Updated: September 25, 2017

Chart – Color Palettes

Intro

This article explains how to use the three chart color palettes: semantic, sequential and qualitative. For color names and HEX values, see palette colors – values and names.

Palette Overview

Semantic Color Palette

Used to visualize the notion of good or bad.

Sequential Color Palette

Used to visualize increases and decreases.

Qualitative Color Palette

Used to differentiate data points.

Default Colors

By default every chart type comes with built in colors which are automatically applied according to your dataset. Here are three examples:

1. When only one series is displayed, the first color from the qualitative palette is automatically applied to each item.

Column chart: One series
Column chart: One series

2. When a multiple series is displayed, more colors from the qualitative palette are automatically applied to each item in the predetermined sequence.

Column chart: Three series
Column chart: Three series

3. Colors from the sequential palette are automatically applied to the heatmap.

Default colors in a heatmap
Default colors in a heatmap

Changing the Colors

There are three main reasons why you might want to change the colors in charts:

Highlight A Category

In this example, one category has been highlighted using the second color from the qualitative palette.

Column chart with one color for one specific category
Column chart with one color for one specific category

Compare Series

In this example, two series use different shades of the same color hue.

 

Column chart with two series with two different colors.
Column chart with two series with two different colors.

Encode Values

In this example, the semantic color palette has been applied to the chart so that the data points are now red if their value is below a certain threshold, green if their value is above another threshold, and orange if their value is between the two.

Column chart with colors based on values
Column chart with colors based on values
Developer Hint
Custom colors need to be defined in the property: plotArea.dataPointStyle. When you use custom colors, you should define colors for all data points. If no color has been assigned to a particular data point, the chart component automatically assigns the color black to indicate that no color has been assigned. If for some reason multiple colors are assigned to the same data point, the last assigned color will be applied. Lastly, you must manually define the labels that are associated with the colors in the legend as the chart components cannot automatically do this.

Rules

1) Only use colors contained in the Fiori chart palettes

You should only use colors from the SAP Fiori color palettes to ensure that we maintain visual design consistency across all charts used in all SAP Fiori applications.

2) Only use one palette per chart

Each palette has been carefully designed to serve a distinct purpose. If you combine colors from different palettes in the same chart, you will the defeat their purpose.

3) Use color names – Don’t use HEX values!

Colors are defined by names in order to support our theming capabilities. This means that the HEX values of the colors may not be exactly the same in past, present and future SAP Fiori visual design themes. This flexibility is made possible by the fact that the color names will stay the same across all past, present and future SAP Fiori visual design themes. You can get the color names and corresponding HEX values from the article on color palettes – values and names.

Qualitative Palette

There are are eleven colors in the qualitative color palette which are used to differentiate data points without carrying any semantic meaning. The palette has been carefully designed so that each colour is visually distinct from each other.

This means that you should not choose to use a particular color simply because you would prefer it over the others. We recommend that you use the colors in the sequence illustrated above.

Below are two examples of how the qualitative color palette can be used.

qualitative palette
qualitative palette

Highlight Category Items

By default all the categories will use the first color from the qualitative palette. However, you can use other colors from the qualitative palette if you want to highlight category items.

Using the qualitative palette to focus on a category item
Using the qualitative palette to focus on a category item

Group Items by Color

You can use the qualitative palette to group items into categories. In this example, we use orange for Europe, blue for America, and green for Asia.

Using the qualitative palette to show a hierarchy
Using the qualitative palette to show a hierarchy

Semantic Palette

The semantic color palette is used to visualize the notion of good or bad through three universally-recognized semantic color hues in six shades. These shades allow you to express degrees (such as good or bad, safe or critical, and so on). Gray can be applied to neutral values.

Here some ways that you can use the semantic color palette:

Semantic palette
Semantic palette

Illustrate the Top Three Values

This column chart uses the semantic palette to display sales revenue per month. The color green is used to highlight the top three months with the highest revenue.

Column chart: Top three values
Column chart: Top three values

Show Positive and Negative Series

These stacked bars represent the availability of materials. The available series is green, the inspection series is orange, and the blocked series is red.

Stacked bars: Good and bad values
Stacked bars: Good and bad values

Vizualize Good or Bad Values

Each data point has a color based on its value. Data points are now red if their value is below a certain threshold, green if their value is above another threshold, and orange if their value is between the two.

Column chart: Good and bad values
Column chart: Good and bad values

Visualize Degrees

In this geomap, green is used to indicate states with good performance, and red is used to indicate states with bad performance. The different shades of each color hue express different levels of good and bad performance.

Geomap: Levels of performance
Geomap: Levels of performance

Default Shades

The default shades are:

  • sapUiChartPaletteSemanticNeutral
  • sapUiChartPaletteSemanticGood
  • sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBad
  • sapUiChartPaletteSemanticCritical
Column chart: Level 1 of the semantic palette
Column chart: Level 1 of the semantic palette

Picking the Correct Shade

Please note that the system described below also applies to the other color hues in the semantic palette.

Number of Degrees

Shades to Use

Color Names

One Degree

sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBad

Two Degrees

sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadLight2
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBad

Three Degrees

sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadLight2
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBad
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadDark2

Four Degrees

sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadLight2
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadLight1
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBad
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadDark1

Five Degrees

sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadLight2
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadLight1
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBad
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadDark1
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadDark2

Six Degrees

sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadLight3
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadLight2
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadLight1
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBad
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadDark1
sapUiChartPaletteSemanticBadDark2

Sequential Palette

The sequential color palette consists of four color hues: blue, green, yellow and gray.

The first three color hues carry no semantic meaning. The semantic meaning is purely communicated through six shades that can be used to express different values. The gray hue does carry semantic meaning of neutral.

Indeed, even if customers change the color hues, there will always be six shades in their new palette. This means that you should not choose to use a particular color simply because you prefer it over the others. Therefore, we recommend that you use blue for one sequence, with green if you have two sequences, and yellow if you have three sequences.

Here some ways you can use the sequential color palette:

Sequential palette
Sequential palette

Distinguish Past and Present

These two series use the same hue (the first hue of the sequential palette). Use different gradations of brightness to distinguish between last year and the current year.

Column chart: Two series
Column chart: Two series

Show Time Gradation

These stacked bars represent payable aging by country. The different gradations of brightness are used to represent different time periods.

Stacked bars: Time gradation
Stacked bars: Time gradation

Show Different Levels

This bullet chart shows direct costs in a dark shade and indirect costs in a light shade.

Bullet chart: Different levels
Bullet chart: Different levels

Ranked Values

In this bubble chart, the size of the bubbles represents future sales deals. The probability of converting these deals is expressed using different shades of blue.

Bubble chart: Ranked values
Bubble chart: Ranked values

Multiple Levels in Two Groups

In this geomap, one color hue from the palette is used for some of the states and different color hue is used for all the other states. The different shades express different levels.

Geomap: Multiple levels in two groups
Geomap: Multiple levels in two groups

Choosing the Correct Shade for Multiple Levels

Please note that the system described below also applies to the other color hues in the sequential palette.

Number of Levels

Shades to Use

Color Names

One level

sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1

Two levels

sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Light2
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1

Three levels

sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Light2
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Dark2

Four levels

sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Light2
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Light1
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Dark1

Five levels

sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Light2
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Light1
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Dark1
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Dark2

Six levels

sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Light3
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Light2
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Light1
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Dark1
sapUiChartPaletteSequentialHue1Dark2

Resources

Want to dive deeper? Follow the links below to find out more about related controls, the SAPUI5 implementation, and the visual design.

Elements and Controls