Building Your Color Palette
I work on design systems as my day-to-day job. This is the first post I've seen on HN that actually captures how to properly set up your color palette. The author's early call out on how palette generators are not a one-stop-shop for your color palette rings true. Color meaning and harmony cannot be broken down into a mathematical formula. It's too heavily influenced by a.) biology, b.) trends, and c.) culture.<p>RGB simply does not map 1:1 with our biology. We can't say, "ok here's a simple formula that will create two color that have harmony with humans universally". We can approximate it, but there's no perfect system out there for it. Other color modes (such as HSL or LAB) help, but come with their own drawbacks as well.<p>Trends is another matter that is rarely considered or talked about. We as society gravitate towards certain colors within each geographical market. As a UX designer, it's important to stay within the bounds of these. There are certain things in life that should follow trends, many of which are items that convey important meaning. Can you imagine if every city in America used a different stop sign? It would be disastrous. Having one universal shape/symbol reduces the mental load required to recognize the meaning of the object. Likewise if a market gravitates towards a certain shade of red as dangerous, then you should stay close to that color when choosing your design palette. Over time these colors will shift as the trends slowly evolve - this is not something that can be approximated by a formula.<p>The last bit is culture. Color in each culture is widely different. Red in China conveys prosperity, which is why if you look at designs for stock portfolio apps in China, graphs are red when going up in price. In India it represents purity. In the Western world it's danger. None of this can be captured in a formula.<p>The author breaks down what the correct approach is when choosing color - breaking down meaning and extrapolating shades in your ramp to create a useful, well supported palette.