Tools for working with Arcadia's colors¶
Arcadia has a set of brand colors which are used in the website, presentations, and other materials. Consistent use of these colors can help scientists make their data visually appealing, and is important for maintaining a consistent brand identity. arcadia-pycolor provides access to these colors for use when making plots and figures in Python.
Getting Started¶
After installing arcadia-pycolor using pip install arcadia-pycolor, you can import the arcadia_pycolor module.
In [1]:
Copied!
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
import seaborn as sns
import arcadia_pycolor as apc
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
import seaborn as sns
import arcadia_pycolor as apc
Accessing and displaying colors¶
arcadia-pycolor stores the brand colors as objects based on their color name. When working with Jupyter notebooks, you can display the colors as part of a cell's output. This displays a swatch of the color, along with the color's name and hex code.
In [2]:
Copied!
apc.aegean
apc.aegean
Out[2]:
aegean #5088C5
You can also use the IPython function display to show the colors in a cell's output, even if the cell ends with other code.
In [3]:
Copied!
display(apc.amber)
# Some other code.
x = 1
y = 2
print(x + y)
display(apc.amber)
# Some other code.
x = 1
y = 2
print(x + y)
amber #F28360
3
Palettes and gradients¶
arcadia-pycolor provides two classes for working with multiple colors: Palette and Gradient. Palette is a collection of discrete colors, while Gradient is a collection of colors that transition smoothly from one to the next. The package contains a variety of built-in palettes and gradients, which can be accessed under the palettes and gradients namespaces. These can also be displayed in the same way as individual colors.
In [4]:
Copied!
# Displaying a Palette.
apc.palettes.primary
# Displaying a Palette.
apc.palettes.primary
Out[4]:
aegean #5088C5 amber #F28360 seaweed #3B9886 canary #F7B846 aster #7A77AB rose #F898AE vital #73B5E3 tangerine #FFB984 lime #97CD78 dragon #C85152 oat #F5E4BE wish #BABEE0
In [5]:
Copied!
# Displaying a Gradient.
apc.gradients.viridis
# Displaying a Gradient.
apc.gradients.viridis
Out[5]:
space #282A49 0 aegean #5088C5 0.468 lime #97CD78 0.746 butter #FFFDBD 1
Using colors in plots¶
Colors can be used in plots by passing them as arguments to plotting functions. For example, in matplotlib, you can pass a color object or a list of color objects as the color argument to plot, scatter, or other plotting functions.
In [6]:
Copied!
# Using Arcadia colors in a matplotlib plot.
plt.bar(
x=["A", "B", "C", "D"],
height=[1, 2, 3, 4],
color=[apc.aegean, apc.amber, apc.seaweed, apc.canary],
)
plt.ylabel("Y axis")
plt.xlabel("X axis")
plt.show()
# Using Arcadia colors in a matplotlib plot.
plt.bar(
x=["A", "B", "C", "D"],
height=[1, 2, 3, 4],
color=[apc.aegean, apc.amber, apc.seaweed, apc.canary],
)
plt.ylabel("Y axis")
plt.xlabel("X axis")
plt.show()
In [7]:
Copied!
# Getting colors from a palette for a plot.
plt.bar(
x=["A", "B", "C", "D"],
height=[1, 2, 3, 4],
color=apc.palettes.blue_shades[0:4],
)
plt.ylabel("Y axis")
plt.xlabel("X axis")
plt.show()
# Getting colors from a palette for a plot.
plt.bar(
x=["A", "B", "C", "D"],
height=[1, 2, 3, 4],
color=apc.palettes.blue_shades[0:4],
)
plt.ylabel("Y axis")
plt.xlabel("X axis")
plt.show()
In [8]:
Copied!
# Using a gradient with `seaborn`.
data = np.random.rand(8, 8)
sns.heatmap(data, cmap=apc.gradients.sunset.to_mpl_cmap(), square=True)
plt.ylabel("Y axis")
plt.xlabel("X axis")
plt.show()
# Using a gradient with `seaborn`.
data = np.random.rand(8, 8)
sns.heatmap(data, cmap=apc.gradients.sunset.to_mpl_cmap(), square=True)
plt.ylabel("Y axis")
plt.xlabel("X axis")
plt.show()
Creating custom palettes and gradients¶
You can create custom palettes by passing a list of colors to the Palette constructor, or using the Palette.from_dict method.
In [9]:
Copied!
# Creating a Palette from a list of colors.
my_palette = apc.Palette("my_palette", [apc.aegean, apc.amber, apc.seaweed, apc.canary])
my_palette
# Creating a Palette from a list of colors.
my_palette = apc.Palette("my_palette", [apc.aegean, apc.amber, apc.seaweed, apc.canary])
my_palette
Out[9]:
aegean #5088C5 amber #F28360 seaweed #3B9886 canary #F7B846
In [10]:
Copied!
