

Ask HN: How do you pick colors - matthodan

How do you pick the colors that you use in logos and sites?  I've been using Photoshop's color libraries for years to find attractive color combos, but I wanted to see how others have approached the task.
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charliepark
<http://kuler.adobe.com/> is a really good resource for this. You can name a
general description of a color you want ("dirt" or "angry" or "light blue" or
"cloudy"), and you'll get a ton of color combos, with a ton of complimentary
colors thrown in for free.

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rogerthat
I find the color schemes don't translate well to a web design from the format
that they present on Kuler. But maybe that's just me.

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qhoxie
I've used <http://www.colourlovers.com/> for years. Great site.

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dejv
<http://colorschemedesigner.com/> is also nice, it also include emulator for
different eye diseases

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bootload
_"... observing nature is far more interesting than just trying to think about
things ..."_

Nature.

I discovered this back in 2007 playing around with images I'd taken out my
kitchen window ~
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157603995704881...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157603995704881/)
I also keep a hand colour set on flickr for reference ~
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157600195794663...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157600195794663/)

Back in 2007: _"If I ever need to do things like come up with ideas
observation of nature and complex systems such as the web is always a good
place to start. Here I'm looking at colour & colour schemes. Never would have
thought of this combo and ratios"_ ~
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/541666109/>

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jakarta
<http://zabadab.eu/colorwhore/> <http://www.knorrpage.de/colormatch.html>

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colbyolson
I use Color Scheme Designer, it's so easy to find complementary colors and its
a beautiful UI.

<http://colorschemedesigner.com/>

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diiq
I use color theory. <http://www.worqx.com/color/index.htm>

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petervandijck
And moving beyond the visual to branding: if there is an entrenched competitor
in your space that uses a certain color (lets say blue), pick an opposite
color (say red or green). If you color your logo/colorscheme the same as them,
you are just confirming visually that your brand is a copy of them, and not
positioning yourself as different, which will make it harder to compete (gain
mindshare as the marketers say).

~~~
petervandijck
So for example, if you're competing with national geographic, do NOT choose
yellow :)

~~~
petervandijck
Competing with digg, do NOT choose blue. etc.

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yannis
I 'lift' them from paintings :)

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Perceval
If you're really interested in how artists approach color and theory, you
might pick up a copy of Kandinsky's _Concerning the Spiritual in Art_ , which
puts forth a modernist/Bauhaus color theory:

<http://books.google.com/books?id=mG-VRWgfpuYC>

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky#Concerning_th...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky#Concerning_the_Spiritual_in_Art)

~~~
marcusbooster
Also, Josef Albers and his book _Interaction of Color_.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Albers>

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petercooper
I use a lot of the sites mentioned elsewhere on this page, but other than
that, one thing I also do is find pictures with color combinations in them
that "jump out" at me and then sample those colors into a palette. This is how
to get the most interesting combinations in my experience.

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NathanKP
I usually consider the psychology of the colors I use, especially from the
point of view of whether or not I am designing a commercial site. In addition
it is important to consider the age group of your website visitors.

I've written an article about my take on color psychology in web pages:

[http://experimentgarden.blogspot.com/2009/06/psychology-
of-c...](http://experimentgarden.blogspot.com/2009/06/psychology-of-color-in-
webpages.html)

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silvio
In the same way that I wouldn't ask an artist to design a software library, I
don't expect myself to choose colors, layout, or design correctly. When shown
choices from designers, I can tell which ones I like, and which ones work, and
so on, but hacking graphic aesthetics is something that takes years to get
good at, as any kind of hacking.

I would recommend that you hire a designer, or make friends with some
designers who can help you with this.

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jamesbritt
Sometimes I semi-arbitrarily pick two colors that feel right with each other
(on a white background), and start there.

I makes adjustments over time, the more I look at something while I work on
it.

Often I poke around with assorted tools to see what pops up.

<http://delicious.com/jamesbritt/colorpicker>

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n-named
<http://colorusage.arc.nasa.gov/ColorTool_appletMac.html>

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bbest86
<http://aviary.com> has a great color picker called Toucan. It allows you to
pick colours spaced out around the colour wheel based on a few parameters.
Also does the colour-blindness emulator. You can check out colour palettes
that others have created as well and modify them to become your own as you see
fit.

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lkozma
I pick a nice photo of nature and use a "color palette generator" (search for
this, etc.)

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catch404
colr.org is a good resource for this

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lkozma
Also this palette generator: <http://www.degraeve.com/color-palette/>

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maxer
I wear very vibrant colors in life- lots of yellows, oranges and sky blues

This carries through in my designs-

So usually start with a color and may see a site with a scheme and alter it or
use one of the color scheme choosers in google

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known
<http://www.w3schools.com/tags/ref_color_tryit.asp?hex=ffffff>

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RobEdwards
<http://www.colourlovers.com/> is a great place to start. Loads of color
pallets and textures.

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DanielStraight
I look for nice colors that aren't blue. Too many things use blue.

I also use the previously mentioned colourlovers and colorschemedesigner.

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davidw
Completely randomly, and it shows:-/

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cgherb911
I see alot of posts from the design perspective but what is your brand trying
to convey? Who are your customers? The sure fire way is to generate lets say
20 schemes, get friends, family, and biz partners to vote on their top 5. Get
a collection of top 3-10 color schemes and show them to possible customers.
Take their input and there you have a color scheme that has a high likelyhood
of working for your target market. Attractiveness does not equal branding
good, ex this famous brand: <http://www.arrogantbastard.com/>

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cgherb911
oh and a few more famous brands to back my argument for colors focus on your
brand (story)... <http://www.google.com>
<http://www.purwater.com/#/healthy%20water,%20healthy%20you>
<http://www.toyota.com/prius-hybrid/> <http://www.teslamotors.com/>

As you see the color schemes are only there to accentuate the brand. Do
customers buy teslas in order to be green or because their a luxury sports
car? Their color scheme is chosen on the basis of their brand and who their
customers are.

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matthodan
Do you think it helps to use colors that you find in brands that people are
already familiar with?

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cgherb911
The colors you choose shouldn't matter on what others choose. The colors you
choose should convey your brand. Doing something different with your color
scheme may even be a benefit in regards to being the purple cow.

