Color Design Blog

Guides, tutorials, and practical tips on color for designers and developers. 28 articles.

Color Theory
Monochromatic Color Scheme: How to Use It Well

How to build a one-hue palette that looks rich instead of flat, which base hues survive the full range, and how to keep it passing WCAG contrast.

July 2026·10 min readRead article →
Color Codes
RGB to HEX: The Complete Conversion Guide 2026

What RGB and HEX are, how to convert step by step, why the maths lines up, which hex lengths are valid, and a table of common color values.

July 2026·9 min readRead article →
Color Theory
Color Theory Basics: Every Designer Needs This

The color wheel, the five harmonies, warm vs cool, the 60-30-10 rule, and how to apply color theory to real web design, with accessibility built in.

July 2026·8 min readRead article →
Accessibility
Accessible Color Design: A WCAG Guide for Everyone

How to meet WCAG contrast, design for color blindness, and test your colors, backed by WebAIM and color blindness data. Make your site work for everyone.

July 2026·8 min readRead article →
Design
Free Color Tools Every Designer Needs in 2026

The five free tools that cover choosing colors, building palettes, checking contrast, and converting values.

July 2026·7 min readRead article →
Development
Free Color Tools for Web Developers in 2026

Convert hex to RGB and HSL, manage CSS color variables, and check WCAG contrast, all in the browser.

July 2026·7 min readRead article →
Marketing
Free Color Tools for Marketers and Social Media

Keep brand colors consistent, build social palettes, and use color psychology to lift engagement.

July 2026·7 min readRead article →
Color Trends
Pantone Color of the Year 2026: Cloud Dancer and How to Use It

Pantone chose Cloud Dancer, a soft white, for 2026. What it means and how to use it in your design work.

July 2026·6 min readRead article →
Accessibility
Color Accessibility Guide: WCAG 2026 Standards

WCAG contrast ratios, AA vs AAA, color blindness types and statistics, how to check your design, and common failures and fixes.

July 2026·8 min readRead article →
Color Codes
HEX to RGB: The Complete Color Code Guide 2026

What HEX and RGB codes are, how to convert between them, when to use HEX vs RGB vs HSL, and a common color reference table.

July 2026·8 min readRead article →
Color Trends
Color Trends 2026: What Designers Are Using Now

Warm neutrals, soft whites, earthy tones, and bold accents: the 2026 palettes across UI, branding, and print.

July 2026·7 min readRead article →
Accessibility
Color Contrast and Accessibility: How to Design for Everyone

WCAG contrast ratios explained, AA versus AAA compliance, the tools that check contrast, and the most common mistakes to avoid.

July 2026·8 min readRead article →
Brand Design
Brand Color Palette Guide: Choose Colors That Work

Color psychology, how many colors to use, the role of each color, the research on recognition and sales, and how to test your palette.

July 2026·8 min readRead article →
Dark Mode
Dark Mode Colors: How to Get Them Right in 2026

Why dark UI needs its own palette, elevation and surface colors, avoiding pure black, the contrast rules, whether people prefer it, and how to test.

July 2026·8 min readRead article →
Social Media
Color for Social Media: How to Build a Consistent Visual Brand

Why color consistency matters, how to create a color system for your posts, and platform-specific tips.

July 2026·7 min readRead article →
Color Theory
Tints, Tones and Shades: What They Are and How to Use Them

The difference between tints, tones, and shades, how to create each, and when to use them in your design work.

July 2026·7 min readRead article →
Color Names
Color Names: How to Find the Right Name for Any Color

Why color names matter, how color naming systems work, and how to find a color name from a hex code.

July 2026·7 min readRead article →
Trends
Web Design Color Trends 2026: What's In, What's Out

Warm off-whites replacing stark white, bold colors balanced with generous neutral space, softer dark mode, and full color systems replacing single brand colors. What is driving each trend.

June 2026·7 min readRead article →
Marketing
Color Psychology in Marketing: How Colors Affect Buying Decisions

How red, blue, green, yellow, orange, purple, and black signal different things to customers. SEA brand examples, cultural color differences, and practical selection guidance.

June 2026·7 min readRead article →
Marketing
Color Psychology and Conversions: What the Research Says

Does color really lift website conversions? The real A/B test data on button color, why contrast beats hue, and how brand colors drive recall and trust.

July 2026·9 min readRead article →
Industry Guide
Best Color Palettes by Industry: Finance, Healthcare, Tech, Food and More

Recommended palettes with HEX codes for seven industries: finance, healthcare, technology, food, fashion, education, and SEA e-commerce. Reasoning behind each palette choice.

June 2026·8 min readRead article →
Brand Design
How to Choose Brand Colors: A Step-by-Step Guide for 2026

A 7-step process: brand personality, competitive research, primary color selection, full color system, tints and shades, accessibility testing, and style guide documentation.

June 2026·7 min readRead article →
Accessibility
Accessible Color Design: WCAG 2026 Guide for Designers and Developers

WCAG 2.1 contrast requirements, the most common accessibility failures (including grey text on white), color blindness considerations, and quick fixes for every common failure type.

June 2026·6 min readRead article →
Design
Color Meaning in East Asian Cultures: A Design Guide

Why most cultural colour advice is overstated, the one Japanese colour category English lacks, and the red-green convention that genuinely inverts on finance charts.

July 2026·10 min readRead article →
Design
Color Gradients in Design: How to Use Them Well

Which colors blend cleanly, the one-line interpolation fix for muddy gradients, keeping text readable at the worst point, and the mistakes that look amateur.

July 2026·9 min readRead article →
CSS
CSS Gradient Guide 2026: Every Type Explained

Linear, radial, and conic gradients with copy-paste code, gradient text, useful patterns, browser support, and performance tips, all up to date for 2026.

July 2026·8 min readRead article →
Technical
CSS Color Formats Explained: HEX, RGB, HSL, RGBA and When to Use Each

Every CSS color format in 2026 explained: HEX, RGB, RGBA, HSL, HSLA, and oklch. What each is best for, CSS custom property patterns, and when to switch formats.

June 2026·7 min readRead article →
Design Guide
How to Choose a Color Palette for Your Website (With Examples)

Step-by-step guide to choosing your website's color palette. Color psychology, real examples from Stripe, Notion, and Airbnb, and 5 practical steps with free tools.

June 2026·8 min readRead article →
Color Theory
Color Theory Basics: What Every Designer Needs to Know in 2026

Primary, secondary, tertiary colors, the color wheel, all five color harmonies, warm vs cool colors, saturation and brightness, and the 60-30-10 rule explained.

June 2026·7 min readRead article →
Technical
HEX Color Codes Explained: What They Are and How to Use Them

Complete guide to HEX color codes. How to read #RRGGBB, shorthand notation, 8-digit HEX for opacity, CSS usage, and where to find color codes in design tools.

June 2026·6 min readRead article →

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