dark-blue	#12436D
mid-blue	#2073BC
light-blue	#6BACE6

As this palette is restricted to tints of one colour, there are issues with colour contrast. Follow the advice for using the sequential palette in the Government Analysis Function colour guidance when using this palette.

Focus palette

The focus palette should be used to highlight specific elements of a plot.

Note: the cells in the ‘Example of colour’ column may appear blank to screen reader software. They contain a colour fill, but no data.

Colour name	Hex code	Example of colour
dark-blue	#12436D
grey	#BFBFBF

The light grey colour in this palette does not have sufficient colour contrast against a white background and therefore this palette should only be used when it is essential to communicate your message. Follow the advice for using the focus palette in the Government Analysis Function colour guidance when using this palette.

Using your own colour palette

There may be instances where you’d like to use a different colour palette. If so, this should be carefully considered to ensure it meets accessibility requirements. The Government Analysis Function guidance outlines appropriate steps for choosing your own accessible colour palette and should be used.

An example of how to use an alternative colour palette is provided in the cookbook. However, if you use a different palette regularly and feel it would be useful for this to be added to afcharts, please make a suggestion as per the contributing guidance.

Viewing Palettes in R

Names and hex codes for available colours and palettes can be viewed by running the following code:

# View names and hex codes for all colours
afcharts::af_colour_values

# View names and hex codes for all colour palettes
afcharts::af_colour_palettes

# View names and hex codes for `main` colour palette
afcharts::af_colour_palettes$main

Examples of how to apply these palettes to ggplot2 charts are available in both the cookbook and the reference files for scale_ colour functions.