How to use Kuler for color coordinating

Kuler is an Adobe website that many web and graphic designers use for color coordinating. Some people use it to come up with good color combinations at random, but some use it with one or two colors in mind to begin with.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Visit the Kuler link provided at the bottom of this article. You will probably want to register for free on the website. Registering will provide you the ability to save your favorite color combinations and even name them so that others can see the combination.

2. To see random color combinations, you can simply look on the left side of the website and choose 'Random.' You can also see highly rated and popular color palettes that other users have put together by choosing the appropriate links.

3. To create your own color combination, you can choose 'Create' on the left side of the webpage. Choose a 'rule.' You can choose analogous, monochromatic, triad, complementary, compound, shades, or custom. This will affect the types of colors in the combination and how many colors in the combination. To choose a 'base color' for the combination, grab the sliders under the base color and drag them until you get your preferred color. The other colors in the palette will change according to the rule you chose.

4. To save your combination, you will want to first make sure that you are logged in. Near the top of the page there are boxes to fill in the title for the color palette. You can also choose tags which are keywords so that other people can search for your color palette.

5. To use these colors in photoshop or another program, you will want to copy the 'Hex' code, located below each color. You can paste these into your program. If your computer does not ask for a Hex code, you will want to use the color code it asks for. There are four other codes that Kuler provides at the bottom of each color.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use this website even if you are not using the same computer for photoshop or a similar program. Make sure that you are logged in, save your color combination, and you can view it later on another computer.

• Colors appear different on different monitors. One on monitor, the color may seem more vibrant and slightly a different shade than on a different computer. This is due to the difference in brightness and color capabilities of different monitors and is not because of Kuler.

Resources

• Kuler