Color palettes are used every day for various things – outfits, home decor, or even food. I mean, why not? 😉 In this post I will present you how many colors should be in a color palette so no matter if you are creating your brand kit or painting the kitchen, you’ll find what you need.
So how many colors should be in a color palette? For the brand kit and home decor it is best to use up to three colors in a palette. When it comes to outfits, color palettes can be made up of even six colors.
How to Create a Color Palette
The three-color palette should have one dominant color, the supporting color, and the accent one. You can create them based on contrast or similarity, but one rule I would recommend is making the accent color more vibrant than the two other colors.
For example, in my brand kit, I use two pastel colors and one more vibrant accent shade:
First, it is important to choose your leading color and then find a perfect match for it – it has to be a harmonious marriage, otherwise your color palette will not be cohesive.
The baby out of this marriage (am I going to far with this metaphor?;)), so the third color, should fit both of the main ones, yet stand out, since it will be playing the role of accenting.
My husband prefers colder and more autumnish colors so using his example the three colors palette could look like this with the last one being accent color.
What is worth mentioning is that similar shades can create a very harmonious, eye-pleasing palette. That’s why connecting pastels or vibrant colors can be a good idea, no matter the color.
Two main colors can be picked from the opposite sides of the chart like in the examples below. You can go brighter or darker, yet as long as you pick the opposite colors, you can be sure that your color palette will look great.
While creating a color palette, the helpful thing is to think about seasons! God has created nature in so perfect ways, that inspiration can be found all around us.
Sunset? Bold orange and courageous yellow make a perfect match. A tree? Green and brown, here we go. Or the butterflies? Just look around to see what color palette that already exists around us you can reuse in your unique way.
The accent color should still look cohesive with the other two, but be more visible – you will use it to emphasize the most important info.
Or, what is also a smart decision, you can limit yourself to two colors and pick one of them as a main one and the other as an accenting one. You can answer the question “How many colors should be in a color palette” with as simple a number as 2!
The Color Palette in Outfits
Here we can have a lot of fun! Building a cohesive outfit can be based on the rules presented above – for men’s fashion classic colors suits’ like black, dark blue, or beige will go well with the other classic – white button shirt and a few details in the accenting colors, like crimson. My husband certainly did it well 🙂
I also went with a three-color palette and mixed vibrant green and pink adding a yellow bonnet that pops up. See what a different vibe this outfit gives? the number of colors in a color palette does not matter as much as the flow and shade of colors.
That’s why you must think about what kind of feelings would you like your color palette to give while choosing the outfit. I almost always go with brave, vibrant colors because I like it when my clothes stand out and scream “Joy!”.
My husband likes to blend in more, so he chooses more toned colors that whisper peace. You know best what you want to achieve and which route of shades to pick.
There isn’t a golden rule but I would recommend that you do not go with more than six colors in the color palette of your clothes. Sure, the more colors, the merrier, but too much makes them all blend too much and none of them is properly exposed.
If you are looking for fantastic color combinations in outfits, check out my guide.
How Many Colors Should Be in a Color Palette In Home Decor?
If you want to be safe – again, go with three. There is nothing as trendy at all times than a retro black and white kitchen with a red fridge and details.
Yet, if you want to get creative and unique – extend the palette, for example adding two accent colors instead of one. Up to three accent colors can still be incorporated nicely, but if you add a fourth one, I’m afraid it will lose its power.
Yet, experimenting and trying bold color palettes can be a fun thing to do while decorating your home, so keep the rules presented here in mind, but you do skip the fun 🙂
That’s what we did with our bedroom – created a bold, 5 color palette:
You can mix and play around, yet again – do not go further than 6 colors to keep the pleasant design. I can’t believe I’m saying this but there is something like too much color 😀
So how many colors should be in a color palette when you’re planning out your home? Anywhere between three and six will be a sweet spot.
How Many Colors Should Be in a Color Palette in the Brand Kit
Colors in brands are crucial. Which brand comes to your mind when you think blue? For me it is Facebook! The logos in a duet with colors create a perfect association and the brand recognition grows.
The more I think about the colors of Facebook, Twitter (ha, these are similar, yet the shades of blue are entirely different!), KFC… the more I realize that it is so easy to answer the question “How many colors should be in a color palette?”. A good color palette starts from one color only.
If it represents what your brand is about, keeping it easy and limited could be a good idea. Yet, adding another color like red and yellow McDonald did (ah, now I’m craving McNuggets!) will create a more interesting option.
For an artistic brand, blog, store, etc. three colors would be a perfect choice. It is important to choose colors that represent what you are doing in your business and resonate with your audience. Think of the vibe you want to give and then pick the shades out of the right colors.
Which Colors Should I Pick?
To help you out with choosing the colors for the color palette, I’ve created a list of primary things that each color communicates.
- blue – professionalism, stability, wisdom
- green – health, growth, balance
- pink – womanhood, love, compassion
- purple – fantasy, royalty, luxury
- black – elegance, wealth, classics
- yellow – joy, optimism, friendship
- orange – enthusiasm, fun, positivity
Now, out of these, you will want to pick the right shades – pastels are more girly and gentle, they have a feminine vibe, and are gentle for the eyes. Sharp and vibrant colors are more powerful and concrete. You can mix them to create a fantastic color palette that will scream “Your brand!”.
For example, let’s say you are selling baby shower essentials. You will aim at feminine colors, preferably pastels to show the gentleness and sweetness of the topic. Just like this:
In this case, you want to be subtle and not make your viewers/customers overwhelmed with too much color yet still make associations by the shades – I mean, the gender reveal colors in the pastel version are on point.
If you are running a little bit more artistic business, for example, you sell paints, you can create a wider color palette – yet, it is still wise to pick one main color that will appear the most often.
See, it is vibrant, and happy, yet still not “too much” and gives this joyful painter’s vibe!
Happy Color Palette Creating!
Colors are for us so let’s take the freedom to mix them around in our unique way. I hope you can use these hints to determine for yourself how many colors should be in a color palette but also keep your colors’ compass open and if it tells you “Hm, so she said the limit is 6? Why won’t we try 7?!”, then follow it and see what happens 😉
Let me know which colors you picked for your fantastic and unique color palette! 💚
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