Stata graphs: Define your own color schemes

In the world of data visualizations, color schemes are a essential for making the graphics stand out. An important part of learning how to use colors is an understanding of the color wheel and color harmonies that help define color palettes or schemes. In the first part of this guide, we will briefly introduce these topics. In the second part of the guide we will learn how to define our own color scheme and generate Stata graphs that are fully personalized, customized, and automated:

Custom color schemes can be used in any type of graphs. For example, in this guide, we will learn how to push a custom palette on a line graph shown below:

The Color Wheel

A brief introduction to the color theory is provided in this section. Links for additional reading are also provided at the end of this guide.

Color schemes follow certain rules which are important for making figures visually appealing. In order to understand these rules, one needs to understand the role of color wheels, that have been in existence since the 1700s, and how to incorporate them in graphs and figures.