When it comes time to pick a color representing your brand, do you freeze at the possibilities? Red? Orange? Blue? But which shade of blue—pale blue or navy? And maybe with a hint of green in it?

I’m sure you can relate.

Over the last 20 years, I’ve developed over a dozen brands, half of which were for my solo ventures. I’ve had some wins and made some stumbles along the way. Today, I want to save you some grief by giving you three ways to find a color palette that works for your solo brand.

First rule: keep it simple

When choosing brand colors, it’s best to keep things simple at the start. Pick a single color, along with white and black. That trio can take you far—and keep you out of trouble. If you feel more confident, you can compose a fuller palette that complements your main color.

See which of the following three approaches you like the best.

1. Pick from your photo library

We are all inherently drawn to certain colors. One way to discover which ones resonate for you is to turn to your personal photo library and pull 6-12 of your favorite images.

Set aside the ones of friends and family and sort through the images you’ve made out in the wild. They might be of nature, architecture, signage, or other things that captured your imagination.

Analyze this collection and see if any common colors emerge. The eyedropper tool from the Google Chrome or Firefox extension ColorZilla helps you find the color hex code of any pixel or area on a page.

This approach is similar to one that designer Nate Kadlac incorporates in his live weekend program, Design Workshop for Creators and Non-Designers. Nate is an experienced designer who understands the complexities of design decisions, and his workshop participants walk away with a personal brand design kit.

Want to see this approach in action? Above are images from the National Parks Service Instagram feed. Here, nature has made the selection. Notice how you can develop a full palette from a single photo. For simplicity’s sake, limit your choices at the beginning.

2. Use an online color palette generator

There are many benefits to using a web-based color generator. These online tools can suggest color combinations you might not have thought of, and can spark your creativity. They’re also incredibly convenient. With just a few clicks, you can generate multiple color schemes, which saves you time and effort.

Plus, it’s just fun to see a full page of different color palettes. It’s like browsing the paint swatches at Home Depot. Who knew there were so many shades of green?

My favorite color palette generator is Coolors.co, which can be accessed from any web browser and has impressive tools. You can start with a single color or browse trending palettes. Their Image Picker creates a palette from an uploaded photo (as in the approach above), and their new Palette Visualizer lets you preview colors on real designs. Both free and paid options are available. Just beware: an hour can disappear quickly on this site!

3. Turn to ChatGPT

Another way to incorporate color theory algorithms into your color selection is to turn to ChatGPT.

Power up ChatGPT and enter the hex codes for the colors you’ve already chosen. Then ask it to suggest others based on color theory principles.

It will quickly spit out the hex codes of other colors that complement your choices. You can then review them in a color picker, or another online design program.

Your brand, your message

Whether you’re drawing inspiration from your photo library, pushing the capabilities of online color palette generators like Coolors.co, or employing AI tools like ChatGPT to fill out your color scheme, the key is to select a color that resonates with you and your audience.

Test it out in various settings (web, social media, email, print), in tiny dots and large swatches. See if it has visual durability and still appeals after a few days.

Start simple, explore your options, and trust your instincts. Oh, and be sure to have fun along the way.

My favorite visual delights ❤️

Here are a few visual gems from around the Web this week:

🖼️ 39 Colors You’ve Probably Never Heard Of​
While we refer to online colors with 6-digit hex codes, there’s an entire world surrounding color naming. This article from Mental Floss dives into a collection in which the names’ backgrounds are as intriguing as the colors. Interested in knowing the story behind Drunk-Tank Pink, or the color derived from a popular Tudor English dance? It's all here.

​✍️ The Flipbook Experiment​
Come have some fun and help draw the longest flipbook animation ever. This project aims to illustrate generation loss, or how an original drawing will mutate as it is traced by thousands of people. Think of it as the visual equivalent of the telephone game you played at grade-school parties. To participate, trace the line provided on the site. More than 10,000 pages have been added. Go add some of your own.

🚂 The NYPL Book Train​
This delightful Instagram short shows what happens when a book is requested from the underground stacks at the New York Public Library. It runs beneath New York City’s Bryant Park on 950 feet of conveyor track. The 50 individual small red cars can seamlessly transition from a horizontal to a vertical position, delivering books to any patron in as little as 5 minutes.

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Thanks again for being a SOLO reader and coming along on this journey of visual exploration.
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See you next week,