Here is the complete color workflow from start to finish, integrating everything covered across this blog into a single, actionable process.
Phase 1: Discovery
Gather inputs: the brand brief, existing brand materials, competitor analysis, and target audience profile. Identify existing colors (if any), emotional goals, and industry conventions. This phase is about listening and researching, not choosing colors yet.
Phase 2: Exploration
Generate candidate colors using inspiration sources: Adobe Color for harmony exploration, Dribbble and Behance for industry examples, AI tools for quick generation, or PaletteRx's website extraction to pull colors from reference sites. Narrow to 3 to 5 candidate primary colors.
Phase 3: System Building in PaletteRx
Step 1 (Build): Add your candidate primaries. Use Smart Suggestions to fill gaps. Add base colors. Step 2 (Balance): Run the balance scan. Adjust for temperature, vibrance, and diversity. Step 3 (WCAG): Verify every color has accessible pairs. Fix failures. Step 4 (Roles): Assign semantic roles. Preview in context using Live Preview. Step 5 (Export): Export to your target platform.
Phase 4: Design
Set up Figma color styles from the PaletteRx JSON export. Design key page templates using only palette colors. Verify that the palette works in practice, not just in theory. Iterate if needed (return to PaletteRx to adjust and re-export).
Phase 5: Development
Import the PaletteRx export into your builder or stylesheet. Build components using only CSS variable references. Document the color system alongside the code.
Phase 6: QA and Launch
Audit the live site against the palette (use PaletteRx extraction to verify). Check all states, all pages, dark mode, and email templates. Fix any drift. Launch.
Phase 7: Maintenance
When changes are needed, update PaletteRx first, re-export, update Figma, update CSS. One source of truth, always synchronized.