You might be asking a simple question: How does one change a *selected* shape to have no fill and a black outline? The answers are simple.

- <kbd>Left-click</kbd> [X] in the color palette. <kbd>Right-click</kbd> black in the color palette.
- Access **Object > Fill and Stroke...** from the top menu.

You might be asking a harder question: How does one create shapes with any given style without having to make them first? The answer to that is convoluted, sadly.

You *can* make it so that shapes created take on the "last set color(s)"

1. Access Inkscape's preferences via **File > Inkscape Preferences...**
1. Open **Tools > Shapes > Rectangle** (I recommend you change all of them for consistency's sake)
1. Set this preference: **Create new objects with: Last used style**

Now comes the annoying part. You must first create/select a shape and set its color. You can't just select it. After this, the full style is stored in Inkscape's buffer so the next thing you make (in your case, a rectangle) will take on that style.