# Creating a Palette from a dictionary.
my_palette = apc.Palette.from_dict(
"my_palette",
{
"red": "#FF0000",
"green": "#00FF00",
"blue": "#0000FF",
},
)
my_palette
# Creating a Palette from a dictionary.
my_palette = apc.Palette.from_dict(
"my_palette",
{
"red": "#FF0000",
"green": "#00FF00",
"blue": "#0000FF",
},
)
my_palette
Out[10]:
red #FF0000 green #00FF00 blue #0000FF
Similarly, you can create custom gradients by passing a list of colors to the Gradient constructor, or using the Gradient.from_dict method. For Gradients, you may also specify the position of each color in the gradient. If you do not specify this value, the colors will be evenly spaced.
Note: Values for the color position must be between 0 and 1, and must be in increasing order.
In [11]:
Copied!
# Creating a Gradient from a list of colors.
my_gradient = apc.Gradient("my_gradient", [apc.vital, apc.oat, apc.amber])
my_gradient
# Creating a Gradient from a list of colors.
my_gradient = apc.Gradient("my_gradient", [apc.vital, apc.oat, apc.amber])
my_gradient
Out[11]:
vital #73B5E3 0.0 oat #F5E4BE 0.5 amber #F28360 1.0
In [12]:
Copied!
# Creating a Gradient from a list of colors while specifying values.
my_gradient = apc.Gradient(
"my_gradient",
[apc.concord, apc.vital, apc.oat, apc.amber, apc.cinnabar],
[0, 0.35, 0.5, 0.65, 1],
)
my_gradient
# Creating a Gradient from a list of colors while specifying values.
my_gradient = apc.Gradient(
"my_gradient",
[apc.concord, apc.vital, apc.oat, apc.amber, apc.cinnabar],
[0, 0.35, 0.5, 0.65, 1],
)
my_gradient
Out[12]:
concord #341E60 0 vital #73B5E3 0.35 oat #F5E4BE 0.5 amber #F28360 0.65 cinnabar #9E3F41 1
In [13]:
Copied!
# Creating a Gradient from a dictionary of colors.
my_gradient = apc.Gradient.from_dict(
"my_gradient",
{
"red": "#FF0000",
"gray": "#DDDDDD",
"blue": "#0000FF",
},
)
my_gradient
# Creating a Gradient from a dictionary of colors.
my_gradient = apc.Gradient.from_dict(
"my_gradient",
{
"red": "#FF0000",
"gray": "#DDDDDD",
"blue": "#0000FF",
},
)
my_gradient
Out[13]:
red #FF0000 0.0 gray #DDDDDD 0.5 blue #0000FF 1.0
Palette utilities¶
Palette objects have several utility methods for working with colors.
In [14]:
Copied!
# Reverse the order of a Palette.
display(apc.palettes.primary)
display(apc.palettes.primary.reverse())
# Reverse the order of a Palette.
display(apc.palettes.primary)
display(apc.palettes.primary.reverse())
aegean #5088C5 amber #F28360 seaweed #3B9886 canary #F7B846 aster #7A77AB rose #F898AE vital #73B5E3 tangerine #FFB984 lime #97CD78 dragon #C85152 oat #F5E4BE wish #BABEE0
wish #BABEE0 oat #F5E4BE dragon #C85152 lime #97CD78 tangerine #FFB984 vital #73B5E3 rose #F898AE aster #7A77AB canary #F7B846 seaweed #3B9886 amber #F28360 aegean #5088C5
In [15]:
Copied!
# Palettes have length.
len(apc.palettes.primary)
# Palettes have length.
len(apc.palettes.primary)
Out[15]:
12
In [16]:
Copied!
# Palettes can be indexed and spliced.
display(apc.palettes.primary[0])
display(apc.palettes.primary[:3])
display(apc.palettes.primary[::2])
# Palettes can be indexed and spliced.
display(apc.palettes.primary[0])
display(apc.palettes.primary[:3])
display(apc.palettes.primary[::2])
aegean #5088C5
aegean #5088C5 amber #F28360 seaweed #3B9886
aegean #5088C5 seaweed #3B9886 aster #7A77AB vital #73B5E3 lime #97CD78 oat #F5E4BE
In [17]:
Copied!
# Palettes can be iterated through.
for color in apc.palettes.primary[:3]:
display(color)
# Palettes can be iterated through.
for color in apc.palettes.primary[:3]:
display(color)
aegean #5088C5
amber #F28360
seaweed #3B9886
In [18]:
Copied!
