Light Power BI theme

Newsprint Power BI theme

Editorial light Power BI theme: newspaper red and ink black on off-white, Georgia headings, warm greys, for executive briefings and data stories.

By Nawaf Sharaf · Founder & Reliability Engineer · Updated November 9, 2026

Free for commercial use

Newsprint theme applied to the CFO Overview template

Shown on the CFO Overview template.

Power BI Desktop: Design ribbon → Import theme. Power BI service: View → Theme pane.

Design with this theme →

About the palette

Newsprint is built like a front page: off-white page #F7F5F0, cards #FDFCF9, ink-black text #111111 and one editorial red #C8102E. The second series is charcoal #3A3A3A, so a "this year vs everything else" chart reads like a newspaper graphic.

Georgia headings carry the editorial tone. Use red once per page; the other series (teal #2E7D7A, blue #1F5F8B, ochre #9A700A) are for when you truly need categories. Red is also the bad colour, so on KPI cards pair it with an arrow or label. Text contrast is 18.4:1.

Palette profile

Computed from the colours on this page, not written by hand: hue spread, lightness range, contrast and a colour-vision simulation of the first six chart colours.

Best for

Clustered and stacked charts with up to six series (6 hue families); add data labels to the pairs listed below.
Highlight-one-series charts: #C8102E for the measure you're talking about, 2 near-grey series for comparisons.
Thin line charts and sparklines on white cards: every chart colour reaches 3.7:1 or more.
Variance charts, waterfalls and KPI deltas: good #3D6B3F and bad #C8102E are 132° apart in hue.

Colour-vision simulation

Protanopia: series 5 and 6 (#9A700A, #5E7C4F)
Deuteranopia: series 1 and 5 (#C8102E, #9A700A); series 1 and 6 (#C8102E, #5E7C4F)
Give those series data labels or direct labels instead of relying on the legend.

Chart colours: 8, in 6 hue families
Lightness range: 23–50 %
Text contrast: 17.3:1
Muted text: 7.3:1
Weakest chart colour: 3.7:1 on cards
Near-grey series: 2
Closest catalog palettes: Earth Tones (0.058)Retro Diner (0.059)Paper & Clay (0.061)

Colours and contrast

Contrast ratios are measured against the card (surface) colour, where visuals sit. Text needs 4.5:1; graphics need 3:1.

Theme colours and contrast against the card colour
Role	Colour	Contrast on card	Check
Page background	#F7F5F0	—	base
Card / surface	#FDFCF9	—	base
Text	#111111	18.41:1	AA text
Muted text	#555048	7.79:1	AA text
Accent	#C8102E	5.73:1	≥ 3:1
Good	#3D6B3F	6.07:1	≥ 3:1
Neutral	#8C6A12	4.89:1	≥ 3:1
Bad	#C8102E	5.73:1	≥ 3:1
Data colour 1	#C8102E	5.73:1	≥ 3:1
Data colour 2	#3A3A3A	11.09:1	≥ 3:1
Data colour 3	#2E7D7A	4.73:1	≥ 3:1
Data colour 4	#1F5F8B	6.67:1	≥ 3:1
Data colour 5	#9A700A	4.36:1	≥ 3:1
Data colour 6	#5E7C4F	4.58:1	≥ 3:1
Data colour 7	#8A8173	3.74:1	≥ 3:1
Data colour 8	#7A4E7E	6.36:1	≥ 3:1

Theme JSON excerpt

The downloaded file also includes text classes, visual styles and slicer, table and card defaults.

newsprint-theme.json

{
  "name": "Newsprint",
  "dataColors": [
    "#C8102E",
    "#3A3A3A",
    "#2E7D7A",
    "#1F5F8B",
    "#9A700A",
    "#5E7C4F",
    "#8A8173",
    "#7A4E7E"
  ],
  "background": "#F7F5F0",
  "foreground": "#111111",
  "tableAccent": "#C8102E",
  "good": "#3D6B3F",
  "neutral": "#8C6A12",
  "bad": "#C8102E"
}

Import this theme in Power BI Desktop

1
Download the theme
Use the Download theme JSON button above. The file is a few kilobytes and contains no images.
2
Import the theme
In Power BI Desktop open the Design ribbon → Import theme and select the file. In the Power BI service use View → Theme pane. Older Desktop builds: View → Themes → Browse for themes.
3
Check visual overrides
Visuals with manually set colours keep them. Use Format → Reset to default on those visuals to pick up the theme.
4
Add a matching background
Open the design studio with Newsprint selected to build a page background in the same colours.

