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I don’t understand palettes. They’re super subjective, someone’s taste and you’re just following trends. Why not make your own palette? Why is it difficult to c

I don’t understand palettes. They’re super subjective, someone’s taste and you’re just following trends. Why not make your own palette? Why is it difficult to choose harmonious colors? Sounds harder than it is. Try it.

azinman2 6y ago
This isn’t just “anyone’s” taste — he’s one of the great designers of last century.
- systemvoltage 6y ago
  I know who Dieter Rams is. My point still stands. I don’t “get” palettes in general and tools that allow you to make them. I’ve come up with several palettes of my own and they look just as good. Took no more than 2 mins. Have you tried?
  - JusticeJuice 6y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    - brazzy 6y ago
      Here, have your automatic downvote.
  - ksm1717 6y ago
    Agree, but also willing to believe there is some objective greatness and nuance to these palettes, solely based on the name attached. If you want to approach making a palette even a little more technically than “5 cool colors”, you can at least reflect on the process that may be behind these palettes or trendy palettes.
    - systemvoltage 6y ago
      I really like this talk: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xAoljeRJ3lU https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xAoljeRJ3lU Amazing.
      - ksm1717 6y ago
        Banger thanks I was just looking for a book about exactly this
      - mauritzio 6y ago
        Nice but the most interesting is left out imho. It stops at the human retinas. But the way color then triggers perception would, I assume, also have a very high influence. For example we relate warm and cooler colors to turning forms relate the distribution of brightness and saturation to form, distance etc. Then the precieved forms and colors are related to feelings. So a better suitable colormap for medical images would require more to prevent misinterpretations. 'Pretty' is maybe also subjective but probably not arbitrary...
        ksm1717 6y ago
        If I understood correctly they were optimizing for color difference which is a typical goal. I’m ready to be blown out of the water with an objective 10-“emotional slider axis” representation of color theory kind of like you describe.
  - divbzero 6y ago
    It might be less subjective than you think. I suspect there are commonalities in how we perceive color palettes, analogous to commonalities in how we perceive musical chords. There are certain color palettes and musical chords that tend to be perceived as more pleasant. Furthermore, I don’t think everyone shares your ability to pick harmonious color combinations. It must be a skill that you happen to be good at.
    - 19g 6y ago
      I agree. There’s a lot of nuance in color palettes that can lead to changes that are hard to describe. There’s also something to be said about an expert’s ability to discern the finer details of one version over other versions of the same thing.
      - systemvoltage 6y ago
        How do you test if they're experts?
        19g 6y ago
        Seems like you're really trying to defend your point in the comments, but I'd say like you do in other areas of art and design: a portfolio
  - azinman2 6y ago
    I honestly can't tell if you're trolling or not. Maybe you're a super gifted color theorist or artist or designer. But if you were, I still feel like you'd understand the value of great palettes over the vast majority out there, which are not. It's a bit like saying you don't understand why people care about any great artist, because you too can grab some paint and a canvas and make something over a weekend. Sure, but is it truly beautiful? Compelling? Has a clear aesthetic that is of a time/place/context, or a direction forward, or a utilitarian function that merges form & function? I too have and can create color palettes. They do not look as good.
    - systemvoltage 6y ago
      Creating color palettes is a vastly different endeavor than making a painting. I agree with what you're saying - that's my take on paintings as well and shallow dismissals of them isn't my core point. Furthermore, color palettes are a tool and paintings are works of art. When someone says "Use this color palette", it is important to ask "What specific speciality are you offering?" and what thought process has gone into making palettes which no one here can put a compelling explanation together. I expect more. I expect objective contrast analysis, some deep color theory...nothing of the sorts exist here. It is not akin to painting or whatever modern art arguments you want to apply here.
  - justin66 6y ago
    > I’ve come up with several palettes of my own and they look just as good. To whom?
allenu 6y ago
You're assuming that the only purpose of the post is so people can copy the palette outright. I see it more as a way of educating oneself of what others have done to see what works and what doesn't. If you like an artist's work, it's worth analyzing what they do so you can incorporate ideas into your own work (or not).
achn 6y ago
You should have stopped after the first sentence. Your lack of design knowledge does not invalidate an entire field of practice.
- systemvoltage 6y ago
  I question what design expertise is needed to come up with a palette that Dieter Rams has come up with. I don’t see any objective or even a deeper understanding of contrast, accessibility, color blindness considerations, application specific aspects, historical analysis, etc. that would be way more illuminating than “Here is a list of some cool palettes from famous designers”. We are discussing art. Design is a lot more objective than you’re implying. If you can’t tell what goes into coming up with a palette, then it’s up for debate and questioning.
  - crispyambulance 6y ago
    > that would be way more illuminating than “Here is a list of some cool palettes from famous designers”. It's up to you to see if it works for you. The OP was just somebody that got inspired to put together some color patches in a presentation that is reminiscent of Rams. It's not any deeper than that but also not a waste of time.
- tryonenow 6y ago
  The fact that something has been refined into an entire "field" doesn't mean it isn't bullshit. See: wine tasting and that infamous pepsi design booklet. You can't dictate preference - and the appeal of color palettes and any common "meaning" or "inspiration" behind/invoked by certain combinations of colors is probably a purely transient cultural artifact. Completely subjective.

