living the live i want: 55+ Color Tools for Color Palettes, Color Combinations, Color Schemes & More for Graphic Designers & Web Designers

55+ Color Tools for Color Palettes, Color Combinations, Color Schemes & More for Graphic Designers & Web Designers

Every designer will find these free online color tools to be useful. Whether you are a Graphic Designer, Web Designer, Fashion Designer, Interior Designer, Landscape Designer, or any other sort of Designer, color combinations are essential to your career. Although, we all have a unique sense of what colors go together, many of us tend to use the same color schemes over and over again because they are safe. What these color tools do, in my opinion, is help us find new beautiful color schemes that we haven’t tried to use before. Look below to find a huge list of online color tools and utilities to find new color schemes for your layouts and designs. Don’t forget to read Part I of our color article series … How to Choose Colors and Color SchemesÂ … Part II of our color article series … 55+ Color Tools for Color Palettes, Color Combinations, Color Schemes & More for Graphic Designers & Web Designers… PartÂ III of our color article series … Using Color Theory to Create Beautiful Color Combinations…Â and Part IV of our color article series …Â Â Examples of Great Color Schemes and Color Combinations

100 Random Colors 2.0 - This nifty little web color application is primarily a random color generator that’s intended to help graphic designers and web designers like you to truly get out of your “creative block.”
Accessibility Color Wheel - The Accessibility Color Wheel is an interactive page with a very visual display of how color blind people view different foreground and background combinations on a website. This color wheel tool works by choosing a foreground color, and then pointing the mouse over the wheel or the grey stripe, and then clicking. Then click the “Background” button and choose a background color the same way. If OK becomes visible, then the color combination is good for accessibility.
Color Blender - The Color Blender is a free online tool for color matching and palette design. To get started, just choose a color using the color picker, and a 6-color matching palette blend will be automatically calculated. You can then tweak individual colors of your blend. Blends can be saved for future use or you can just choose to load a random color blend for those color creative blocks.
Color Cell - This is an experimental website about colors. Colorcell wants to find the most popular color combinations. You can create your own COLORCELL by choosing up to four of your favorite colors. Your cell is living in a virtual livingspace with cells from other users. There is space for 100 cells. Everybody can select their favorite cells once a day. Each day, the daily selections of each cell get converted into fitnesspoints. Cells that seem to be likeable will become stronger and cells that didn’t get selected often enough will become weaker.
Color Combos - This site was built to help web developers and web designers quickly select and test website color combinations. The heart of the site is the Combo Tester, which allows web developers to see how different color combinations work together on the screen. If you are looking for color combination ideas, check out the Combo Library. The library contains hundreds of color swatches, along with their color hex values. You can also use the website color grabbing tool or the search tool to get a quick start.
Colour Contrast Checker - The Colour Contrast Check Tool allows to specify a foreground and a background colour and determine if they provide enough of a contrast “when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen”[W3C]. The tool will indicate that the colours pass the test if both the colour difference and the brightness difference exceed their threshold. It will indicate that it sort of passes if only one of the two values exceed their threshold. And finally, it’ll fail to pass if neither value exceeds its threshold.
ColorDB Color Database - You will love this amazing color tool. Click on the Color Wheel and a plethora of color information appears for this color that you just chose. Some of these things are variations of this color, color harmonies for this color, colors that are close, a color map for this color, as well as other information such as CMYK, RGB, HLS, and much more. You will love this.
Color Hunter - Color Hunter is a place to find and make color palettes created from images. To find color palettes on Color Hunter, enter a search term in the box at the top of the page. You can search by tag or hex color code or image URL. If you have an image, you can upload it and get a color palette based on the colors in the image.
Color Inspirator - With the Color Inspirator, you can tell the site how many colors that you would like to work with, click the “mix” button and receive your color palette suggestions.
Color Jack - ColorJack is an online Color Scheme Generator used by Graphic Designers, Interior Decorators, and many other people from around the world. The front page is almost completely covered with square color swatches. Just hover your mouse over one of the swatches to see color schemes that go well with that particular color. Color Jack also has a great Sphere Color Picker - tool that you might find useful.
Color Lab by Visibone - You will love the tools that Visibone offers for graphic designers and web designers. This specific webmaster’s color tool is the 216-color palette Color scheme picker for web designers called Color Lab. You can see all of the web-safe colors on the left. Pick a color by clicking on the color that you think that you want. After you click, you will be able to see your choices on the right with hex and decimal codes and all of the text and background color combinations.
