6 ms·

Designer's block? Steal your colour scheme from nature

19 points by DanI-S 16y ago

sp4rki 16y ago
This is always a good idea when dealing with color schemes. More often than not, the colors found in nature are pleasant and easy to link to an animal, place, or situation in nature. Using a photo of a spring sunrise in the mountains or one of a fall sunset surrounded by trees to make swatches can only end up in a beautiful color scheme, granted you use a photo that really evokes the feeling you want to convey. Of course, color is not enough of a design element to bring your ideas across the internet unscathed... but it sure as hell will mark the mood of your application/website, and should be given some serious thought before committing to any one scheme.
pmorici 16y ago
This is easier said then done, I've tried making color schemes from aesthetically pleasing photos before and the end result was kind of blah. If you take that photo of the frog in the post for example and you want to include the red from the frog's eye in your scheme how do you choose the right red there are probably literally hundreds of different shades you could select. That is to say I agree that nature has awesome color schemes but I don't think it's as simple to go from a great picture of nature to a great color scheme as the author thinks it is, in other words not exactly a shortcut for beginners and the unskilled.
- DanI-S 16y ago
  You make a good point - it's not necessarily going to make life easy - but I think it has its validity as a way to at least mask out some possibilities. Decisions are easier when there's less to choose from, so hopefully this can help!
kondro 16y ago
I can't believe I've never thought of this before and it's not a new idea. Why haven't I heard this blogged about before? If I think back to all my good colour schemes they all meet this suggestion. I just never connected the dots before.
lovskogen 16y ago
If you have designers block, write. Write down what you would like to convey. Finding the colors to emphasize this is not the first thing on your list.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- DanI-S 16y ago
  I think the 'designers block' part was just my attempt to find a good title. Since this mainly relates to colour, and was aimed at people who are not necessarily experienced designers, it may not have been the best choice!
shalmanese 16y ago
Umm... Pictures of nature tend to look stunning because we self-select for stunning pictures. Most of actual nature is boringly drab greys and browns.
- mapleoin 16y ago
  I think the idea is more about finding different colors that go well together. If you randomly take a bright green and a bright blue they might not be a good match, but if you take the green and blue from the frog on that picture, they will work better together.
  - DanI-S 16y ago
    Exactly. For the example images I deliberately chose bright colours that might not seem obvious (at least to my uneducated eye) to put together. However, there's no reason at all why less outlandish colour combinations can't look wonderful; even the most ordinary sparrow is beautiful if you look close. http://sdakotabirds.com/species/photos/chipping_sparrow.jpg http://sdakotabirds.com/species/photos/chipping_sparrow.jpg
- kingsidharth 16y ago
  Greys are actually the best for UI design. Think Apple, Gmail Buttons, HN!
Luyt 16y ago
Looking at nature for inspiration is another fine example of 'going outside of your own system'. However, just a set of colors doesn't communicate much unless it's also clear in which proportions they should appear and for what items or layout elements they're used. To illustrate this: the color paletters at http://www.colourlovers.com/palettes http://www.colourlovers.com/palettes don't reveal how they are intended to be used.
callahad 16y ago
Woohoo! Finally support for implementing the One True Color Scheme: http://io9.com/5100481/ http://io9.com/5100481/
brass_cannon 16y ago
Did anyone else immediately think of the ubiquitous blue and yellow tropical bird that uses the exact shades of blue and yellow that the ugly website example in this article uses? Just do an image search for 'blue yellow bird,' and you'll find multiple examples. Looking to nature for inspiration is a great idea, but like anything else, it's not perfect. There are still plenty of color schemes in nature that either A) look horrible, or B) look horrible out of their specific context.
kingsidharth 16y ago
Hmmm... That's like people who know Photoshop call themselves designer. (just an example). Finding good colourful natural pictures is one thing and knowing how to use them is another. That 'ugly' website is not just ugly because of colours. They are just a part of it. But anywways, you can have the best colour-scheme in the world and if you don't know how to implement it it's useless. Some colour schemes just don't work on web, some just don't work in print. You got to be wise to know how to use one. Tip: You can use Adobe's Kuler to pick shades & combinations for you: http://kuler.adobe.com http://kuler.adobe.com

