Light Power BI theme · colour-blind safe
Okabe-Ito Accessible Power BI theme
Colour-blind-safe Power BI theme using the Okabe-Ito palette: eight data colours distinguishable under deuteranopia, protanopia and tritanopia.
By Nawaf Sharaf · Founder & Reliability Engineer · Updated
Free for commercial use
Shown on the Executive KPI Scorecard template.
Power BI Desktop: Design ribbon → Import theme. Power BI service: View → Theme pane.
About the palette
The data colours are the Okabe-Ito set with the published hex values, reordered so the four darkest (blue, vermilion, bluish green, reddish purple) fill the first slots and the faint yellow comes last. It is the most widely tested qualitative palette for the three common forms of colour-vision deficiency, which is why it is the default in several scientific plotting libraries.
Good and bad are mapped to bluish green (#009E73) and vermilion (#D55E00) rather than pure green and red, the pair most often confused. Neutral is the Okabe-Ito orange. Text is black on white for maximum contrast.
Use this theme for public-sector, healthcare and HR reporting where accessibility is a requirement rather than a preference. The orange, sky blue and yellow sit below 3:1 on white because the published values are kept exactly; turn on data labels or a 1px dark outline when those series carry meaning on their own.
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
- Bar, column and line charts with four or five series (5 hue families).
- Greyscale printing and PDF board packs: the chart colours span 0–64 % lightness, so bars stay apart without colour.
- Variance charts, waterfalls and KPI deltas: good #009E73 and bad #D55E00 are 137° apart in hue.
Colour-vision simulation
The first six chart colours stay apart for protanopia, deuteranopia and tritanopia (OKLab distance 0.06 or more after simulation).
- Chart colours
- 8, in 5 hue families
- Lightness range
- 0–64 %
- Text contrast
- 19.2:1
- Muted text
- 7.7:1
- Weakest chart colour
- 1.3:1 on cards
- Near-grey series
- 1
- Closest catalog palettes
- Cool Workspace (0.069)Clear Sight (0.069)Lab Bench (0.074)
Colours and contrast
Contrast ratios are measured against the card (surface) colour, where visuals sit. Text needs 4.5:1; graphics need 3:1.
| Role | Colour | Contrast on card | Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page background | #F5F5F5 | — | base |
| Card / surface | #FFFFFF | — | base |
| Text | #000000 | 21.00:1 | AA text |
| Muted text | #4D4D4D | 8.45:1 | AA text |
| Accent | #0072B2 | 5.19:1 | ≥ 3:1 |
| Good | #009E73 | 3.42:1 | ≥ 3:1 |
| Neutral | #E69F00 | 2.25:1 | published value, add labels |
| Bad | #D55E00 | 3.87:1 | ≥ 3:1 |
| Data colour 1 | #0072B2 | 5.19:1 | ≥ 3:1 |
| Data colour 2 | #D55E00 | 3.87:1 | ≥ 3:1 |
| Data colour 3 | #009E73 | 3.42:1 | ≥ 3:1 |
| Data colour 4 | #CC79A7 | 3.06:1 | ≥ 3:1 |
| Data colour 5 | #E69F00 | 2.25:1 | published value, add labels |
| Data colour 6 | #56B4E9 | 2.31:1 | published value, add labels |
| Data colour 7 | #000000 | 21.00:1 | ≥ 3:1 |
| Data colour 8 | #F0E442 | 1.32:1 | published value, add labels |
Theme JSON excerpt
The downloaded file also includes text classes, visual styles and slicer, table and card defaults.
{
"name": "Okabe-Ito Accessible",
"dataColors": [
"#0072B2",
"#D55E00",
"#009E73",
"#CC79A7",
"#E69F00",
"#56B4E9",
"#000000",
"#F0E442"
],
"background": "#F5F5F5",
"foreground": "#000000",
"tableAccent": "#0072B2",
"good": "#009E73",
"neutral": "#E69F00",
"bad": "#D55E00"
}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 Okabe-Ito Accessible 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 Okabe-Ito Accessible colours.
Line & column chart · 728×200 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.
A Power BI combo visual titled "Revenue vs target by month". Purpose: Columns for monthly revenue, line for target. It sits in a 728×200 px slot on a designed report page. Match the report's brand: data colours #0072B2, #D55E00, #009E73, #CC79A7, #E69F00, #56B4E9; background #FFFFFF; text #000000; font Segoe UI. Transparent visual background so the page design shows through; no visual border. The report uses the Okabe-Ito Accessible Power BI theme.
Templates in this theme
Backgrounds to pair with Okabe-Ito Accessible
Light page backgrounds that sit well under this palette. Each background page has its own theme download, or keep Okabe-Ito Accessible and set the background image on top.
816×1056 background
Paper Letter ReportPrintable Power BI background for the Letter page size: warm paper tone, header and footer rules and three content bands for a one-page report.
1280×720 background
High Contrast OutlineAccessible Power BI background: white page, 2px dark panel outlines and generous spacing for high-contrast and low-vision friendly reports.
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 Okabe-Ito Accessible theme accessible?
Its text meets WCAG AA on the page and cards. The data colours are a published colour-blind-safe palette kept at their exact values, so a few fall below 3:1 against the cards; the table on this page lists them, and those series should carry data labels.
Which fonts does the Okabe-Ito Accessible theme use?
It uses Segoe UI. 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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Keep exploring
80 contrast-checked theme JSON files, light and dark.
Build a theme JSON from your own brand colours.
61 hand-designed Power BI page layouts by department.
Page backgrounds at 1280×720 and 1920×1080 with visual positions.
Design a page in Okabe-Ito Accessible
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.
The design studio for Power BI. Free, in your browser, no sign-up.