How to Change Bar Graph Colors in Excel

Tired of the default blue bars in your Excel charts? While standard colors are fine, customizing chart colors is a powerful way to make your data more understandable and professional. This tutorial will guide you through everything you need to know, from changing a single important bar to creating reusable chart templates with your brand design.

Graphed

Your AI Data Analyst to Create Live Dashboards

Connect your data sources and let AI build beautiful, real-time dashboards for you in seconds.

Build Your First Dashboard

Why Does Changing Bar Color Even Matter?

Changing the colors in your bar graph isn't just about aesthetics, it's a strategic way to guide your audience's attention and improve comprehension. A good color choice can transform a bland chart into an insightful one. Here's why it's worth the few extra clicks:

• Highlighting Key Data: Use a bright, contrasting color to draw attention to the most important piece of data - such as your top-performing month or a specific product that is lagging.
• Grouping and Categorization: Colors can visually group related sets of data. For instance, T-shirts and sweatshirts for men can have one color while T-shirts and sweaters for women can have another, indicating separate business units without cluttering your chart with extra labels.
• Strengthening Brand Identity: For client-facing roles like sales and reporting, consistent corporate branding instills trust and shows professionalism. Incorporating your company's color palette into presentations keeps reports looking slick.
• Improving Readability: Using a proper color palette provides adequate contrast, making a chart easier on the eyes. This is critical when working with stakeholders who have limited time.

AI for Data Analysis

Crash Course

Graphed

Free PDF Guide

AI for Data Analysis Crash Course

Learn how to get AI to do data analysis for you — the best tools, prompts, and workflows to go from raw data to insights without writing a single line of code.

Download Free Guide

First Step: Creating a Basic Bar Graph in Excel

Before you can customize chart colors, you first need to create a bar graph. Here's a quick walkthrough on getting started:

Let's use a simple monthly sales data table for our example.

1. Input and select your dataset Click and drag your cursor to select all cells with data, including titles you want in your chart, to ensure everything is correctly labeled.

2. Insert Your Chart After highlighting the appropriate cells, go to the Excel tab marked 'Insert' on the ribbon menu. Next, search for 'Charts', and select 'Clustered Column' (commonly known as a bar chart).

Now you'll have a bar chart on your sheet. Let's move on to the fun part.

Method 1: Highlighting a Single, Specific Bar

Sometimes, you have a specific piece of data that you want to stand out. For example, in our monthly sales dataset, June has an unusual sales surge that we want everyone to notice. Here's how to make it stand out:

1. Click on the dataset you're charting - select all bars. Dots will appear on the corners of all chosen columns.
2. Click on the single bar you want to highlight (e.g., June sales).
3. Right-click on your selected bar and select 'Format Data Point' from the dropdown menu.
4. Choose 'Format Data Point'. This opens the 'Format Data Point' panel on your worksheet.
5. In the panel, click the 'Fill & Line' icon (paint bucket).
6. Under 'Fill', select 'Solid fill'. A palette will appear, allowing you to choose a color.

This method changes a single bar to stand out against uniform blue bars, drawing attention to significant data points.

Graphed

Your AI Data Analyst to Create Live Dashboards

Connect your data sources and let AI build beautiful, real-time dashboards for you in seconds.

Build Your First Dashboard

Method 2: Changing the Entire Series' Color

If you want to apply your company's brand colors to the entire chart, here's how:

1. Select any bar in the dataset. All bars in the series will be highlighted.
2. Right-click the series and select 'Format Data Series'.
3. In the panel, click the 'Fill & Line' tab.
4. Select 'Solid Fill' and choose a color from the palette.

Pro Tip: Explore other fill options like 'Gradient' or 'Texture' for more creative designs.

Method 3: Using the Built-in Function to Color Each Bar Differently

If each bar represents a different category or product, having different colors for each bar can enhance the chart's clarity. Excel's 'Vary color by point' feature is perfect for this:

1. Select all bars in the chart series.
2. Right-click on the selected data series and choose 'Format Data Series'.
3. Click on 'Fill & Line' and check 'Vary colors by point'.

This method assigns different colors to each bar, enhancing visual distinction between different categories or products.

Using Quick Presets for Speed and Efficiency

If you're short on time, Excel's 'Chart Design' options can help:

1. Select your chart to view more menu tabs on the ribbon. Select the 'Chart Design' tab.
2. Click 'Change Colors' to open a dropdown menu with color options.
3. Select a pre-designed color palette for quick application.

Tips for Further Customization

Getting Custom Brand Colors Correct:

If your bars need to match brand colors exactly, use the RGB or HEX color codes:

1. In the 'Fill & Line' panel, click 'More Colors'.
2. Enter the RGB or HEX values for your specific color.

AI for Data Analysis

Crash Course

Graphed

Free PDF Guide

AI for Data Analysis Crash Course

Learn how to get AI to do data analysis for you — the best tools, prompts, and workflows to go from raw data to insights without writing a single line of code.

Download Free Guide

Adding Effects & Borders

Borders provide definition. Shadows or other effects can add depth.

1. Stay in the 'Fill & Line' menu and select 'Border'.
2. Select the style that defines your bar best. You can also add effects for extra impact.

Setting Your Chart as a Saved Template

If you frequently use a particular style, save it as a template:

1. Select your created chart and right-click to choose 'Save as Template'.
2. Name it distinctively for future use.

Your template will be available under 'Insert' > 'Charts' > 'Templates'.

Final Thoughts

Moving beyond basic default chart coloring is not just about aesthetics, it is a core technique for effective data visualization in Excel. By using the methods taught above, whether changing a bar to highlight important information or using built-in designs for quick customization, you transform dull tables into communicative, powerful stories. While these skills are wonderful, the manual part can become a time drain, especially when all the source data has to be pulled from several platforms. That's where tools like Graphed come in, allowing you to automate data visualization and freeing up your time for strategic work instead!