Color is one of the key design building blocks and it can make or break your design. But finding the right color can sometimes be a challenge.
I’ve found a few websites that can help you find color inspiration for your campaigns quickly and easily. Let’s dive in and take a look.
Adobe Color is an excellent resource that utilizes a color wheel to help you find the exact hex color code for any custom color on the wheel. Not only that, this website also suggests a specific color palette for your chosen color(s), to more easily discover complimentary colors in the same family.
The color wheel is extremely versatile, showing complementary colors, split complementary, and double-split complementary colors. Not only does it do the work for you, but it also allows you to find your own color combinations on the wheel. I highly recommend this resource if you need help finding coordinating colors.
Given my fine arts past, I love the color wheel approach—plus it integrates nicely with other Adobe applications by giving you the option to save to a color library.
Canva Color Palette Generator will take your uploaded image and determine a color palette based on the colors within your image. This is one of the easiest ways to color-coordinate your design to make your social media graphics stand out from the crowd.
You can also choose from literally thousands of color combinations they have already provided, or you can create your own custom color palette with a color wheel of their own.
This is especially useful for those who work in Canva as well as the versatility of working with your own graphics.
Try any of these websites if you need fast and easy color inspiration for your organization’s design campaigns. You’ll be amazed at how simple (and fun!) they are to use and how color can unify your design.
Colorhunt is a user-generated palette generator that allows you explore random palettes or select palettes by characteristics (i.e. pastel, warm, retro). Users can submit their own palette ideas to the collection.
They also have a Google Chrome extension which opens a new color palette each time you open a tab. A unique way to get color inspiration!
Coolors.co is a fast and fun palette generator. This website allows you to explore existing palettes or make one of your own. They also provide downloadable apps for Apple, Android, Chrome, and others. You can experiment with colors they suggest by sliding toggles to make the colors brighter or darker, depending on your preference. If you like the color, you can “lock” it in to make it a part of your palette.
For a faster and more efficient way to choose a color palette, you can also upload a picture or a graphic and choose colors from your existing media.
One of the reasons I like Coolors is because you can download color palettes and save them for easy reference.
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