Color themes in Power BI - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a sales analyst at a retail company.

📋 Request: Your manager wants a sales dashboard that uses consistent and visually appealing color themes to make it easy to understand sales performance by region and product category.

📊 Data: You have monthly sales data including Region, Product Category, Sales Amount, and Month.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a Power BI sales dashboard with charts and tables that apply a custom color theme to highlight regions and product categories clearly.

Sample Data

Month	Region	Product Category	Sales Amount
Jan	North	Electronics	12000
Jan	South	Furniture	8500
Feb	East	Electronics	15000
Feb	West	Furniture	7000
Mar	North	Clothing	9000
Mar	South	Electronics	11000
Apr	East	Clothing	9500
Apr	West	Electronics	13000
May	North	Furniture	8000
May	South	Clothing	7500
Jun	East	Furniture	6700
Jun	West	Clothing	7200

1

Step 1: Import the sales data into Power BI Desktop.

Use 'Get Data' > 'Excel' or 'CSV' to load the sample data table.

Expected Result

Sales data table loaded with columns: Month, Region, Product Category, Sales Amount.

2

Step 2: Create a custom color theme JSON file for the report.

{ "name": "Retail Sales Theme", "dataColors": ["#1f77b4", "#ff7f0e", "#2ca02c", "#d62728"], "background": "#ffffff", "foreground": "#000000", "tableAccent": "#1f77b4" }

Expected Result

A JSON file defining four main colors for regions and categories is ready.

3

Step 3: Import the custom color theme into Power BI Desktop.

In Power BI Desktop, go to 'View' tab > 'Themes' > 'Browse for themes' and select the JSON file.

Expected Result

The report colors update to use the custom theme colors.

4

Step 4: Create a clustered column chart showing Sales Amount by Region and Month.

Visual: Clustered column chart Axis: Month Legend: Region Values: Sum of Sales Amount

Expected Result

Chart displays monthly sales for each region with bars colored by the custom theme.

5

Step 5: Create a stacked bar chart showing Sales Amount by Product Category and Region.

Visual: Stacked bar chart Axis: Region Legend: Product Category Values: Sum of Sales Amount

Expected Result

Chart shows sales distribution by product category within each region, colors matching the theme.

6

Step 6: Add a table visual listing Month, Region, Product Category, and Sales Amount with conditional formatting using theme colors.

Visual: Table Columns: Month, Region, Product Category, Sales Amount Conditional formatting: Background color by Region using theme colors

Expected Result

Table rows are colored by region consistent with the theme for easy reading.

7

Step 7: Review the dashboard for color consistency and accessibility (check color contrast).

Use Power BI's accessibility checker and adjust colors in the JSON theme if needed.

Expected Result

Dashboard colors are consistent, visually appealing, and accessible.

Final Result

Power BI Sales Dashboard

+-----------------------------+
| Month | North | South | East | West |
|-------|-------|-------|------|------|
| Jan   | 12000 | 8500  |      |      |
| Feb   |       |       |15000 | 7000 |
| Mar   | 9000  |11000  |      |      |
| Apr   |       |       | 9500 |13000 |
| May   | 8000  | 7500  |      |      |
| Jun   |       |       | 6700 | 7200 |
+-----------------------------+

Colors: Blue=North, Orange=South, Green=East, Red=West

Stacked Bar Chart: Sales by Product Category per Region
Table: Detailed sales data with region color backgrounds

✓East region leads in Electronics sales in February and April.

✓North region has strong Furniture sales in May.

✓South region shows consistent sales across categories.

✓Color theme helps quickly identify regions and categories in visuals.

Bonus Challenge

Create a dynamic color theme that changes based on sales performance thresholds (e.g., green for high sales, yellow for medium, red for low).

Show Hint

Use DAX measures to classify sales levels and apply conditional formatting rules in Power BI visuals.