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A Free Mini-Guide by Robin Good
One of the most difficult tasks for visual communicators is selecting harmonious color combinations. Though we all feel we have the capability to select appropriate colors — in reality we've realized that's not true and it's difficult for those without a design background to find good color matches.
In consolation, perfect color combinations are the results of perfect mathematical equations. Exact and precise differences in light tone, color and saturation create pleasing and harmonious combinations, just like the ones great master artists have created.
Apply this knowledge along with interactive learning and visualization tools and you start find perfect color matches and combinations.
Thankfully, a few people have done this work and you can enjoy the thrill of interactive visual color matching by using unique tools.
Here are four gems to facilitate selecting perfect color combinations:
a) Andrew Mundi - Web Color Theory
b) Sessions.edu - Color Calculator
c) Color-Wheel-Pro
d) Colorimpact
If you know of others, please share them in the comments section where others have been mentioned. Also, we include recommended readings at the end of this mini-guide. If you ever need to refer to color-related definitions and terminology, a great place to start is Wikipedia's color entry.
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19) ColorCombos
ColorCombos is a web service that you can use to select and test website color combinations.
The core function is the Combo Tester that allows you to see how different color combinations match on the screen. The Combo Library is made up of different color swatches (along with their color hex values) that help you look for combination ideas. Last, using the interactive color grabbing tool you can submit a URL and extract a sample of the colors used on any website.
Price: Free.
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18) Flickr Color Selectr
Flickr Color Selectr is a free service that displays a gallery of images with a specific color that are inside the CC-licensed image archive on Flickr.
You only need to choose a color from the interactive color picker, and Flickr Color Selectr automatically updates the gallery by showing you all the images that use that very color. A color can also be inserted using hexadecimal digits or a dedicated slider.
Price: Free.
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17) ColorPix
ColorPix is a light Windows-only software that lets you grab the color values and screen coordinates of any pixel on your screen.
ColorPix automatically translates any screen color into RGB, HEX, HSB and CMYK color values, and comes with a zoom-able magnifier built in.
Price: Free.
