New tool turns Google into a colour-picker

Colour tools are many and varied, but we've never seen anything like this before. Picular is a new online tool that gets its data from Google Images, and enables you to generate a colour palette for any subject you can imagine.

The latest addition in the ever-growing range of tools for graphic designers, Picular essentially harnesses the online hive mind to suggest colour schemes for your design projects. Users can type any topic into the search bar, and it will scrape the top image search results and provide a selection of shades based on the colours that appear there.

The search suggestions provided on the site aren't that imaginative (no prizes for guessing what colours pop up for 'water' or 'forest'), but that doesn't mean you can't be. Picular will create palettes based on anything you can search for, from countries to abstract concepts.

While you're of course going to need to use your own skills to find the right combinations, this tool provides a helpful jumping-off point for anyone trying to craft branding for a product – whether you want to embrace the colours your market associates with that particular product, or actively go against the grain.

The tool was created by Future Memories, a digital studio in Sweden that specialises in strategic design and technology. Try Picular out here, or take a look at our roundup of other great colour tools for more inspiration.

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