Color is the soul of design. Whether you’re creating a website, mobile app, branding project, or social media post, your color palette sets the tone. With the rise of digital products and aesthetic-led branding, using the right UI color inspiration tools for mobile apps and websites is essential. In this article, we’ll dive into the Top 10 color palette and UI inspiration tools suitable for both new and experienced designers.
From free alternatives to Adobe Color for UI design to color tools for accessibility design, we’ve curated a mix of classic and modern solutions that will keep your projects vibrant and user-friendly. These tools serve as a bridge between creativity and usability, offering intuitive interfaces, up-to-date color trends, and smart generation features that make the design process more enjoyable and efficient.
1. Coolors
Overview
Coolors is a fast and intuitive color palette generator that has become a staple in the design community. With its straightforward functionality, Coolors is ideal for both beginners and professionals who need quick access to color schemes that work well together.
Why Designers Love It
- Generate palettes with a single click
- Browse trending palettes curated by other designers
- Export palettes in multiple formats like PNG, SVG, SCSS, and more
Use Cases
- Websites like Coolors for UI color ideas
- Flat design color palettes for clean, modern aesthetics
- Tools to create color palettes from images for customized inspiration
Unique Features
- Chrome extension for quick palette creation from any website
- Accessibility checker ensures that chosen palettes are inclusive
- Save favorite palettes in your personal account
Coolors is a great example of a UI color scheme generator that simplifies creativity while maintaining professional standards. It’s also a go-to pick in the category of AI Tools for UI/UX.
2. Adobe Color
Overview
Formerly known as Adobe Kuler, Adobe Color remains one of the most robust color tools. It is designed for professionals who want more control over their color selections and for those familiar with Adobe’s ecosystem.
Why Designers Love It
- Based on traditional color theory tools for designers like analogous, monochromatic, and triadic
- Sync with Adobe Creative Cloud for seamless workflow
- Trend analysis features that provide real-time insight into color trends for UI/UX
Use Cases
- Creating Material design colors compliant with Android standards
- Visualizing color trends for UI/UX projects over time
- Sharing palettes with team members or the design community
Alternatives
- Free alternatives to Adobe Color for UI design include tools like Color Hunt and Happy Hues, though newer solutions are incorporating generative technologies seen in AI Logo Generators.
- Adobe Color is perfect for those seeking in-depth control over every aspect of their palette design.
3. Figma Plugins (Color Palettes)
Overview
Figma has rapidly become a go-to platform for UI and UX designers, and its plugin ecosystem has made color palette creation easier and more flexible.
Why Designers Love It
- Seamless integration with design projects
- Real-time collaboration allows teams to build color systems together
- Gain access to an extensive range of plugins for diverse requirements.
Best Plugins
- Color Palette Generator: Generates cohesive schemes based on brand or mood
- ColorKit: Great for experimenting with hue, saturation, and lightness
- Picular: A creative UI color scheme generator based on image search
Use Cases
- Top Figma plugins for color palette creation for efficient workflow
- UI inspiration from minimalist color palettes that are clean and modern
- Hex color code picker to maintain color consistency across teams
Figma plugins pair especially well with AI Content Generators when building full-scale design and content experiences.
4. Khroma
Overview
Khroma stands out by using AI to learn your personal color preferences. This unique tool becomes more accurate over time, making it an excellent choice for ongoing projects.
Why Designers Love It
- AI-based color recommendations tailored to your style
- Beautiful, user-friendly interface
- Ability to save and categorize palettes
Use Cases
- Modern UI color combos to keep your designs current
- Top color inspiration websites for graphic designers who seek unique aesthetics
- Aesthetic color tools for Instagram themes for cohesive social media branding
- Khroma is perfect for designers who want to add a personal flair to their color selections.
Khroma is ideal for designers looking to balance automation and customization—similar to how AI Code Assistants streamline developer workflows.
5. Happy Hues
Overview
Happy Hues does more than just give you colors. It applies them to sample UI designs, showing exactly how they might look in a real interface.
