Website colors are super important. Using too many colors can make things look cluttered, but if you don’t use enough colors, or if there isn’t enough contrast between them, your message can get lost. Fortunately, there are a TON of amazing tools out there that can help those of us not professionally trained in color theory. And the bonus is that they can be REALLY fun to use! Here are my top 5 favorite color tools.
1. Colormind.io
This tool is right at the top of my go-to tools and it’s ALWAYS open on my computer when I’m designing a site or working on branding. Colormind will not only generate a palette, but it will also show you how and where to use the colors. Being able to see suggested uses for the colors is a huge help.
2. Coolers.co
The Coolers palette generator allows you to choose what method to use to generate the palette (complementary, split-complementary, monochromatic, etc). You can have up to 10 colors in a palette. If you hover over one color a menu option allows you to see the entire range of shades for that color, from the lightest to the darkest, which is handy for making small color tweaks without affecting the overall palette.
3. rgb.to
This is a simple tool but it’s SO handy. Apart from Hex codes, the most common methods of color identification are RGB, HSL, HSV, HSB and Pantone. Different software can use different methods of color identification, but you may only have the hex code for a color you want, and the software needs the RGB code. Rgb.to is a super quick and easy way to find ALL the code values for any color. You just put in the code values you have and it will spit out values for all the other formats. Simple, easy and OH SO useful!
4. Colorpick Eyedropper Chrome Extension
This is a nifty little extension to use with your Chrome browser. Just hover over any color on any web page and the extension will give you both the hex code and the RGB values for it. Again, simple but crazy useful.
5. color.adobe.com
And finally we get to the big guy on the block: Adobe. color.adobe.com is one of the coolest color tools I’ve come across yet. You can take one photo and generate a gradient from it (pictured here).
The Adobe tool will also generate several different color palettes from the same photo, but based on “mood”. The palettes below were all taken from the same photo, the only difference being which mood was selected.
Whether you’re designing a web page, a book cover, a business card or a t-shirt, color matters. All these tools will do a LOT more than what I’ve mentioned here, so it’s worth your time to play around with them. And if you’re like me, you may find them addictive!
Looking for help choosing a color palette for your brand, website, or other promotional materials? I’m happy to help! contact me here!