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

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.