Have a set of objects ready on the canvas that you want to make color changes to. In this example, we have the sales by region chart, a pie chart, and a set of backgrounds.

As you can see, the default color scheme initially looked kind of bland and the coloring for each series in the pie chart was very similar, making it tough to decipher between each of the series. Changing it to the Concourse color scheme lightens up the background considerably with a light blue background that is easy on the eyes. In addition, the series on the pie chart is more distinguishable; however, the blues in our opinion are still too similar. We can fix that by modifying the color scheme, which will be explained in the next recipe.

Using a good coloring scheme requires a lot of trial and error and there are many best practices that need to be accounted for. For example, different series on a chart should be colored differently so that users don't have to spend a lot of time figuring out which bar belongs to which series.

We also want colors that are soothing to the eyes. Colors that are too bright or too dark may cause strain on the eyes, thus making it more difficult to find information.

When going through color schemes, it is best to show a demo to the end users who will be using the dashboard and go with a coloring scheme that is most comfortable to their eyes, as it will allow them to find information more easily.