Design resource: daily color schemes

As a designer, I often find myself looking for inspiration to get over a block. I visit my favorite design sites, browse a couple CSS galleries, but sometimes thats not enough to jump start the creative flow. The problem is that you see these great samples, but you don’t want to bite off someone else’s work. Even if you only use a tiny design element, it still feels derivative to you. So here is my solution (and coincidentally my very first “design resource” post - edit: and here’s #2): daily color schemes.

Before I get into the actual links, here is my criteria for a “useful” color scheme resource.

• the schemes should be able to be downloaded directly into your favorite programs. I can’t emphasize this enough. They shoudl also give give you hex, rbg, and hsb codes. Your workflow will be expedited tremendously by having swatches that can be clicked quickly and easily.
• The resource should be updated often, and if possible, user submitted. It’s great if your favorite designer updates once a week with their new favorite shades of blue, but there is strength in numbers. When you are designing a website, you are catering to a broad group. Sometimes designers can get stuck in ruts, like the “pastel green and blue of web2.0.” Stay up on whats hot by visiting sites that get rated and updated at least daily.

“Alright, enough lecturing. Where are my resources?!” Say no more.

• Daily Color Scheme. Recently entered into public beta, Daily Color Scheme offers a ton of color schemes which can be downloaded directly into photoshop, illustration, colorscheme studio, as a css file, html file or plain ol’ zip file. They also offer an RSS feed if you want to stay updated from the comfort of your feed reader.
• 
  Firewheel Design released a widget for OS X and Yahoo! (Konfabulator) called ColorBurn. This widget (accessed from your dashboard) gives you a new color pallete every day in hex values. Version 1.1 introduces the ability for ColorBurn to link to an external use of the palette on the web. It also allows you to change your background color to black, white, and return to your original desktop so that you can really gauge the colors. Even though this doesn’t offer the flexibility of direct import to your programs, and only features hex values, the convenience of having it on your dashboard and delivered to you daily more than compensates in my book. Plus the people behind Firewheel Design are very active in the design community and produce great work. They are the brains behind Blinksale and IconBuffet. If you haven’t checked these services out, stop wasting time!

These are my two favorites, but no means the only options out there. Also see:

• Colorjack: Studio
• ColorWhore
• Color schemes on del.icio.us
  • links courtesy of fortysomething.ca