Harmonic Resolution
Translating Color Harmony into Data Color Schemes
In this writing, I discuss how to blend the concepts of Color Harmony with sequential, diverging and categorical Color Schemes for data visualization. By translating the fundamentals of Color Harmony into Color Data Schemes, you gain the ability to improve the control of and amplify your efforts to colorize a data visualization. I call this improving your “harmonic resolution”.
It is also my hope to provide a guide to bridge between image creators or product designers that apply Color Harmony and data visualization practitioners who need to colorize their data. There are many situations in which these two communities might collaborate. These include the design of interactive exhibits, mobile apps or games, large format posters, corporate reports and other displays of information for individual users and the general public.
Examples from my previous Nightingale writings will be featured to demonstrate how to move between these two distinct Color Theory concepts. Let’s begin by reviewing the concept of Color Harmony as well as basic Color Schemes for data visualization.