Color drives up to 85% of purchase decisions in certain categories. Pick with intent — not because it matches your favorite hoodie. Below is the same framework we use with clients before we design a single mockup.
Warm vs. cool: pick the temperature first
Warm palettes (reds, oranges, yellows) signal urgency, appetite, energy — right for food, retail, entertainment, kids. Cool palettes (blues, teals, greens, purples) signal trust, calm, expertise — right for finance, health, SaaS, legal.
Contrast beats palette
A strong primary + neutral background will always outperform a busy 5-color system on conversion. If your CTA doesn't punch out of the page in a 5-second squint test, no amount of palette 'harmony' will fix it.
Pick a hero, a foil, and a signal
One dominant brand color (60% of pixels), one neutral foil (30%), one 'signal' accent that appears only on CTAs and alerts (10%). Never let the signal color leak into decoration — that's how buttons get lost.
Accessibility is not optional
AA contrast (4.5:1) minimum on body text, 3:1 for large text and UI. If your CTA fails contrast, you're losing sales you can't see — and inviting an ADA lawsuit in the US.
- →Check every combo with WebAIM
- →Never rely on color alone (add icons)
- →Test in both light and dark
- →Simulate deuteranopia + protanopia
Match the industry, then break one rule
Buyers pattern-match. A finance app in hot pink triggers distrust. Use industry-normal colors for base, then break exactly one convention to stand out — one accent color, one type choice, one photography style.