Colours"

In sgplot: Graphic Styles and Colours for Scottish Government Plots

knitr::opts_chunk$set(
  collapse = TRUE,
  comment = "#>",
  message = FALSE,
  warning = FALSE,
  eval = TRUE,
  echo = FALSE
)

table_note <- paste(
  "Note: the cells in the ‘Example of colour’ column may appear blank",
  "to screen reader software. They contain a colour fill, but no data."
)

sgplot provides Scottish Government branded colour palettes as set out by the Scottish Government Design System.

These palettes have been developed to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 for graphical objects. The colours in the main palette for categorical data all have at least a 3:1 colour contrast ratio with white (#ffffff) and off-white (#f8f8f8) backgrounds, as well as with adjacent colours in the palette.

In addition to the default Scottish Government palettes, sgplot also supports the use of branded palettes for Social Security Scotland and the Government Analysis Function.

Things to consider when using colour

Using sgplot colour palettes does not guarantee that your charts will be accessible. Both the Scottish Government and the Analysis Function have published guidance on other steps you should take to ensure the accessible use of colour. sgplot should be used in conjunction with the advice given in these guidance documents.

The following are a few key things to consider when using colour in data visualisations:

• Only use colour if absolutely necessary

• Do not rely on colour alone to communicate a message

• Use colour consistently when producing a series of plots

• Limit the number of different colours you use; ideally an absolute maximum of four

• Use colour palettes in the order presented to ensure adjacent colours have sufficient contrast with each other

Colour palettes in sgplot

Scottish Government {#sg}

The Scottish Government colour palettes are used by default in sgplot.

Main palette {#sg-main}

The main palette should be used with categorical data.

r table_note

sgplot:::colour_table(sgplot::sg_colour_palettes$main)

You should try to use an absolute maximum of four colours in a chart. If you feel you need more than four, think about how you could redesign your chart to avoid this. If you absolutely must use more than four colours, the main-extended palette can be used.

r table_note

sgplot:::colour_table(sgplot::sg_colour_palettes$`main-extended`)

Sequential palette {#sg-sequential}

The sequential colour palette should be used for data where the order has some meaning.

r table_note

sgplot:::colour_table(sgplot::sg_colour_palettes$sequential)

As this palette is restricted to tints of one colour, there are issues with colour contrast. Neither dark-blue or light-blue have sufficient colour contrast with mid-blue. Follow the advice for using the sequential palette in the Analysis Function colour guidance when using this palette.

Focus palette {#sg-focus}

The focus palette should be used to highlight specific elements of a plot.

r table_note

sgplot:::colour_table(sgplot::sg_colour_palettes$focus)

The grey in this palette does not meet the required colour contrast with an off-white background (#f8f8f8), therefore charts using this palette should only use a white background (#ffffff).

Social Security Scotland {#sss}

To use a Social Security Scotland palette, set palette_type = "sss" when using any of the scale_ colour functions.

If you have any questions about these palettes, please contact the Social Security Scotland statistics mailbox.

Main palette

The main palette should be used with categorical data.

r table_note

sgplot:::colour_table(sgplot::sss_colour_palettes$main)

You should try to use an absolute maximum of four colours in a chart. If you feel you need more than four, think about how you could redesign your chart to avoid this. If you absolutely must use more than four colours, the main-extended palette can be used.

r table_note

sgplot:::colour_table(sgplot::sss_colour_palettes$`main-extended`)

Sequential palette

The sequential colour palette should be used for data where the order has some meaning. This palette is the same as the Scottish Government sequential palette.

r table_note

sgplot:::colour_table(sgplot::sss_colour_palettes$sequential)

As this palette is restricted to tints of one colour, there are issues with colour contrast. Neither dark-blue or light-blue have sufficient colour contrast with mid-blue. Follow the advice for using the sequential palette in the Analysis Function colour guidance when using this palette.

Focus palette

The focus palette should be used to highlight specific elements of a plot.

r table_note

sgplot:::colour_table(sgplot::sss_colour_palettes$focus)

Government Analysis Function {#af}

The Government Analysis Function guidance also contains suggested colour palettes. These are also provided in sgplot, however the Scottish Government palettes are used by default. To use an Analysis Function palette, set palette_type = "af" when using any of the scale_ colour functions.

Main palette

The main palette should be used with categorical data.

r table_note

sgplot:::colour_table(sgplot::af_colour_palettes$main)

The main2 palette should be used if only two colours are required as the dark blue and orange colours have the best colour contrast with each other. If only two colours are required and another palette from the main family is used, main2 will be used instead.

r table_note

sgplot:::colour_table(sgplot::af_colour_palettes$main2)

The main6 palette is available if an extended palette is required.

r table_note

sgplot:::colour_table(sgplot::af_colour_palettes$main6)

Sequential palette

The sequential colour palette should be used for data where the order has some meaning.

r table_note

sgplot:::colour_table(sgplot::af_colour_palettes$sequential)

As this palette is restricted to tints of one colour, there are issues with colour contrast. Follow the advice for using the sequential palette in the Analysis Function colour guidance when using this palette.

Focus palette

The focus palette should be used to highlight specific elements of a plot.

r table_note

sgplot:::colour_table(sgplot::af_colour_palettes$focus)

The light grey colour in this palette does not have sufficient colour contrast against a white background and therefore this palette should only be used when it is essential to communicate your message. Follow the advice for using the focus palette in the Analysis Function colour guidance when using this palette.

The Scottish Government focus palette does not have this issue, so you may wish to use this instead.

Using your own colour palette

There may be instances where you'd like to use a different colour palette. If so, this should be carefully considered to ensure it meets accessibility requirements. The Analysis Function guidance outlines appropriate steps for choosing your own accessible colour palette and should be used.

An example of how to use an alternative colour palette is provided in the cookbook. However, if you use a different palette regularly and feel it would be useful for this to be added to sgplot, please make a suggestion as per the contributing guidance.

Viewing palettes in R

Names and hex codes for available colours and palettes can be viewed by running the following code:

# View names and hex codes for all colours
sgplot::sg_colour_values

# View names and hex codes for all colour palettes
sgplot::sg_colour_palettes

# View names and hex codes for `main` colour palette
sgplot::sg_colour_palettes$main

# For Social Security Scotland palettes, use the sss_ prefix
sgplot::sss_colour_palettes

# For Analysis Function palettes, use the af_ prefix
sgplot::af_colour_palettes

Examples of how to apply these palettes to ggplot2 charts are available in both the cookbook and the reference files for scale_ colour functions.

sgplot documentation built on June 8, 2025, 12:15 p.m.