Color palette per industry

How do you pick the right palette?

1 primary, 2 secondary, 2 neutral.

Test contrast for readability.

Be careful with trends. Aim for timeless.

What does this tool do?

Each of the 20 palettes contains five coordinated colours with their HEX codes, put together per industry: warm earth tones for a bistro, trustworthy blue for a physiotherapist, sturdy grey with signal yellow for a contractor. Filter by your industry, click a colour and the HEX code is on your clipboard — ready to paste into Canva, your website builder or your brand guidelines.

How do you use a palette in practice?

Pick one palette and stick to it — consistency is what makes a feed look professional, not the colours themselves. Use the most striking colour as an accent (buttons, prices, badges), the mid tones for backgrounds of quotes and announcements, and the neutral shades as a base. If you are torn between two palettes, paste three example posts from each side by side in the Instagram feed preview and see which series feels most like one brand. And always check the contrast between text and background colour: what is readable on a large screen often disappears on a phone in the sun.

Colour is the start of your brand, not the end

A recognisable brand takes more than colour: your tone of voice and your topics matter too. Read our blog article on defining your brand voice online to sharpen that side, and have a look at the other free social media tools such as the Instagram feed preview. Want your colours to come back in every post automatically? Let Buddy design your posts — it uses your palette in every image it creates.