azinman2 6y ago

This isn’t just “anyone’s” taste — he’s one of the great designers of last century.

systemvoltage 6y ago
I know who Dieter Rams is. My point still stands. I don’t “get” palettes in general and tools that allow you to make them. I’ve come up with several palettes of my own and they look just as good. Took no more than 2 mins. Have you tried?
- JusticeJuice 6y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  - brazzy 6y ago
    Here, have your automatic downvote.
- ksm1717 6y ago
  Agree, but also willing to believe there is some objective greatness and nuance to these palettes, solely based on the name attached. If you want to approach making a palette even a little more technically than “5 cool colors”, you can at least reflect on the process that may be behind these palettes or trendy palettes.
  - systemvoltage 6y ago
    I really like this talk: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xAoljeRJ3lU https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xAoljeRJ3lU Amazing.
    - ksm1717 6y ago
      Banger thanks I was just looking for a book about exactly this
    - mauritzio 6y ago
      Nice but the most interesting is left out imho. It stops at the human retinas. But the way color then triggers perception would, I assume, also have a very high influence. For example we relate warm and cooler colors to turning forms relate the distribution of brightness and saturation to form, distance etc. Then the precieved forms and colors are related to feelings. So a better suitable colormap for medical images would require more to prevent misinterpretations. 'Pretty' is maybe also subjective but probably not arbitrary...
      - ksm1717 6y ago
        If I understood correctly they were optimizing for color difference which is a typical goal. I’m ready to be blown out of the water with an objective 10-“emotional slider axis” representation of color theory kind of like you describe.
- divbzero 6y ago
  It might be less subjective than you think. I suspect there are commonalities in how we perceive color palettes, analogous to commonalities in how we perceive musical chords. There are certain color palettes and musical chords that tend to be perceived as more pleasant. Furthermore, I don’t think everyone shares your ability to pick harmonious color combinations. It must be a skill that you happen to be good at.
  - 19g 6y ago
    I agree. There’s a lot of nuance in color palettes that can lead to changes that are hard to describe. There’s also something to be said about an expert’s ability to discern the finer details of one version over other versions of the same thing.
    - systemvoltage 6y ago
      How do you test if they're experts?
      - 19g 6y ago
        Seems like you're really trying to defend your point in the comments, but I'd say like you do in other areas of art and design: a portfolio
- azinman2 6y ago
  I honestly can't tell if you're trolling or not. Maybe you're a super gifted color theorist or artist or designer. But if you were, I still feel like you'd understand the value of great palettes over the vast majority out there, which are not. It's a bit like saying you don't understand why people care about any great artist, because you too can grab some paint and a canvas and make something over a weekend. Sure, but is it truly beautiful? Compelling? Has a clear aesthetic that is of a time/place/context, or a direction forward, or a utilitarian function that merges form & function? I too have and can create color palettes. They do not look as good.
  - systemvoltage 6y ago
    Creating color palettes is a vastly different endeavor than making a painting. I agree with what you're saying - that's my take on paintings as well and shallow dismissals of them isn't my core point. Furthermore, color palettes are a tool and paintings are works of art. When someone says "Use this color palette", it is important to ask "What specific speciality are you offering?" and what thought process has gone into making palettes which no one here can put a compelling explanation together. I expect more. I expect objective contrast analysis, some deep color theory...nothing of the sorts exist here. It is not akin to painting or whatever modern art arguments you want to apply here.
- justin66 6y ago
  > I’ve come up with several palettes of my own and they look just as good. To whom?

allenu 6y ago

You're assuming that the only purpose of the post is so people can copy the palette outright. I see it more as a way of educating oneself of what others have done to see what works and what doesn't. If you like an artist's work, it's worth analyzing what they do so you can incorporate ideas into your own work (or not).

achn 6y ago

You should have stopped after the first sentence. Your lack of design knowledge does not invalidate an entire field of practice.

systemvoltage 6y ago
I question what design expertise is needed to come up with a palette that Dieter Rams has come up with. I don’t see any objective or even a deeper understanding of contrast, accessibility, color blindness considerations, application specific aspects, historical analysis, etc. that would be way more illuminating than “Here is a list of some cool palettes from famous designers”. We are discussing art. Design is a lot more objective than you’re implying. If you can’t tell what goes into coming up with a palette, then it’s up for debate and questioning.
- crispyambulance 6y ago
  > that would be way more illuminating than “Here is a list of some cool palettes from famous designers”. It's up to you to see if it works for you. The OP was just somebody that got inspired to put together some color patches in a presentation that is reminiscent of Rams. It's not any deeper than that but also not a waste of time.
tryonenow 6y ago
The fact that something has been refined into an entire "field" doesn't mean it isn't bullshit. See: wine tasting and that infamous pepsi design booklet. You can't dictate preference - and the appeal of color palettes and any common "meaning" or "inspiration" behind/invoked by certain combinations of colors is probably a purely transient cultural artifact. Completely subjective.