Intro | Part 1

A common color question for a web designer, at least where I live in Muskoka, is, "What tools do you use to build a website's color palette?"

Obviously a shelf of Microsoft and Adobe development tools helps a professional designer "play ball". But more and more, I find myself pulling up some really great online resources...and all are free. Now it used to mean that, at least in the design world, "free" was synonomous with "crappy". Not any more. Here are 10 Free Online Color Palette Tools that will help you knock your website's color scheme out of the park:

1. Colour Lovers Trends – If you are shopping for a color palette, this is the place to start.

Pros: Expansive and regularly updated Trends list of live A+ designed websites to peruse, complete with each site’s color palette.

Cons: Sciosoft Systems website hasn’t been included in the Trends list, yet.

Sciosoft Systems is a Canadian web design & development company based in Muskoka, which is in central Ontario. We provide ASP.NET website & Windows Server application development services to small and medium-sized business, as well as local government and not-for-profit groups. If you have a website project you’d like to discuss, please visit us at www.sciosoft.com.

Intro | Part 1

In web design, particularly for business, a design consideration that is usually top-of-mind for the designer is choosing the right color palette. Interestingly, the color scheme selection for the client is often relatively low on priority list, usually well behind layout and design elements.

I’m no Ph.D. in color psychology, but I’d be willing to bet this juxtaposition is because a client is often looking at the blank website canvas and saying, “What’s the overall impression we’re aiming for?” Meanwhile, the designer is thinking, “How do we start building pieces to get the overall impression we’re aiming for?” The bottom line is that the client and designer have the same end goal, just different entry points.

A car mechanic understands how to repair cars – not by seeing the car as a single system but as a complex interaction of individual systems – building a website is no different. Color sets the tone, and leads to an overall theme for the site, which gives rise to eye-catching design elements that are laid out to form your TOTALLY AWSOME & AMAZING website. It’s just that easy, right?

Over the next few articles I’m going to delve into choosing a corporate color palette. My hope is to help your company pick a color scheme that works for you, and your customers. I’m gearing this series towards clients (meaning you’ll be hiring someone to build the website for you), but hopefully designers can pick up some tips along the way, too. More...

Sciosoft Systems is a Canadian web design & development company based in Muskoka, which is in central Ontario. We provide ASP.NET website & Windows Server application development services to small and medium-sized business, as well as local government and not-for-profit groups. If you have a website project you’d like to discuss, please visit us at www.sciosoft.com.