Colour Lovers - COLOURloversâ„¢ is a resource that monitors and influences color trends. COLOURlovers gives the people who use color - whether for ad campaigns, product design, or in architectural specification - a place to check out a world of color, compare color palettes, submit news and comments, and read color related articles and interviews.
Color Mix - By dithering 2 or 3 browser safe colors, it is possible to make over 10 million different color combinations. ColorMix provides a quick and easy way to combine 216 hex values, reference the possibilities, and download new combinations. After you create a color that you would like to use, just click “Make Swatch” and ColorMix will prepare a gif time of that new color for download. The tile can be used as a background or fill.
Color Mixers - ColorMatch Remix is based upon the ColorMatch tool by Kim Jensen. Unfortunately, while useful, it only worked in Internet Explorer. Color Mixers has more features and more colors, and to top it off you can export the color tables, and a database of colors.
Color Scheme Generator 2.0 - A useful generator of color schemes and palettes to create good-looking and well balanced and harmonic web pages.
Color Schemer - Excellent tool for helping you design your graphic design materials or your websites. Color Schemer Online helps you pick the right color options, Generates RGB/HEX color schemes, and allows you to easily explore various color schemes.
Color SynthAxis - A very cool web-based color palette that is very useful for easy color scheming. However, it is only easy after you take the tutorial that is listed on this site. Color synthAxis is a free online tool designed to simplify the nightmare of color scheme selection. It looks complex, but after a few minutes you won’t be able to live without it. There are a lot of features in this color tool that you won’t find in other online color tools”¦check it out.
Color Toy 2.0 - ColorToy 2.0 is a Flash based color scheme generator and picker. It generates complementary color schemes based on your inputted color values or randomly, which is much more fun. This fun tool generates complementary color schemes based on your inputted color values or randomly. Which of way sounds more fun to you?
ColourMod - ColourMod comes in many different versions. Each version is tailored to fit your specific needs and desires. From color conversions on your desktop, to color picking on the web, there is something for you.
Color Vision - 1 in 12 people have some sort of color deficiency. When you’re designing for the web, this means that 1 in 12 people might not be able to see your site. That’s a lot of people. This tool helps you simulate the appearance of our site’s colors for people with different color visions. Select text and background colors from the palette below, then choose a color vision mode.
Color Schemer Studio - ColorSchemer Studio is a professional color matching application for anyone from hobbyists to advanced professionals. Work with a dynamic visual color wheel, instantly explore harmony relationships and even let ColorSchemer Studio intelligently suggest color schemes for you!(This software isn’t free)
Color Wizard - The Color Wizard is a color matching application for anyone who wants to create designs with great looking colors. The Color Wizard returns a set of hue, saturation and tint/shade variations of your color, as well as suggests color schemets to you, based on your color’s complementary color, split complementary colors, analogous colors and other variations. The color wizard also has a randomize function that lets you generate color schemes you might not have thought of on your own.
Colr Dot Org - What a great idea!! Load your own image into the site or get a random image from Flickr and this site will give you the color scheme for that picture. How great is that? They also have a tool in which you can enter the URL of a website, and you can get the color schemes from that. You can also browse through other users recent color schemes, which is also very useful.
CopySense Design and Color Utilities - On this page you will find many useful color tools and utilities to use while creating beautiful designs. Some of these color tools include (1) Colourway - Compare colors - web safe, Windows-based, and custom colors. (2) Colourband - Generate a graduated “band of color” that resizes with changes in screen resolution and browser window size. (3) Colourband Text - Generate HTML text in graduated color. (4) Colour Increments -Precise and easy color comparison and alteration. (5) RGB Converter - Convert RGB color codes from hexadecimal to decimal, and vice versa. A color box is present for verification.
Create a Website Color Scheme 2 - Use this free tool to study the relationships between colors. You can actually use it to choose the color scheme of your own website. Be sure to read the help section for a better understanding.
Daily Color Scheme - Daily Color Scheme is a web site all about colors. This site servers a new color combination scheme every single day of the year, to keep the designers head fueled with inspirational and usable color schemes.
December.com Color Shades - The December Color Shades Chart shows a list of colors and, for each color, three other colors based on the original color but with higher light values. You can use this chart to set up beautiful color schemes. This chart lists the colors from the color codes chart that have some saturation. (Grey, white, and black have no saturation.)
