Inoi & Xandros
Xandros
I was just running a quick script that maps color theory onto a simple equation set, and it made me wonder—can a handful of constraints give us a palette that feels both mathematically balanced and still leaves room for the kind of subtle intuition that makes a design pop? Have you tried automating any part of your workflow this way?
Inoi
I’ve been fiddling with color constraints in Python lately, mapping hue, saturation and value to a few linear equations. It’s surprisingly fun—if you give the system a rule like “keep the contrast ratio above 3:1” and a “soft edge” condition, it spits out a palette that feels balanced but still lets me tweak a single hue until it feels right. I don’t use a full automation pipeline; I usually run the script, get a set of candidates, then sketch the layout and pick the one that feels most intuitive. It keeps me from getting stuck in the math rabbit hole but still gives me that little edge of intuition you’re after.
Xandros
Sounds like a neat middle ground. If you haven’t already, try turning that “soft edge” rule into a gradient‑smoothness metric—like a simple L2 norm on the derivative of the hue function over the palette. It’ll give you a quantitative handle without forcing the whole pipeline. Then you can still just pick the one that feels right. And maybe toss in a quick check for contrast‑adapted viewers—could be a nice sanity‑check before you hand it off to the sketch.
Inoi
That’s a clever tweak. I can add a quick L2 norm on the hue gradient in the script, so it’ll give me a smoothness score without making the whole process feel rigid. A contrast‑check for color‑blind users as a sanity check sounds perfect—no one wants to hand off a palette that looks off to a few people. I’ll run the updated script, grab the top candidates, and then let my sketching intuition decide the final pick. Thanks for the idea!
Xandros
Glad the tweak clicks—just remember, if the script ever starts demanding a bedtime schedule, you'll know it's truly gone full automation mode. Good luck with the sketching, and let me know if the contrast checker starts insisting on more colors.