# "Adding two palettes together concatenates
# their colors and returns a single new palette
# (just like adding two lists concatenates
# them and returns a new list)."
apc.palettes.primary + apc.palettes.secondary
# "Adding two palettes together concatenates
# their colors and returns a single new palette
# (just like adding two lists concatenates
# them and returns a new list)."
apc.palettes.primary + apc.palettes.secondary
Out[18]:
aegean #5088C5 amber #F28360 seaweed #3B9886 canary #F7B846 aster #7A77AB rose #F898AE vital #73B5E3 tangerine #FFB984 lime #97CD78 dragon #C85152 oat #F5E4BE wish #BABEE0 sky #C6E7F4 dress #F8C5C1 taupe #DBD1C3 denim #B6C8D4 sage #B5BEA4 marine #8A99AD mars #DA9085 shell #EDE0D6
In [19]:
Copied!
# Convert a Palette into a `matplotlib.colors.ListedColormap`.
evaluation_palette = apc.Palette(
"evaluation_palette",
[apc.amber, apc.canary, apc.vital, apc.aegean],
)
display(evaluation_palette.to_mpl_cmap())
# You might use this in situations where you want to translate a
# continuous variable into a categorical variable, such as when
# showing quartiles in a heatmap.
data = np.random.rand(8, 8)
sns.heatmap(data, cmap=evaluation_palette.to_mpl_cmap(), vmin=0, vmax=1, square=True)
plt.ylabel("Y axis")
plt.xlabel("X axis")
plt.show()
# Convert a Palette into a `matplotlib.colors.ListedColormap`.
evaluation_palette = apc.Palette(
"evaluation_palette",
[apc.amber, apc.canary, apc.vital, apc.aegean],
)
display(evaluation_palette.to_mpl_cmap())
# You might use this in situations where you want to translate a
# continuous variable into a categorical variable, such as when
# showing quartiles in a heatmap.
data = np.random.rand(8, 8)
sns.heatmap(data, cmap=evaluation_palette.to_mpl_cmap(), vmin=0, vmax=1, square=True)
plt.ylabel("Y axis")
plt.xlabel("X axis")
plt.show()
evaluation_palette
under
bad
over
Gradient utilities¶
Gradient objects have a variety of utilities for working with gradients.
In [20]:
Copied!
# Reverse the direction of a gradient
display(apc.gradients.viridis)
display(apc.gradients.viridis.reverse())
# Reverse the direction of a gradient
display(apc.gradients.viridis)
display(apc.gradients.viridis.reverse())
space #282A49 0 aegean #5088C5 0.468 lime #97CD78 0.746 butter #FFFDBD 1
butter #FFFDBD 0 lime #97CD78 0.254 aegean #5088C5 0.532 space #282A49 1
In [21]:
Copied!
# Add gradients together.
apc.gradients.reds + apc.gradients.blues.reverse()
# Add gradients together.
apc.gradients.reds + apc.gradients.blues.reverse()
Out[21]:
cinnabar #9E3F41 0.0 dragon #C85152 0.106 blush #FFF3F4 0.5 zephyr #F4FBFF 0.5 aegean #5088C5 0.873 lapis #2B65A1 1.0
In [22]:
Copied!
# Convert a Palette into a `matplotlib.colors.LinearSegmentedColormap`.
apc.gradients.magma.to_mpl_cmap()
# Convert a Palette into a `matplotlib.colors.LinearSegmentedColormap`.
apc.gradients.magma.to_mpl_cmap()
Out[22]:
magma
under
bad
over
In [23]:
Copied!
# Gradients represent a continuum of colors, so they have no length.
try:
len(apc.gradients.magma) # type: ignore
except TypeError as e:
print(e)
# But you can sample a gradient to create a Palette with a specified
# number of colors.
magma_palette = apc.gradients.magma.resample_as_palette(7)
display(magma_palette)
display(len(magma_palette))
# Gradients represent a continuum of colors, so they have no length.
try:
len(apc.gradients.magma) # type: ignore
except TypeError as e:
print(e)
# But you can sample a gradient to create a Palette with a specified
# number of colors.
magma_palette = apc.gradients.magma.resample_as_palette(7)
display(magma_palette)
display(len(magma_palette))
object of type 'Gradient' has no len()
magma_0 #341e60 magma_1 #4c3b81 magma_2 #77528b magma_3 #aa6889 magma_4 #cd8985 magma_5 #ebaf8b magma_6 #f5dfb2
7
Checking gradient lightness¶
For most applications, gradients should transition smoothly from light to dark (or vice versa), without major inflection points in intensity. You can check the lightness of a gradient using the apc.plot.plot_gradient_lightness function.
