Some basic guidelines for using color in bar charts and graphs include these: • Many companies have presentation guidelines that require that predefined colors (or colors based on them) be used whenever possible. • Choose colors strategically, always keeping the audience in mind, and use compatible colors (those in close prox- imity on the color wheel) rather than competing colors (those on opposite sides). • Use the same color throughout the display to represent the same variable and graduated shades of one color to make a multiple-bar chart easy to scan and follow. • Because the color red depicts business losses, using it to graph negative earnings or growth can be productive, but red should not be used to display positive results. • Black ink should be used for text on a light background; if a black background must be used, white text should be used, not another light color.