Best Palette Sites

March 01, 2018

Picking colors is hard. Especially after having now studied color in some depth for my USC program. If anything it made it more difficult to select a palette.

I like palette picker sites on the internet because they not just make very precise work of picking compliments or triads or what have you, but also they expose me to colors I never pick on my own. I gravitate towards a black-white-red-yellow modernist look that has been done to death.

examples of that beat up old warhorse palette I love

First, get your foundation built

So you want to break away from the same old palettes you always gravitate towards? Well, before diving in, it is worth giving https://www.jenreviews.com/color-meaning/ a read. Understanding the cultural associations of color and the psychology behind color choices is important for many projects, and can help narrow your choices and avoid some color choice land mines. For example, don't use the virginal white of Western weddings for a bridal wear project with an East Asian clientele's red-clad brides, and try not to make your financial website pink without good reason.

So here are my favorite color pickers

  • Coolors - hit space bar and color roulette wheel spins a new combo. Chatroulette but with colors.
  • Color Supply - This is more how my brain works - pick a main color and then let a robot assistant show me some options. I freaking love this one. It is just so pretty.

Also rans.

  • Paletton - Great for playing with different combinations and shades. This is a go-to once I figured out what base color I like.
  • Adobe Color Picker - You know Adobe is all up in the colors. Formerly known as Adobe Kuler.
  • Color Safe - I should use this more - high contrast colors for accessiblity (for the color blind)
  • Ambiance - steal palettes from other websites. Very nice to pick brains.
  • Flat UI Colors - As the name implies, great for flat design and seems to apply to its cousin Material design which is flat design plus tiny drop shadows to indicate stacking of apps and docs.
  • Google Material Design Color Picker - Gives you lots of color schemes to play with. If you are thinking that you just want some color and you dont care how, this is great.
  • Color Picker - Oooh yeah gives you hex and rgb cmyk. Handy for those RGBA CSS entries where you otherwise have to convert hex to rgb.

side note

I love vivid candi's website.