Using a specific color palette can distinguish an inexperienced designer from a professional graphic designer. We know that the human eye can distinguish approximately 1,000 colors. Therefore, it is understandable that choosing colors for our project can be somewhat intimidating, but don’t let this overwhelm you!
Choosing colors correctly can be decisive in our graphic piece or the visual identity we are developing. Remember, you should always choose them thoughtfully, never arbitrarily. For a color palette to work, it must have been chosen with intention in mind.
There’s nothing like color to bring your work to life. Choose the color with a clear intention that sets the tone and communication of your design.
In this article, I will go over everything you need to know to develop a color palette, whether for a personal project or a client.
What is Color?
Color is the sensation we perceive when observing, thanks to the organic sensors in our eyes, how light rays bounce off the surface of objects.
In any case, there’s no need to get too technical. What you should remember is that color has three properties: hue (shade), saturation, and brightness.
Color is a key visual element in graphic design. A proper choice of color can help us create emphasis, achieve contrast, gain harmony, and capture attention. In summary, it reinforces communication. We can even use color to evoke emotions. On the other hand, a poor choice can weigh on our composition and contribute to visually disconnecting our audience.
What is a color palette?
A color palette is a set of colors or different shades selected harmoniously for a common purpose. This purpose could be an illustration, a graphic composition, or even a webpage.
We’re talking about one of the most fundamental tools in graphic design. We develop a palette to evoke a specific feeling. Within a color palette, all colors combine well with each other.
Note that a color palette can be comprehensive, including all known colors, or just a small selection of colors. This article is developed for a small palette, functioning as a specific color selection.
In graphic design, we use palettes to reserve a set of chosen tones or colors to compose visual identities or compositions.
Uses of Color
When we talk about color in corporate identity, we need to understand that color should be tied to a primary objective. Color is not chosen solely for aesthetic value.
Remember, the colors that will be part of our corporate color palette must be appealing to our target audience.
For example, pastel tones or brighter colors are often associated with a younger audience and are perceived as more positive colors. In contrast, darker or more muted colors may be associated with an older audience and are perceived as sadder colors.
Additionally, we must consider intentionality, as selecting colors for communication from a bank entity is not the same as choosing colors for a music festival.
There are also factors to consider when selecting colors for our color palette. For example, how light affects each color or even the materials on which they will be printed. Keep in mind that colors will not look the same in digital, reproduced under an RGB color mode, as they will when printed using a printing system under a CMYK color mode.
If you still have doubts and don’t fully understand color modes, you can take a look at the following article: RGB and CMYK: What They Are and When to Use Each Color Mode.
Color Palettes in Corporate Visual Identity
When developing the visual identity for a company, the choice of what is called the “corporate color” plays a very important role. I’m talking about the color that will be immediately associated with the brand by any customer. The company will work to position itself in the customer’s mind under that color.
I’m sure that when you think of Coca-Cola, Netflix, or Nintendo, the same color comes to mind, right?
This main color will usually be accompanied by a series of secondary colors that seek to “complement” and support this main color. Normally, secondary colors appear to a lesser extent in the company’s communications, so as not to overshadow the corporate color at any time. Therefore, secondary colors may serve a more aesthetic than emotional function, unlike the main color.
The corporate color palette of a company will be formed by the combination of the main color and the secondary colors.
How to Choose the Perfect Color Palette?
If you are a reader of the blog, by now you surely understand that color can evoke concepts or sensations.
Main Color and the Psychology of Color
When developing a perfect color palette for visual identity, the first thing we need to do is choose the main color of the project. To achieve this, I would recommend always using Color Psychology, also known as chromatic psychology.
Color psychology is a field of study aimed at analyzing the effects that colors can have on us and how they can emotionally or mentally influence our decisions. Color fascinates and evokes all kinds of feelings. Therefore, mastering color and choosing colors correctly is crucial for any graphic designer. Many brands take advantage of the psychological properties of a good color palette.
Secondary Colors and Color Theory
Once we have selected the main color for our brand, we can move on to creating our color palette! And for that, we need to choose the secondary colors that will also be part of it.
We need to choose a set of colors that harmoniously combine or contrast with our corporate color. But as I mentioned before, color choices should never be arbitrary.
To complete the development of our color palette by choosing secondary colors, we can use Color Theory. Color theory supports a set of basic rules for color selection, aiming to achieve the desired combination effect. To use color theory, we need to use the color wheel.
If what I’m telling you sounds like Chinese to you, then you should take a look at the following article: Color Theory: How to Choose a Coherent Color Palette.
Here, I delve more deeply into this theory and the different formulas to follow for choosing colors. You will see that by combining various colors chosen within this same wheel, we can achieve very different results.
Tools to Create a Color Palette
If you don’t want to complicate things too much to find the perfect color palette, you’ve landed on the right article. Nowadays, there are numerous websites or resources to help us create our own color palette.
I have selected a handful of color palette generators and some other tools that will be useful if you are looking to create a palette or perhaps just seeking some inspiration.
Take a look and have fun experimenting!
1. Adobe Color
Adobe’s official tool for choosing colors. On this website, we can select complementary, monochromatic, analogous, or triadic colors, even starting from an initial color. A perfect tool for choosing the secondary colors of your palette based on the main color.
2. Khroma
Khroma is a color tool designed for graphic designers. It has its own artificial intelligence (AI). We can search and save a large number of color combinations.
When we register, it will ask us to choose a selection of 50 colors from hundreds of options presented. After that, we will encounter a new page with new color combinations based on our previous selection.
You can view color combinations as simple palettes, gradients, and even with fonts if you want to better evaluate the applied color.
3. Color Hunt
Color Hunt is another free platform with thousands of color palettes. If needed, we can also search for color palettes by a specific hue.
And if you really like this tool, you can also download it as a Google Chrome extension. Thus, with every new tab we open under the browser, a different palette will be generated, to inspire us at all times!
4. Color Box
Color Box is another open-source tool created by the design department of Lyft, an American startup that has positioned itself as the most concerning competitor to Uber and traditional taxis. It has various functions, allowing us to further define the hue, saturation, and brightness of a color.
5. Coolors
Coolors is a web platform where you can generate an infinite number of color palettes. It also offers very advanced control over color. Additionally, from this platform, you can upload images to generate a new color palette with shades from the image. You can explore a general directory to see other palettes created by the rest of the community.
6. Color Code
Color Code is a highly interactive tool for selecting colors. Upon entering the page, you’ll notice that it takes up the entire browser screen. Move the mouse cursor across the screen until you find a color you like, and click to save it! It will be automatically added to your color palette. Click on the + icon to add more colors to your selection. You can also scroll the mouse wheel up to darken the tone or down to lighten it.
7. Picular
This web platform allows us to generate colors by simply entering a word. It’s super instantaneous! Just type a word of your choice, and Picular searches the results from the first images on Google, extracting the main color from each image. A great option to find a specific selection of colors associated with a word or concept.
8. Scale
With this platform, you can generate and customize a color palette from scratch. You can modify the saturation, hue, and brightness of each color. Just remember to note down all the hexadecimal codes afterward.
So…
Now you know, don’t hesitate to revisit the article and take a look at the above tools whenever you need to develop a color palette.