DeGraeve Color Palette Generator - A great tool to use for either graphic design or web design uses. All you need to do is type in the url of an image that you think has a great color palette, and then this color tool spits out the web hex colors. If you aren’t a web designer, you can still use these numbers by entering them into Photoshop to get the CMYK or RGB alternatives.
DHTML Goodies Color Schemer - Find the matching colors for your web site. Click on an element on the page(example the menu) to select it. Then select a color and click on the color from the color schemer to assign it to the selected web element.
Easy RGB - There are several free color tools that you, as a graphic designer or web designer, will find very useful. These online color tools include (1) a Color Matching tool - Match your computer generated RGB values to color cards, paint lines, inks, fandecks and more. (2) a Color Harmonies tool - Search for colors complements to your RGB values. Create color harmonies, combinations and themes. (3) a Search a Tint tool - Search popular color collections for specific color codes or names. Once selected the desired color, find the closest match in competitors’ fandecks and color cards, create harmonies or get chromatic data. (4) a Color Calculator tool - Convert color data to different color spaces. RGB to CIEL*ab, CMY to XYZ and much more…Looking for color math or space conversion formulas? Click here for some practical examples. (5) a Color Calibration tool - You can now calibrate our server (based on your system characteristics) to improve your EasyRGB color experience. Linux, UNIX, Mac, laptop, LCD users can now get a much better quality in color presentation. (6) PC Software - EasyRGB-PC is a Windows based application that performs all the major functions of this site without the need to be on-line all the time. Low cost chromameters interfaces are also available.
Eye Dropper Color Mixer - The tool uses fetches a pixel’s hex color value. You can use any image that you like. This is a very hand tool if you are trying to match an image’s background color to your design’s background color. You can now get a perfect color match.
Etsy - A fun way to choose colors…check it out to see what I mean.
Flickr Colr Pickr - This is a free color tool on Flickr. You can click on the color of your choice or use the slider instead. This color tool will then find images that match the colors you chose. This is a great tool for finding pictures that will match well with your graphic design or web design projects.
Forret Color Conversion - This is a page that will help you convert colors between RGB, CMYK and HSV color spaces.
GenoPal Online - GenoPal always proposes colors that are eye-pleasing. GenoPal colors are based on how your eye explores color - they are naturally harmonious. GenoPal does not have all the unnecessary bells and whistles. It’s so simple, your eye can select the right color without distraction. You can create, save and share your own palettes. Also comes with over 30 pre-loaded palettes. GenoPal lets you work in RGB, CMYK, HSB & HEX. Get colors from everywhere. You’d be surprised what GenoPal’s magnifier can find in your desktop.
GrayBit - GrayBit is an online accessibility testing tool designed to visually convert a full-color web page into a grayscale rendition for the purpose of visually testing the page’s perceived contrast.
Infohound Color Schemer - This color schemer is a simple tool to help you experiment with various color schemes for your next web or print project. Click around within the shaded box to set the saturation and brightness, or within the rainbow to set the hue. You can also enter a particular value directly into one of the boxes. Matching colors will be automatically chosen. You can click on one to set it as the primary color.
Jeff Minard’s Color Palette Generator - Another great tool that would be useful to either graphic designers or web designers. All you need to do is upload your chosen image and then this color tool spits out the web hex colors. If you aren’t a web designer, you can still use these numbers by entering them into Photoshop to get the CMYK or RGB alternatives.
Jemima’s 4096 Color Wheel - A simple free online color tool to use to find web safe / web smart colors.
JRM Color Palette Generator Tool - Upload an image to the JRM site and then this neat tool will give you a color palette as well as the Hex codes.
Juicy Studio Colour Contrast Analyser - The Web Content Accessibility require that foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits, or when viewed on a black and white screen. This online color tool is provided to allow you to check the contrast of two colors using the W3C’s color contrast algorithm by specifying the colors directly.
Kolur - Kolur is a simple and enjoyable way to browse color palettes. Designs displayed in the Kolur gallery go beyond the generic 3 colored dots, and attempt to portray the possibilities in palettes. This handy tool makes palette piracy easy and fun.
Kuler - A community site for creating, sharing, and downloading color palettes for use in themes and applications (as kuler APIs) “” great for inspiration, brainstorming. Need the most current Flash player.
