Appreciation post: I used to think my color picks were fine until I saw a sunset in Tucson

For a long time, I just grabbed colors that looked okay together from the default swatches in my software, no real plan. Then last fall, I was in Arizona and saw this insane sunset, all these dusty pinks and deep oranges layered over the purple mountains. I took a photo and made a color palette from it when I got home. Now I start almost every project by pulling colors from a real photo I took, like a street sign or some peeling paint on a wall. It makes the work feel way more grounded and less like it came from a computer. Anyone else have a go-to trick for finding colors that don't feel fake?

2 comments

2 Comments

hill.mila22d ago

Colors that don't feel fake" is a weird goal. Most people looking at a website or a poster don't know or care if the teal came from a photo of ocean foam or a default swatch. They just know if it looks good or it doesn't. I've seen plenty of ugly stuff made from "real" color palettes. The sunset thing is nice for you, but it's not a magic trick for better design.

tessagarcia22d ago

Oh, I get where you're coming from. It's true that most people just see the final look, not where the colors started. I guess the "real" color idea is more about a feeling for the person making the thing, like a personal starting point. But you're right, it doesn't automatically make the design work. A bad color combo is still bad, even if you pulled it from a beautiful sunset. The end result is what actually matters to everyone else.