19 points by DanI-S 16y ago

This is always a good idea when dealing with color schemes. More often than not, the colors found in nature are pleasant and easy to link to an animal, place, or situation in nature. Using a photo of a spring sunrise in the mountains or one of a fall sunset surrounded by trees to make swatches can only end up in a beautiful color scheme, granted you use a photo that really evokes the feeling you want to convey. Of course, color is not enough of a design element to bring your ideas across the internet unscathed... but it sure as hell will mark the mood of your application/website, and should be given some serious thought before committing to any one scheme.

pmorici 16y ago

This is easier said then done, I've tried making color schemes from aesthetically pleasing photos before and the end result was kind of blah. If you take that photo of the frog in the post for example and you want to include the red from the frog's eye in your scheme how do you choose the right red there are probably literally hundreds of different shades you could select. That is to say I agree that nature has awesome color schemes but I don't think it's as simple to go from a great picture of nature to a great color scheme as the author thinks it is, in other words not exactly a shortcut for beginners and the unskilled.

DanI-S 16y ago
You make a good point - it's not necessarily going to make life easy - but I think it has its validity as a way to at least mask out some possibilities. Decisions are easier when there's less to choose from, so hopefully this can help!

kondro 16y ago

I can't believe I've never thought of this before and it's not a new idea. Why haven't I heard this blogged about before? If I think back to all my good colour schemes they all meet this suggestion. I just never connected the dots before.

lovskogen 16y ago

If you have designers block, write. Write down what you would like to convey. Finding the colors to emphasize this is not the first thing on your list.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
DanI-S 16y ago
I think the 'designers block' part was just my attempt to find a good title. Since this mainly relates to colour, and was aimed at people who are not necessarily experienced designers, it may not have been the best choice!

shalmanese 16y ago

Umm... Pictures of nature tend to look stunning because we self-select for stunning pictures. Most of actual nature is boringly drab greys and browns.

mapleoin 16y ago
I think the idea is more about finding different colors that go well together. If you randomly take a bright green and a bright blue they might not be a good match, but if you take the green and blue from the frog on that picture, they will work better together.
- DanI-S 16y ago
  Exactly. For the example images I deliberately chose bright colours that might not seem obvious (at least to my uneducated eye) to put together. However, there's no reason at all why less outlandish colour combinations can't look wonderful; even the most ordinary sparrow is beautiful if you look close. http://sdakotabirds.com/species/photos/chipping_sparrow.jpg http://sdakotabirds.com/species/photos/chipping_sparrow.jpg
kingsidharth 16y ago
Greys are actually the best for UI design. Think Apple, Gmail Buttons, HN!

Luyt 16y ago

Looking at nature for inspiration is another fine example of 'going outside of your own system'. However, just a set of colors doesn't communicate much unless it's also clear in which proportions they should appear and for what items or layout elements they're used. To illustrate this: the color paletters at http://www.colourlovers.com/palettes http://www.colourlovers.com/palettes don't reveal how they are intended to be used.

callahad 16y ago

Woohoo! Finally support for implementing the One True Color Scheme: http://io9.com/5100481/ http://io9.com/5100481/

brass_cannon 16y ago

Did anyone else immediately think of the ubiquitous blue and yellow tropical bird that uses the exact shades of blue and yellow that the ugly website example in this article uses? Just do an image search for 'blue yellow bird,' and you'll find multiple examples. Looking to nature for inspiration is a great idea, but like anything else, it's not perfect. There are still plenty of color schemes in nature that either A) look horrible, or B) look horrible out of their specific context.

kingsidharth 16y ago

Hmmm... That's like people who know Photoshop call themselves designer. (just an example). Finding good colourful natural pictures is one thing and knowing how to use them is another. That 'ugly' website is not just ugly because of colours. They are just a part of it. But anywways, you can have the best colour-scheme in the world and if you don't know how to implement it it's useless. Some colour schemes just don't work on web, some just don't work in print. You got to be wise to know how to use one. Tip: You can use Adobe's Kuler to pick shades & combinations for you: http://kuler.adobe.com http://kuler.adobe.com