Why Designers Love It
- Focus on real-world usage and accessibility
- Easily browse themes by mood or application
- Thoughtful application to typography and contrast
Use Cases
- Handpicked UI inspiration for SaaS apps and landing pages
- Web design inspiration made practical through mockups
- Best UI color scheme tools for beginners looking to understand theory by example
- Happy Hues bridges the gap between theory and execution, helping you visualize how colors work together in action.
6. Color Hunt
Overview
Color Hunt offers a free, open platform with a selection of carefully curated color palettes. The simplicity of its interface and community-driven model make it popular among designers worldwide.
Why Designers Love It
- Constantly updated with new palettes
- Community-curated color schemes
- Easy one-click copying of color codes
Use Cases
- Underrated UI inspiration websites like Color Hunt offer gems
- Open-source color palette tools accessible to everyone
- Color tools for accessibility design using contrast-optimized palettes
- Color Hunt is perfect when you need quick inspiration or want to explore trending palettes.
7. Material Palette
Overview
Material Palette is a niche tool aimed at Android developers and designers following Google’s Material Design language.
Why Designers Love It
- Pre-built compatibility with Google’s UI components
- Generate palettes from two base colors
Use Cases
- Material design colors aligned with platform standards
- Color palette generator tools for UX designers focused on usability
- Dark mode color scheme generators within Material Design contexts
If you’re designing Android apps or working within the Material Design system, Material Palette is indispensable.
8. ColorSpace
Overview
ColorSpace provides a straightforward, user-friendly interface for generating various palette types from a single base color.
Why Designers Love It
- Generates harmonious palettes from one color
- Great for quick decision-making in tight deadlines
Use Cases
- CSS color palette tools for front-end developers
- Gradient generator for backgrounds and buttons
- UI color scheme generator from simple hex input
ColorSpace is fast, effective, and perfect for when you need something visually balanced on the fly.
9. Canva Color Tools
Overview
Canva’s suite of color tools includes a palette generator, color wheel, and accessibility checker, integrated within the broader design platform.
Why Designers Love It
- Easy for beginners
- Ideal for quick brand prototyping
- The color meaning guide helps with emotional impact
Use Cases
- How to find color palettes for branding projects using Canva’s brand kits
- Dark mode color scheme generators to test your contrast ratios
- Retro color palette generators for UI with vintage appeal
If you’re a marketer, beginner designer, or social media creator, Canva offers a smooth entry point.
10. Picular
Overview
Picular is a color search engine where you input a keyword (like “sunset” or “forest”) and receive a palette inspired by Google Image Search.
Why Designers Love It
- Innovative image-based color sourcing
- Immediate visual inspiration
Use Cases
- Online tools for aesthetic UI design color palettes sourced from real-world imagery
- Top online tools to generate color schemes with emotional relevance
- Color palette generator tools for UX designers building an emotional connection
Picular provides unique, nature-inspired palettes that resonate deeply with users.
Bonus Tools & Tips
ColorZilla
- Browser extension with hex color code picker and eyedropper tool
- Helpful for on-the-go palette extraction
Eva Design System
- Provides a UI color scheme generator based on smart contrast
- Ideal for scalable, enterprise-level designs
BrandColors
- Database of company color codes, great for competitive research
- Use when exploring how to find color palettes for branding projects
Conclusion
Choosing the right color palette can elevate a design from good to unforgettable. Whether you’re just starting out or are an experienced designer, these top color inspiration websites for graphic designers and developers offer everything from basic hex color code pickers to AI-powered palette suggestions.
By leveraging these tools, you’ll not only stay on top of color trends for UI/UX, but also ensure your designs are accessible, visually cohesive, and aligned with your brand vision.
From free alternatives to Adobe Color for UI design and dark mode color scheme generators, to tools to create color palettes from images, this toolkit covers every creative angle. Keep it bookmarked and revisit it as part of your design routine.
These tools are your launchpad for making more meaningful and beautifully colored user interfaces, one hex code at a time.