How to Use AI to Pick Brand Colors—And When to Step in as a Designer
Are you using AI in your design workflow? Does AI nail brand color selection, or does it need a designer’s touch? Find out what works in this post.
Can AI Choose the Best Brand Colors, or Do You Need a Designer?
Artificial intelligence is transforming branding and design, but when it comes to choosing brand colors, can AI really replace a designer?
I put Claude and Perplexity to the test—using them to extract color palettes from a reference image. The results? Interesting, but not quite perfect. Here’s what I learned.
Here is an example of how the process works with Claude AI on a smartphone. The phone screens show Claude AI extracting color palettes from a butterfly wing reference image, including hex codes and beauty brand-inspired color names.
Here is an example of how the process works with Perplexity AI on a smartphone.
🎨 How AI Generates Brand Color Palettes
AI tools like Claude and Perplexity analyze images and extract dominant colors, often providing hex codes and suggested combinations. This makes AI a great tool for:
✅ Quick color extraction from inspiration images
✅ Generating aesthetic color palettes for design
✅ Offering variations with follow-up refinements
But here’s the catch…
🤔 Where AI Falls Short in Color Selection
While AI is useful for generating ideas, it lacks strategic thinking and doesn’t consider:
❌ Brand identity & emotional impact – Colors should align with brand values, industry standards, and customer psychology.
❌ Practical applications – AI doesn’t think about readability, accessibility, or contrast across marketing materials.
❌ Trends vs. Timelessness – AI-generated palettes may lack market awareness and feel generic.
This is why human input is essential—especially for industries like beauty and luxury branding, where color psychology and positioning are key.
The AI palette is interesting but it doesn’t fit the branding. The image shows the color palette extracted by Perplexity AI from a butterfly wing image, featuring shades of blue, gold, black, orange, and gray for branding inspiration.
💡 How I Refined the AI Palette for a Beauty Brand
After testing AI’s initial selection, I adjusted the palette using the 60-30-10 rule, a trusted design principle for balanced color harmony:
🎨 Primary (60%) → Mauve Mist (#B283A8) → A sophisticated, soft mauve, perfect for beauty brands.
✨ Secondary (30%) → Golden Honey (#FFC75F) → Warm and inviting, adding a touch of luxury.
🌙 Accent (10%) → Twilight (#1F2041) → A deep blue-black for depth and contrast.
This new palette feels elevated, inviting, and timeless—something AI alone didn’t quite achieve.
Final designer-adjusted beauty brand color palette using the 60-30-10 rule, featuring Mauve Mist, Golden Honey, Twilight, Sunset Glow, and Celestial Dew.
🚀 AI + Designer = The Best Brand Color Strategy
So, can AI choose brand colors? Technically, yes. But should you rely only on AI? Not if you want a strong, strategic brand identity.
Best approach?
✅ Use AI as a starting point for inspiration.
✅ Apply human expertise to refine colors strategically.
✅ Consider brand positioning, psychology, and contrast before finalizing.
💬 What Do You Think?
Would you use AI to create a brand color palette? Do you think AI will ever fully replace designers?
