A small number of colors reinforces visual hierarchy and contrast because there is less for users to consider and get distracted by. Is it the color saturation? Are the colors soft? Harsh? Warm or cool? Understanding why you like a particular color palette can help you move forward in creating your own. Try to understand why you like a particular color set. If you feel stuck or just don’t know where to start, draw inspiration from existing palettes (e.g., use Adobe Color or look at websites that you like). Don’t feel like you have to get it right the first time. Once you settle on a harmony, switch different colors in and out to see how they work and look together until you get a winning combination that you like and that works well for your design. A monochromatic scheme is typically the easiest to create and apply, so if you have zero color experience, start with this harmony.

Choose a color harmony (from above) and iterate on individual colors.The following guidelines can help you to create a color palette: Creating a Color PaletteĬreating a color palette can be challenging. Each individual color is purposely added and the overall set of colors provide a glimpse into the visual aesthetic of the product or interface. Applying Color to DesignsĬolor palettes are a range or set of colors that have been selected for a particular project, brand, or set of designs. If you are aiming for an interpretative meaning of colors in your design, then (a) be aware that it will likely not work worldwide and (b) run additional user testing to make sure that your color interpretation matches that of your users. In general, while with the advent of globalization certain colors may have achieved standard meanings (e.g., red for stop, green for go), it is safest to assume that color interpretation will vary from culture to culture. For example, what’s the color of money, red (China) or green (USA)? Also, keep in mind that some individuals may not be able to distinguish between certain colors due to color blindness. While there is a plethora of popular articles on the internet that will elaborate on the meaning of various colors, there is little real research that proves a universal effect of a particular color on emotions. If you have lots of color experience, you can experiment with more-complex harmonies, but start with two or three colors. However, the more colors you introduce, the harder it can be to balance and enforce visual hierarchy. There are more harmony types that use four colors. Analogous, complementary, triadic, split-complementary, and monochromatic are basic schemes that don’t require too many colors. Monochromatic: tones and shades of a single hueĬolor harmonies can be used to identify color combinations that work well together.Triadic: three equidistant colors (120 degrees apart) on the color wheel.This harmony slightly softens the contrast from basic complementary colors. Split-complementary: a color combined with others from either side of its complementary color.Complementary: colors that are opposite on the color wheel, which produce high color contrast.Analogous: colors that are next to each other on the color wheel (This color harmony creates low color contrast.).You could think of color harmonies as the building blocks or the underlying template of a color palette. While the details of color theory are beyond the scope of this article, a basic concept is that of color harmony: a set of colors that work well together. In visual arts, there are various attempts to explain what colors go together - these are known as color theory. Secondary colors are in the middle ring, and the largest outer circle is made of tertiary (and all primary and secondary) colors. Primary colors are shown in the smallest center circle.

Design infographic color palette