1 - Color Palettes

HSB

Hue = Color (0-360)
Saturation = intensity of color (0-100)
Brightness = the amount of black or white (0-100)
Color Ramps
specific range of colors that work together.
in example, brightness increases left to right.
high brightness with too much saturation burns the eyes
very low brightness with too much saturation can become overly rich, but this is less of an issue usually
typically, darker colors have more saturation, but that's not a hard and fast rule. Can peak in middle as well.
Hue-Shifting
Hue changes over ramp some (in above example, shifting by positive degrees as the brightness rises)
Adds interest and makes other ramps fit better, "straight ramps" only for monochrome
The Palette
Multiple ramps that work together
The Process
How many swatches per ramp (3 at minimum, 9 maximum. 11 seems like a lot)
Hue shift degrees per swatch? (5-20, warmer is more natural, colder is more sterile)
Select center hue for first ramp
Work out the brightness (around 70)
Work out the saturation (60-75)
Play with the rest of the swatches using increments:
Once you're happy with the ramp, copy and shift all hues by 360/number of ramps you want.
Then, take all that, copy it, and create de-saturated versions of the ramps.

Horizontal ramps (as we made them)
Diagonal ramps also exist, because consistent hue shift means every color is surrounded by colors that can work together
Learn more color theory