In [24]:
Copied!
apc.plot.plot_gradient_lightness(apc.gradients.viridis)
apc.plot.plot_gradient_lightness(apc.gradients.viridis)
When building custom gradients, you can use the .interpolate_lightness() method of any Gradient object to ensure that the gradient transitions smoothly from light to dark.
In [25]:
Copied!
# The colors in this custom gradient aren't smoothly increasing in lightness.
my_blues = apc.Gradient(
"my_blues",
[apc.concord, apc.vital, apc.sky, apc.zephyr],
)
# This method adjusts the positions of colors so that lightness is smoothly increasing.
my_blues_interpolated = my_blues.interpolate_lightness()
# You can see the difference in lightness by plotting the gradients.
apc.plot.plot_gradient_lightness([my_blues, my_blues_interpolated], figsize=(8, 5))
display(my_blues)
display(my_blues_interpolated)
# The colors in this custom gradient aren't smoothly increasing in lightness.
my_blues = apc.Gradient(
"my_blues",
[apc.concord, apc.vital, apc.sky, apc.zephyr],
)
# This method adjusts the positions of colors so that lightness is smoothly increasing.
my_blues_interpolated = my_blues.interpolate_lightness()
# You can see the difference in lightness by plotting the gradients.
apc.plot.plot_gradient_lightness([my_blues, my_blues_interpolated], figsize=(8, 5))
display(my_blues)
display(my_blues_interpolated)
concord #341E60 0.0 vital #73B5E3 0.3333333333333333 sky #C6E7F4 0.6666666666666666 zephyr #F4FBFF 1.0
concord #341E60 0.0 vital #73B5E3 0.67 sky #C6E7F4 0.901 zephyr #F4FBFF 1.0
Displaying all available colors, gradients, and palettes¶
In [26]:
Copied!
# Display all colors.
apc.palettes.all_colors
# Display all colors.
apc.palettes.all_colors
Out[26]:
aegean #5088C5 amber #F28360 seaweed #3B9886 canary #F7B846 aster #7A77AB rose #F898AE vital #73B5E3 tangerine #FFB984 lime #97CD78 dragon #C85152 oat #F5E4BE wish #BABEE0 sky #C6E7F4 dress #F8C5C1 taupe #DBD1C3 denim #B6C8D4 sage #B5BEA4 marine #8A99AD mars #DA9085 shell #EDE0D6 gray #EBEDE8 chateau #BAB0A8 bark #8F8885 slate #43413F charcoal #484B50 crow #292928 forest #596F74 pitch #09090A parchment #FDF8F2 zephyr #F4FBFF lichen #F7FBEF dawn #F8F4F1 concord #341E60 brightgray #EAEAEA paper #FCFCFC redwood #52180A depths #09473E soil #4D2500 umber #A85E28 parchment #FDF8F2 heather #A96789 tumbleweed #E9A482 wheat #F5DFB2 shire #4E7F72 topaz #FFCC7B space #282A49 butter #FFFDBD terracotta #964222 blush #FFF3F4 lilac #6862AB ghost #FCF7FF white #FFFFFF red #FF0000 green #00FF00 blue #0000FF cyan #00FFFF magenta #FF00FF yellow #FFFF00 black #000000 dusk #094468 lapis #2B65A1 cinnabar #9E3F41 melon #FFD0B0 mustard #D68D22 sun #FFD364 tanzanite #54448C iris #DCDFEF asparagus #2A6B5E teal #6FBCAD glass #C3E2DB azalea #C14C70 candy #E2718F putty #FFE3D4 mud #635C5A stone #EDE6DA steel #687787 cloud #ABBAC4 dove #CAD4DB ice #E6EAED yucca #1E4812 fern #47784A matcha #71AC5A edamame #C1E1AE
In [27]:
Copied!
# Display all palettes.
apc.plot.display_all_palettes()
# Display all palettes.
apc.plot.display_all_palettes()
Primary Secondary Neutral Background PrimaryOrdered SecondaryOrdered AllOrdered BlueShades RedShades YellowShades PurpleShades TealShades PinkShades WarmGrayShades CoolGrayShades GreenShades Other Named AllColors BlueShades+RedShades+YellowShades+PurpleShades+TealShades+PinkShades+WarmGrayShades+CoolGrayShades+GreenShades
In [28]:
Copied!
# Display all gradients.
apc.plot.display_all_gradients()
# Display all gradients.
apc.plot.display_all_gradients()
magma viridis verde sunset wine lisafrank reds oranges greens sages blues purples orange_sage red_blue purple_green