text: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDave E
  Today we're launching the new site and making Kuler available on the App Store for iOS. We've worked really hard to make Kuler easier to work with and accessible on all your devices. And, we have a lot more planned. So, let us know what you think.
  If you are an active Kuler user, you may notice a few pages and features missing from the new Kuler website. I’m writing to explain what’s missing, why it’s missing, and what you can expect to see in the coming weeks and months. Here's an overview of what you won't find on the new site:
  Create a theme from an image:.
  Color space “slider” controls: We talked to a lot of Kuler users about the slider controls. Some users like them and others don’t. The main complaint we heard was that the sliders add unnecessary complexity and take up too much space.
  So, we opted to not add the sliders and err on the side of making the creation experience simple. Though, we decided to keep the “brightness” slider control since some colors spaces don’t have a brightness variable. We'd love to know what you think. You can voice your opinion here on the forum.
  Change the order of colors: In our research, we found most users did not know you could re-order colors on the old Kuler site. And, it’s actually quite a bit of work to build this feature. So, rather than re-building a feature many users don’t know about or use, we wanted to hear from you first. I created an idea for this feature on the forum. Please add your vote if you think this feature should be worked on immediately.
  Avatar: Most of the users we talked with about Kuler avatars were indifferent. In fact, they asked us to focus on other features first. So, that’s what we’re doing--we're focusing on some of the most requested features first.
  Community spotlight and Pulse: The Community Spotlight and Pulse were beta features that never really gained any traction. So, we opted to not continue with these features.
  API:).
  We’re always looking for feedback and would love to hear what you think about any of these topics—please join the discussion here on the forum.
  1. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamhate flash May 30, 2013 8:07 AM (in response to Dave E)
  When creating a new color scheme, the color wheel is in the way of the palette. Alos, can you remove the black line around all the palettes?
  2. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDave E
  May 30, 2013 8:12 AM (in response to hate flash)
  Thanks for the post. We'll definitely take your input into consideration. Though, I'm not sure what you mean a about "black line" around the palletes? Are you referring to the frame around each theme on the explore page?
  Thanks.
  3. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamcaptenaj May 30, 2013 8:21 AM (in response to Dave E)
  The Slider controls were one of the best things about Kuler. This simplified version of Kuler goes too far. It looks more like a child's toy now, not a tool for color manipulation.
  4. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamhate flash May 30, 2013 9:04 AM (in response to Dave E)
  Hi Dave,
  Yes, that's what I mean.
  Taking a further look at this thing... guys, the old app was so much better. I used HSV almost exclusively and that's gone. Why?
  Why is the color wheel in front of the palette? Seriously. Why?
  One of my peeves about the OLD Kuler app was how difficult it was to remove the white line around the current color. With some manipulation this could be done, at least when creating colors from photos. The designer wants to be able to see his/her colors next to each other and against black or dark grey. We do not want shadows, lines, borders, or anything else in the way.
  Please restore the old look. I hate to beg, but honestly, it was simple, beautiful, and it worked, albeit some of the time. This is "pretty" but not particularly useful. It might be beneficial for you guys to work with designers to see what they actually do when they use the old software - and then build your new version around that.
  Kuler was honestly the best app for building color schemes. It wasn't great. But it was the best that was available - largely because of the large boxes, the simple view, and the ability to see the colors right next to each other. It could have been great by just adding a few more features. This redesign has set you back. You've lost the great features that you had all for a "pretty" appearence.
  Try to remember this:
  Form Follows Function
  5. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamWink-Van May 30, 2013 10:00 AM (in response to Dave E)
  Hi,
  I'm not very positive about the redesign., The feature I have used most is the one where you are able to upload a photo and pull colours from it. I don't see how to do that in this new design. At the very least, it is not intuitive how to get to the place you need to go to upload the photo. I hope you do something about that!
  Bill
  6. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamJonna May 30, 2013 10:18 AM (in response to hate flash)
  @Hate flash: You read my mind!
  Kuler builders, can you please listen to this? Maybe it's even possible for you to make an advanced site like the old one next tot this, so that people like us who do want the sliders and all colorpalets just can choose it?
  7. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamlindsayjames11 May 30, 2013 10:22 AM (in response to Dave E)
  I really do not like the redesign at all. It was so much better before. The new design is to "in your face" big and cluttered. The old design was perfect, asthetically pleasing and easy to use. The phrase "If its not broke don't fix it" comes to mind. Please change it back!!
  8. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamrandygazette70 May 30, 2013 10:30 AM (in response to Dave E)
  The InDesign CS4 palette was the only feature I used in Adobe Kuler. By uploading an image from my layout and letting Kuler automatically pull color mixtures then converting to CMYK and then refresh InDesign Kuler palette to have swatches was great, simple and FAST. Not sure yet how my work process will go now. Looks as if you've abandoned the palette.
  9. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamJonna May 30, 2013 10:32 AM (in response to Dave E)
  First, the colorwheel really is in the way of the colorscheme.
  Second, I'm a relative new user and I was very fond of Kuler just because of all the possibilities. Other colorsites are too simple, only Kuler treated me like a thinking person. The sliders, the different color spaces, the ability to reschedule the colors, it was a relief to see a site like this... Probably you can add a fold button for those options, if the main reason is that it takes too much space.
  Third. I was editing a theme and saved it under a different name. This used to create a new theme, but not now! My original theme was replaced by the new theme. I hope this is a bug and not a feature...
  10. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDave E
  May 30, 2013 10:46 AM (in response to hate flash)
  Hate flash - thanks for more info.
