I started writing this post as a list of "top color scheme generators", but rather than offer a list of applications—of which there are many (Veerle’s Blog maintains a good list of color swatch applications)—I decided to focus on the one I use most: Adobe Kuler. I haven’t found a definitive source for the correct pronunciation of Kuler. I say "cooler" like most people, but it seems likely it was meant to be a clever spelling of "color".
Kuler is a free online Flash application that allows you to create color themes (swatches). It’s a great tool for browsing color themes submitted by other designers or experimenting with your own color variations.
You can begin creating a theme based on someone else’s theme, an image, or just one color. From there, you have advanced options for making changes. What sets Kuler apart from similar applications is its integration with other Adobe products and the Kuler community, which is a great resource for inspiration.
Find your color inspiration
From the Kuler homepage, you start in browse mode with a list of the highest rated themes by other designers. You can browse and sort by several categories or search theme titles and tags.
A great way to find inspiration for a design project is to search by topic. For example, search for "sunset" or "Thanksgiving" or "Obama". It’s interesting to see what colors designers associate with certain keywords. You can also subscribe to an RSS feed for each theme category for a constant stream of color inspiration.
Create your theme from a color
Once you find a theme you like, you can customize it by selecting a Rule or manually adjusting the color properties with the Color Wheel.
Kuler Rules allow you to view colors under different conditions, including: Analogous, Monochromatic, Triad, and Complementary. For example, selecting the Analogous rule will match colors with adjacent hues and selecting the Monochromatic rule will focus on one color with varied intensity and lightness in a single hue. You can switch between rules to see how your base color is matched under different settings.
For making advanced HSV adjustments, use the Color Wheel (based upon the Edit Colors dialog box in Adobe Illustrator).
Create your theme from an image
Kuler also allows you to create a theme based on an image. Upload an image to sample or connect to Flickr to access images. After you select an image, Kuler will sample colors and create a theme.
Once Kuler creates a theme based on your image you can change the Mood settings (similar to Rules) to adjust the type of colors that Kuler extracts from the image. You can also manually select colors from the image to modify the theme further.
Saving your theme
After you’ve created your theme you have multiple saving options:
- Save a theme as a Favorite in your Kuler profile to access later
- Download an Adobe Swatch Exchange (.ASE) file for use with Adobe CS applications
- Import directly into Adobe CS4 using the built-in Kuler extension (see below)
- Copy & paste the color values
Additional features
One of the great advantages of Kuler over similar products is its integration with Adobe CS4 applications. Kuler is accessible by most Adobe CS4 applications by choosing Window > Extensions > Kuler. This integration makes it incredibly easy to save a color scheme to your swatches palette with just the click of a button. Since anytime I use Kuler I am working with Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash or Fireworks, this is a big timesaver.
Another great feature is the Kuler community. All the themes are created and shared by other designers. As a member of the community you can rate themes, add comments and participate in Kuler Talk, an online forum. These options encourage learning through conversations about color. I like to browse theme comments for inspiration. Sometimes I see a use for a theme that I wouldn’t have otherwise considered. To join the Kuler community, login with a free Adobe ID.
Learn more about Kuler
Do you use Kuler or other color scheme generators? What are your experiences using them?
