March 3rd, 2010 by Brian Maddox

Photoshop Tip: Kuler and CS4

About this post:

An often overlooked or unknown connection in CS4 applications with Adobe's Kuler color theme exploration tool.

Filed under Tips, Tricks & Hints

Selecting Kuler in Photoshop CS4

I use Kuler all the time to explore color themes for comps and in developing branded colors for clients. Getting those colors into Photoshop or Flash has always been a clunky export then import kind of process. Come to find out that Kuler has a direct extension window within these CS4 applications. Kind of makes sense, but a lot of designers overlook it or simply don't know its there and it can be extremely helpful.

Kuler can be found in Photoshop for example under the "Window" menu item, then select "Extensions" and Kuler. A Kuler palette will open up and after a short load the highest rated color themes will come up just as if you went to Kuler's site.

Double-clicking on a theme brings up the color wheel (right) and several options for tweaking that theme. From here you have all the functionality and control to edit the theme, create a custom theme, or load it into your swatch palette. You can also double-click an individual color to load it as the primary color in photoshop as well as get its RGB and HEX value.

Pretty simple and straightforward but knowing its available might save you some time. Enjoy.