This next variation of the color-bars macro allows you to assign colors to the chart bars based on the background colors of selected cells. For example, assume the screenshot below:

The macro below loops through the department column and assigns a color to the bars based on that department.

Sub ColorBars()

    Application.ScreenUpdating = False

    Dim Rng As Range
    Dim Cnt As Integer
    Dim Color As Integer

    Cnt = 1

    For Each Rng In Range("B3:B10")
        Color = Rng.Interior.ColorIndex
        Set Pts = ActiveChart.SeriesCollection(1).Points(Cnt)
        Pts.Interior.ColorIndex = Color
        Cnt = Cnt + 1
    Next Rng

End Sub

The final product looks like the chart below.