VizForge AI · custom visuals

Generate a custom visual for this slot

Need a chart Power BI doesn't have? Pick a slot from the sample report above and VizForge AI writes a custom visual (.pbiviz, with TypeScript source) sized to it and drawn in the Newsprint colours.

Slot to replace

Area chart · 576×208 px

1, 2 or 5 credits depending on the brief · 5 free on signup. Sign in or create a free account on the next screen; the brief is saved for 30 minutes.

Brief sent to the generator (you can edit it there)

A Power BI area visual titled "Cash position, next 13 weeks". It sits in a 576×208 px slot on a designed report page. Match the report's brand: data colours #C8102E, #3A3A3A, #2E7D7A, #1F5F8B, #9A700A, #5E7C4F; background #FDFCF9; text #111111; font Segoe UI. Transparent visual background so the page design shows through; no visual border. The report uses the Newsprint Power BI theme.

Templates in this theme

Pick the right page for Power BI themes

Download · start hereFree Power BI themes80 contrast-checked theme JSON files, light and dark.
GenerateTheme LabBuild a theme JSON from your own brand colours.
Step by stepHow to import a themeDesign ribbon → Import theme, and what to do when colours don't change.
ReferenceTheme JSON guideWhat each field in the theme file controls.
2026 changesFluent 2, Classic 2026 and style presetsHow base themes layer under your JSON, 1920×1080 pages, the Update theme banner.
Compare toolsPower BI design tools, comparedTheme generators, page designers and kits, with sourced, dated facts.
Starter kitStarter Report KitYour brand as theme JSON, backgrounds, a PBIP with sample data and AI rules, in one zip.
AIAI theme generatorDescribe the look in words; get a contrast-checked theme JSON previewed on a real template.

Backgrounds to pair with Newsprint

Light page backgrounds that sit well under this palette. Each background page has its own theme download, or keep Newsprint and set the background image on top.

Need a chart Power BI doesn’t ship?

Theme colours apply to custom visuals too. Describe the chart in plain English and VizForge generates it as a .pbiviz with its TypeScript source; in the design studio, the brief for a visual slot carries this palette. See the visual catalog.

Generate a custom visual with AI · starts free →

Questions about this theme

Is the Newsprint theme accessible?

Yes. Text and muted text meet WCAG AA (4.5:1) on both the page and card colours, and every data and status colour reaches at least 3:1 against the cards. In a colour-vision simulation 3 pairs among the first six chart colours look alike; the palette profile lists them so you can add data labels. The full contrast table is on this page.

Which fonts does the Newsprint theme use?

It uses Georgia for headings and Segoe UI for body text. All of them are in Power BI's own font list, so the report renders the same in Power BI Desktop and in the Power BI service.

How do I import a theme JSON into Power BI?

In Power BI Desktop go to the Design ribbon → Import theme and select the downloaded .json file; in the Power BI service use View → Theme pane (older Desktop builds: View → Themes → Browse for themes). The data colours, text classes and visual defaults apply to every page of the report.

Which theme JSON schema do these themes use?

They are compiled against the current report theme schema (reportThemeSchema-2.159) and include name, dataColors, background, foreground, tableAccent, good/neutral/bad, textClasses and visualStyles.

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Design a page in Newsprint

Start the design studio with this palette, lay out your page and export a background, the theme JSON and a PBIP project that all match.

Open in the design studio →Browse templates

The design studio for Power BI. Free, in your browser, no sign-up.