22-25 April 2026 
Beyond Red, Amber, Green: Building Colour-Accessible Dashboards
Proposed session for SQLBits 2026TL; DR
Learn why RAG colours exclude millions of colour-blind users and discover practical Power BI techniques, from WCAG contrast to accessible colour toggles, to build dashboards everyone can understand and trust.
Session Details
Raise your hand if you rely on red, amber, and green (RAG) to report performance and progress…
Now imagine discovering, as I once did, that a colour-blind user had spent six months quietly struggling to make sense of a dashboard, simply because the colours told a story he couldn’t see.
For millions of people with colour-blindness, those familiar RAG visuals can blur into a single message, or no message at all.
In this session, we’ll explore how to move beyond traffic-light reporting to create dashboards everyone can read and act on. You’ll learn how to apply WCAG contrast principles, introduce accessible colour themes (including a Power BI colour-mode toggle), and strike the right balance between brand guidelines and usability.
Walk away with practical techniques to build colour-accessible dashboards that inform, include, and genuinely empower every user.
Now imagine discovering, as I once did, that a colour-blind user had spent six months quietly struggling to make sense of a dashboard, simply because the colours told a story he couldn’t see.
For millions of people with colour-blindness, those familiar RAG visuals can blur into a single message, or no message at all.
In this session, we’ll explore how to move beyond traffic-light reporting to create dashboards everyone can read and act on. You’ll learn how to apply WCAG contrast principles, introduce accessible colour themes (including a Power BI colour-mode toggle), and strike the right balance between brand guidelines and usability.
Walk away with practical techniques to build colour-accessible dashboards that inform, include, and genuinely empower every user.
3 things you'll get out of this session
1. Identify accessibility limitations of traditional RAG dashboards and understand how colour-blind users experience them.
2. Apply WCAG contrast and accessible colour strategies to create inclusive visuals in Power BI.
3. Implement practical solutions, including how to chose alternative colours and build an accessible colour-mode toggle, without compromising brand identity or design clarity.