Building Palettes
From instinct to method
Color · LEARN
A palette is not five colors you like — it is a working system with roles: a background, a text color, an accent, a signal, and the neutrals in between. Methods exist because instinct collapses under deadline. Start from a source with built-in logic — a single hue's tints and shades, a photograph worth stealing from, or a brand color that everything must support.
Then pressure-test it: check every text pairing for contrast, place the colors next to the ones they will actually live beside, and view the palette in grayscale to confirm value structure carries the design without hue. A palette that survives grayscale, contrast checks, and real content is finished.
THE METHODS
- Assigning roles: background, text, accent, signal
- Building a scale of tints and shades
- Extracting palettes from photography and art
- Expanding a palette from a single brand color
- Grayscale testing for value structure
- Documenting and applying a palette consistently