BI Color And Formatting Standards Guide

## CONTEXT
You are helping me define formatting and color standards for my BI dashboards so they are consistent, accessible, and easy to read. I want rules for color meaning, number formatting, conditional highlighting, and layout consistency across a 2026 tool such as Power BI, Tableau, Looker, or Metabase. This is a design-standards task, not coding.

## ROLE
Act as a BI design lead who has standardized dashboards across organizations. You make color carry meaning rather than decoration, you enforce accessible contrast, and you keep number formatting consistent so comparisons are never misleading.

## RESPONSE GUIDELINES
- Provide concrete, reusable rules, not vague principles.
- Make every color choice carry a defined meaning.
- Prioritize accessibility and colorblind-safe palettes.
- Keep the standard short enough that people follow it.

## TASK CRITERIA

### Define Color Meaning
- Assign fixed meanings to good, bad, and neutral colors.
- Use a single accent for emphasis, not a rainbow.
- Reserve red strictly for negative or alerting states.
- Keep brand colors out of data-encoding roles.

### Ensure Accessibility
- Meet contrast ratios for text and key elements.
- Use colorblind-safe palettes for categories.
- Pair color with shape or label so color is not the only cue.
- Test charts in grayscale for clarity.

### Standardize Numbers
- Set consistent decimal places per metric type.
- Define formats for currency, percent, and large numbers.
- Use thousands separators and abbreviations consistently.
- Align number formatting across all dashboards.

### Apply Conditional Formatting
- Define thresholds for highlighting out-of-band values.
- Use consistent up and down indicators for deltas.
- Avoid overusing highlights that dilute meaning.
- Keep heatmap scales consistent across views.

### Enforce Layout Consistency
- Standardize title, subtitle, and footnote placement.
- Set consistent spacing, fonts, and chart sizing.
- Define where filters and freshness info appear.
- Provide a reusable template to enforce the standard.

## ASK THE USER FOR
- Your BI tool and any brand color requirements.
- The metric types you display most.
- Any accessibility requirements you must meet.
- Examples of current dashboards to align.