Colors are my favorite design elements and they also drive me crazy because there are just too many options. In creating our new blog design, it has taken the longest time to settle on a solid color palette. Honestly, I should probably just get off of Pinterest for a while because seeing a thousand pretty color schemes every day does nothing for my indecisive mind. Right now I’m really thankful for all the fun color resources out there. Here are my top five tips for choosing the best colors for your blog design, as well as a download to the color palette template I use!
How to Choose the Best Colors for Your Blog Design
1. Choose colors that you love but won’t get tired of. I used to dream up pretty color schemes for my blog design, implement them right away, and then be completely over them in a matter of days. I’ve learned that it’s a really smart idea to try out color schemes and sit with them for a while before making any decisions. Angela mentioned that when she chooses colors for her blog, she looks to her own Instagram photos and Pinterest boards because it reminds her what colors she naturally gravitates toward and won’t get bored of. Such a good tip!
2. Look at the colors most commonly used in your niche, and mix it up. Unfortunately, I’m cursed with having a deep love of goldenrod yellow, peach, and mint – the top three most bloggy, Pinteresty colors. I’m not going to just ditch my favorite colors when it comes to my blog design, but I always try to see how I can work with them in different ways. When I designed our logo, I ended up still using one of my favorite colors (peach!) but I combined it with indigo and burnt orange, creating a color palette that isn’t oversaturated in the blog world.
3. Use a color palette generator. A few months ago, I shared 5 color palette resources that I find both inspiring and helpful. One of my favorite tools from that list is Adobe Color CC. It allows you to draw colors from images and create complimentary/monochrome/analogous color schemes with the click of a button. I’ve gotten lots of new design ideas from playing around with this gem.
4. Consider color psychology. How do you want your visitors to feel? What’s the mood and tone of your blog? Learning about the psychology behind colors can help you create a blog that draws in your ideal readers. This color psychology guide from Sprout Rd. is one of my favorite resources.
5. Create a mood board based on inspiring images you love. When I choose colors for blog designs, I start by saving a bunch of images that I feel represent the vibe I’m going for. Then I use Photoshop to draw colors from each photo. In the end, I have 8 or so color palettes that I absolutely love! Next I just have to narrow them down (usually by following steps 1-4).
I have a handy template I use whenever I need to compare color palettes, and I thought I’d share that with you today! This will work with most versions of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. See the tutorial below to learn how to use it.
Click Here to Download Color Palette Template
How to Use the Color Palette Template
To drop your photos into this template, just select one of the large rectangle layers (labeled Photo) and paste a photo (command/control-V).
You may need to move and resize the photo a bit to fit it in the rectangle. Hold down the Shift key while you resize the image to keep the proportions correct. When you’re content with the placement of the image, press Enter.
To change the colors of the smaller rectangles, select a rectangle with the Move Tool (shortcut – V).
From the sidebar choose the Shape Tool. In the Options Panel (up top) find where it says “Fill”. Click this option and use the Color Picker tool to draw colors directly from your photograph.
That’s all! Let me know if you have any questions.
How do you go about choosing colors for your blog design (or any projects really)? Are you indecisive like me or are you pretty confident in your color decisions?
Erin @ Very Erin says
There are definitely too many beautiful colors to choose from! When I was working on my blog redesign earlier this year, it took me ages to finally settle on just a couple of colors! Even now I second guess my choices.
Jennifer says
It’s so hard to stick with just a few colors! I’m always wanting to change it up but I have to keep resisting. :)
Kerstin says
Ah love the template! This is such a great idea :) And for me it was easy, I went for a kind of brownish colour that I wouldn’t get sick off so easily for my blog design.
Love, Kerstin
http://www.missgetaway.com
Jennifer says
The colors on your blog are amazing! I love sticking with neutral colors. So classic. :)
Sarah Noel says
I am working on a redesign too. Thank you for the advice. The color tools will be awesome to try out.
Sarah Noel | http://www.sarahsmirks.com
Jennifer says
Oh awesome, good luck with your redesign Sarah!!
Marie C. says
Great post :)
http://mariecsdiary.blogspot.hr/
Jennifer says
Thanks Marie! :)
Sophie says
Great post! I’m kind of obsessed with my blog design, and a constantly changing up the colours, which really isn’t a good idea…Thanks for the tips!
http://thefoxfromnovember.blogspot.co.uk/
Jennifer says
Thanks for reading, Sophie! It’s such a discipline to stick with one color scheme. Definitely not something I’m good at haha.
tonya says
I love colors so much, I’m always wanting to change mine. However, I know that’s not wise!
Jennifer says
Story of my life! :)
Zoe Collins says
Wow your blog posts are so helpful! So many great ideas I love it!
Zoe says
I clicked on this post because I am rebranding my entire business and that includes the long standing project to re-do my entire website/blog. This was so helpful! Thanks! I will definitely be reading your blog posts regularly. :)
Jennifer says
How exciting! Can’t wait to see your rebrand. Thanks for reading, Zoe! :)
Cee Lee says
Do you have a resource that tells you where/what to use the colors on when finally deciding? Like fonts, logos, etc. The places we need to consider using them on our blog.
Jennifer says
No I don’t have a resource for that but I’ll keep a lookout and write it down as a potential blog post! :)
Jessica Geller says
I would like to mention this website. http://colorpicker.xyz .Quite helpful. It lets you choose color scheme very easily
Rachel Dellaposta says
Such great tips! I’m always second-guessing my color/ design choices. Will definitely be using this post for rebranding!
Copycat Printing and Stationery says
I always used to do the manual thing, I never know that there is a easy way to do a pallet template. This year would be exciting because of the new ideas I have learned by reading relevant and helpful blogs like this.
Sophie says
Ah I love the colour template!! I’m always thinking about colours for my blog – not so much for the theme but for my images. This post was super interesting and I hadn’t even considered colour psychology.
Thank you for sharing!
Soph x
– http://www.sophie-elise.co.uk