Five Ways to Choose Colour

In everything I design, the one thing that people tend to respond to first – and the thing I always come back to myself – is colour. It’s immediate. Before someone takes in the actual design, the stitching, the subject or the story, they see the colours. It’s often that first, instinctive response that makes someone walk across a room, or pause mid-scroll, or say, “I love that” without quite knowing why. It’s not the only thing that matters – far from it – but it’s usually what gets you in the door.

In this article, I share five practical methods I use to build colour palettes – from simple approaches for beginners, to more unexpected ways of breaking out of a creative rut. These aren’t rules, just tools. But if you’ve ever found yourself staring at your threads (or paints, or papers) wondering why nothing quite works, they might just help.