Don't do this with color

Let's continue the color in data viz conversation.

Color can be used to add emphasis or highlight information in a data viz. It can also be applied to numbers in visualizations like heat maps or geographic maps.

We perceive darker colors to mean greater or more important.

So, when highlighting information, it works best to use a darker color for the important data point where you want your audience to focus and a light color for the other parts of the visualization.

This also applies to using color to show actual values. We always want to use the darkest color for the highest value and the lightest color for the lowest value.

So, don't do this:

This is an example of what not to do because the darkest color is used for the lowest value and the lightest color is used for the highest value.

Instead, do this:

This is an example of what to do because the lightest color is used for the lowest value and the darkest color is used for the highest value

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