Color Theory
Color systems, palette creation, accessibility, and the psychology behind color choices in design.
All Color Theory articles
Color Psychology in Design: The 2026 Field Manual
How color shapes trust, urgency, and price perception in 2026 brands, with teardowns of Tiffany, Liquid Death, Olipop, Atlassian, and Duolingo.
Dark Mode Color Systems: How to Build a Palette That Works at 2 a.m.
A working guide to dark mode color systems. The surface elevation model, the desaturation rule, accent calibration, and the seven brands shipping the cleanest dark mode palettes in 2026.
OKLCH Color in Modern CSS: Why It Wins and How to Ship It
A working guide to OKLCH color in CSS. Why hex broke at scale, how OKLCH fixes lightness drift, the four-step migration path, and the perceptually uniform palette ramp every design system should ship in 2026.
How to Build a Brand Color Palette That Actually Works
A working designer's guide to building a brand color palette that survives dark mode, disabled states, and every surface past the logo. Five real brands inside.
GuideColor Theory for Designers: The System Behind Every Good Palette
Color theory for working designers. The wheel, harmonies, perception, psychology, accessibility, and how modern design systems turn all of it into shipped product.
Accessible Color Contrast: WCAG Without the Gray Mush
How to design for WCAG 2.2 contrast without flattening your brand into gray. Ratios, APCA, real design-system examples, and a tokenized testing workflow.
The 60-30-10 Rule Is Broken: Modern Color Systems That Actually Work
The 60-30-10 rule is an interior design shortcut designers keep forcing onto product work. Here is what modern color systems do instead.
Color Psychology in Design: Why Your Palette Converts (Or Does Not)
What every color actually communicates in design, why context beats theory, and three rules for building palettes that convert.