Limitless Innovations Color Exploration Tools - 6 great color tools that are free to use online, including (1) a tool to check the ability to read text in four foreground and background combinations. (2) a tool to explore colors near a specific color. (3) a tool to mix varying amounts of all combinations of red, green and blue with a specific color. (4) a tool to finely-tune your color choice by hue, saturation or lightness, or make instant sets of coordinated colors. (5) a tool to blend a color with its complement and up to six other colors by creating the intermediary colors. (6) a summary of different color schemes. An example of each scheme is shown using the current color.
Online Color Chart Picker - This online color chart provides HTML color codes (HEX, Smart and Web Safe) in a very accessible format. First, click on the color wheel to select a color and angle and then a full color palette of selected colors will be displayed on the right. The color palette located on the right is structured in a way that color gains saturation from left to right and brightness from bottom to top. The color box on the far right side of the screen displays the current color under the cursor and its HEX color value.
Pantone to RGB Color Converter - Select Pantone Matching SystemÂ® Colors from within your favorite application with Pantone colorist. Version 2.0 features the latest sRGB, AdobeÂ® RGB (1998) and HTML values for the coated, uncoated and matte libraries. Plus, pick the perfect color scheme at InspireME, a dynamic Web utility feature of Pantone colorist.
Pic2Color - Pictures contain colors that represent a particular mood which now can be applied with just a single click. Just load your photo or illustration into Pic2Color to get the color scheme information. Pic2color is a patent-pending color re-scheming technology based on how the eye perceives color. This technology is set to revolutionize the creation of color schemes for graphics.
Redalt’s I Like Your Colors - An insanely cool color tool. All you do is type in the URL of a website that you like and the color palette of that site will appear for you to take and copy. Great idea for a color tool.
Sessions.edu Color Calculator - With the Sessions.edu Color Calculator, you can identify color harmonies faster than with any color wheel or chart. Use it to select a color scheme for a corporate identity or design project. Rotate shapes on the color wheel to identify harmonious color schemes. Adjust saturation and lightness. Save RGB, CMYK, or HTML color values, then send them to a colleague or client.
SitePro Central Color Schemer Chooser - Choose the best HTML color combinations with this free tool. Use the Color Schemer Chooser is an easy to use color finder that generates HTML codes. You choose a starting color and it sets up a scheme, such as an analogous or contrasting color scheme. A full suggested palette is provided (bottom left), with hex numbers.
SlayerOffice Color Palette Creator - The Color Pallete Creator is an excellent tool to make new colors from combinations of different colors. This tool will create 10 shades of the base color at varying degrees of opacity. The top row emulates opacity over a white background, the bottom over black, or other colors of your liking.
The Man in Blue Technicolor - This is a great and innovative color tool for web designers. First, you start by selecting color components. All elements on the mock web page can be colored, including section background and text color. The mock web page can then be “auto-painted” using the current main color and its variants. You can “promote” a variant color to be the main color by double-clicking on one of the color squares. This moves the variant to the main color and produces automatic variants for it. Then after doing all of this, you can get color codes. This cool color tool supplies the value as a decimal RGB component color, followed by the more web-traditional hexadecimal value.
Triplecode Munsell Palette - Most color models (such as RGB, HSV, and web color palettes) are based on mathematical formulas which have little to do with how the human eye sees colors. The Munsell system is different because it is based on how people perceive colors. The Munsell Palette software on this page is based on software Triplecode that principal David Young encountered while a student at the MIT Media Lab. The updated version here uses the same Munsell data, but can be used on any computer that supports the Flash plugin.
Unsafe Color Match Tool - Unsafe?? Yes, colors are in 30Â° hue steps, so in principle all possible 24-bit colors can be generated.
Web 2.0 Color Palette - Organised into 3 distinct colour groups - neutrals, muted tones and bold colours, you may recognize a few of the shades from some of your favourite Web2.0 sites. Now you can quickly and easily assemble your own colour scheme - simply choose any number of bold or muted colours, then add as many neutrals as you see fit - you’ll have a Web2.0 masterpiece in no time at all!
Web Color Visualizer - With this color tool, you can visualize different colors. You click on one of these color swatches and the background then changes to that color. After that, you then just hover your mouse over top of the color swatches and the text will then change colors so that you can see what color text looks good on your chosen background color.