I needed to pick some colors for a new website recently. I’m color blind, so that complicates things.
Thing is, color relationships can be defined mathematically and “good” or “bad” color combos can be selected by a formula, so it possible to pick colors that go together without actually being able to see them. I’ve done this color math manually for years, but I went looking for a piece of software to make it easier.
Some poking around Apple’s download library turned up Color Consultant Pro, ColorPoki, and BabelColor. Those apps worked, more or less, but I found Color Schemer Studio OSX the easiest to use. It allows you to select a base color, then view suggested color schemes as they might look on a website that shows the header, body, and sidebar as blocks of color on a hypothetical page.
What feature is it missing? I want a “back” button that lets me review my history of color selections during a session.
Of course, I’d also be interested in something that allows me to drag and drop colors on my real website and show the changes immediately.
Related: Jemima Pereira’s 4096 Color Wheel Version 2.1, my telling of color theory, some color blindness tests (one, two), and the Daltonize color-enhancer (um, yeah). Finally: Jim Bumgardner’s Flickr Colr Pickr.