Thesis color palettes

In a thesis or dissertation, color should help readers, not distract them. These 12 understated palettes work for title pages, headings, charts and your defense slides, and include an option designed for people with color blindness.

Academic blue

Safe for any field; understated in headings and tables.

Institutional green

For environmental science, agriculture or biology.

Gray and wine

For law, history or the humanities; wine as the accent.

Sepia and cream

Warm and classic; useful in history, literature or art.

Blue and orange charts

Clearly distinct colors for data series.

Gray monochrome

Ideal if your thesis will be printed in black and white.

Petrol blue and sand

Serious and modern; good for your defense slides.

Understated purple

Low-key; for psychology, education or social sciences.

Health green

For medicine, nursing, nutrition or physical therapy.

Steel and yellow

For engineering; yellow highlights key results.

Color-blind friendly (Okabe-Ito)

Colors from the Okabe-Ito palette, distinguishable with the most common types of color blindness.

Brick and gray

For architecture or urban planning; warm without losing seriousness.

Tap a color to copy its hex code. The pencil icon opens the palette in the editor so you can change it.

Check your university's guidelines first

Many universities have official templates with set colors, logo and fonts for the title page. Check them before you design anything. If there are no rules, use a single accent color for headings and keep body text black or very dark gray.

Charts that work without color

Some committee members may read your thesis printed in black and white, or have some form of color blindness. Combine colors with different lightness and give each series its own labels, patterns or markers. The Okabe-Ito palette is a proven option for this.

Use the same palette in the document and the defense

If your charts use certain colors in the document, repeat them on your defense slides. That way the committee recognizes the figures and your work looks cohesive. For projection, increase the text size and check the contrast.

Colors in these palettes

White White smoke Wine Jet black Off-white Pearl Khaki Taupe Carrot orange Steel blue Charcoal gray Platinum Silver Lead gray Amber Anthracite

Frequently asked questions

What colors should you use for a thesis presentation?

Understated combinations work well, like blue with gray, green with white or petrol blue with sand, with a single accent color for your results.

Can you use color in a printed thesis?

Yes, unless your university forbids it, but your charts should still make sense in black and white.