How do I create a palette file?

Last verified 14 October 2026
Read time 2 min
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The short version

Create a palette by saving colors from an image or choosing them by hand. Find the saved file under Palettes in Library and reuse it across designs.

A palette is its own saved file. You build it once, name it, and reuse the same colors across everything you design. This article covers the two ways to create one.

Create a palette from an image

Pull the colors out of a photo or reference and save them as a palette.

  1. Open an image. From your library, open the image whose colors you want to reuse.
  2. Open Color themes. Expand Color themes in the image details.
  3. Save a theme. Open Theme actions for the color theme you want, then choose Save as palette.
  4. Rename or edit it. Open the saved palette from your library to rename it or adjust its swatches.

For the full walkthrough, see How do I create a color palette from an image?.

Build a palette by hand

Start from nothing and choose each color yourself.

  1. Open the palette creator. Start a new palette.
  2. Add swatches. Pick colors with the color picker or enter hex codes.
  3. Name and save it. Give the palette a name and save it to your library.

For the full walkthrough, see How do I build a palette by hand?.

Find and reuse saved palettes

Find your saved palettes in Palettes in Library. From there they are available across Canvas, so you can drop the same colors into moodboards, lookbooks, and documents. See How do I reuse a palette across Canvas?.

Palette files and image color themes

A palette is a separate file you own and reuse. The color themes Visualist extracts from an image belong to that image and power color search. Saving a color theme as a palette copies its colors into a new palette file while keeping the image’s color themes in place.

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