ColoursNG: Unlocking Real-World Colour Palettes for Designers
How we created a tool that extracts authentic color palettes from Twitter images to inspire more culturally relevant design.
The Problem
Traditional colour palettes often fall short in capturing the richness of real-life colours. Many designers rely on pre-made colour schemes that feel artificial, detached from the nuances of the world around us. The challenge? Finding authentic, diverse, and culturally representative colours that resonate with real people and environments.
The Idea
ColoursNG was born from a simple but powerful question: What if we could build colour palettes directly from real-life images shared by everyday people? Instead of relying on generic swatches, ColoursNG extracts colours from photos posted by Twitter users, creating an evolving collection of palettes rooted in reality.
How It Works
Curating Images
Images are manually selected from Twitter based on their colour variety, composition, and quality.
Extracting Colours
The selected images are processed through Adobe Color to generate accurate palettes.
Building Palettes
These extracted colour sets are refined and organized into an accessible resource for designers.
Example Palettes
The Impact
Designers across branding, product design, and graphic design have embraced ColoursNG as a source of authentic and relatable colour inspiration. By using real-world palettes, projects can better connect with specific audiences and cultural contexts. The initiative has also sparked conversations about the importance of diverse and inclusive design.
The Future
While the current process involves manual curation and extraction, future updates will leverage AI to streamline palette creation. This will allow ColoursNG to process larger datasets efficiently, making it even easier for designers to access true-to-life colours at scale.
ColoursNG is more than a colour tool—it's a shift towards authenticity in design. Experience it yourself at coloursng.com.