  HSV: we actually still have HSV. We just changed the acronym to HSB (HSV and HSB are synonymous). All the Adobe apps use HSB and we felt it was important to have consistency across Adobe apps.
  Old look: your feedback about lines, bordrs, etc. is good. Another user posted an idea to the forum requesting the ability to change the background from black to white. Perhaps we can take that feedback with yours and offer users more control of the "canvas"?
  Color wheel in front of themes: I undrestand your point. Will take that into consideration.
  11. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDave E
  May 31, 2013 8:36 AM (in response to Jonna)
  Jonna,
  Thanks for the input. I underestand your feedback about the colorwheel being in the way of the colorscheme.
  Regarding the color spaces (your second point), I want to clarify. All the color spaces are still accessible. You just need to click on the little caret symbol to see all of them. We plan to remember your most used color space so that's always at the top. So, the only functional difference is that we don't have slider controls for all color space values.
  I understand your point about rescheduling colors.
  I'll pass your feedback about editing a theme and saving. Seems like you want to see a "would you like to overwrite or save a copy" notice. That makes sense.
  12. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamJonna May 30, 2013 10:59 AM (in response to Dave E)
  @Dave E: I only see RGB and Hex. Where is HSB?
  Edit: crossed the answer of Dave to my former post. I was looking for a real carrot (carrot symbol) but now I know. I found the triangle and all the colour spaces. Thanks!
  13. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDave E
  May 30, 2013 10:57 AM (in response to randygazette70)
  Randygazette70 & Wink-Van-
  I assure you we are working on the "create from an image" feature. I hope we can restore your workflow very soon.
  @Randygazette70:
  Would be great if you could help me underestand your workflow a bit better. I want to make sure I understand what you are doing so we can think about this with future updates. Do you mind sending me a PM with details about what you are trying to accomplish? Seems like you are trying to convert colors in your design to CMYK? Thx.
  14. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDave E
  May 30, 2013 11:01 AM (in response to Jonna)
  15. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamrandygazette70 May 30, 2013 11:05 AM (in response to Dave E)
  I would be glad to send details of process. How do I send PM?
  16. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamWink-Van May 30, 2013 11:29 AM (in response to Dave E)
  Dave,
  I see you are replying to most everyone else's post, but not mine. A reason?
  Bill
  17. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teampratthomer May 30, 2013 11:38 AM (in response to Dave E)
  I agree with captenaj, the slider controls were extremely useful. Could you make these available in an expandable tab, as with the carat for color spaces? I also agree with almost everyone that the color wheel is totally in the way! I understand you're working to make this cross-platform, but couldn't some of these features be more usable in a desktop version? Thanks for working on the photo upload app--sooner the better!
  18. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDiana Eva May 30, 2013 12:36 PM (in response to Dave E)
  Wow - alot of comments - as a regular kuler user (dianesteinberg) I was shocked at the new look. As I am resistant to change, I feel we need to "play" with the new look for at least a week or two to get used to the new possibilities. However, the huge color wheel is definitely in the way, and I personally think this should be a major change to make it smaller as soon as possible.
  19. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamRogerAasheim May 30, 2013 12:46 PM (in response to Dave E)
  I appreciate that you are actively working on Kuler. Here are a couple things I noticed with the new design. When you are browsing themes and find one you like and click it there is no easy way to get back to where you were. It would be nice to have an X in the corner so you can close and keep browsing where you left off. The second thing I noticed was that you can't rate a theme unless you go into it. Combined with the fact that you can't close and resume browsing it discourages people from leaving feedback and ratings. Hope that helps.
  20. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDave E
  May 30, 2013 1:19 PM (in response to Wink-Van)
  Wink-Van,
  The new site does not have the "create from image" feature. And, in my original post, I explained the reason for that. Also, just want to reiterate, we are working on this feature now. And, hope to have something to show soon.
  Thanks for posting.
  21. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDave E
  May 30, 2013 1:33 PM (in response to RogerAasheim)
  @RogerAasheim
  Thanks for posting. Great feedback about maintianing browsing context. We're looking into that one.
  Regarding ratings, this is an interesting topic--with many different points of view. I'll share my view: We heard from many users that ratings were not ideal because they introduced some negative feedback. Some users, for instance, give themes 1 star just to be malicious. While favorites, on the other hand, allow you to express positive feedback. And, if you don't like something, you simply don't favorite it.
  So, for this reason, we opted not to add ratings on the explore page. Instead, we added the ability to favorite themes.
  Hope that makes sense.
  22. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDave E
  May 30, 2013 2:43 PM (in response to Diana Eva)
  @Diane, Pratthomer, Jonna, and anyone else I've missed.
  I hear your feedback on the color wheel being in the way. And, I also hope you will give yourself some time to get used to it.
  Though, one point of feedback is not clear to me. A few of you have mentioned the color wheel being too large. And, I'm not sure whether you have a problem with that, or whether your problem is just that the theme is obscured.
  Let me explain our thinking on the size of the color wheel. We heard from users that pecision--when selcting color--was important. And, that a easy to use (and larger than the old wheel) would allow for greater precision. So, that's what we tried to do.
  So, my question is this: is your concern the color wheel size? Or, just the fact that it obscures the theme colors?
  23. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamJonna May 30, 2013 3:30 PM (in response to Dave E)
  My concern is not the size - that makes it only better to adjust. It covers the theme colors too much.
  Maybe it is possible to enlarge the colorwheel only when you use it? Aka when you click on it. Then it is possible to adjust the colors careful ànd to view the theme properly.
  24. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamkcolors5104 May 30, 2013 5:45 PM (in response to Dave E)
  I feel like the new color wheel and swatches are so huge... I can't get a feel for how the colors work together because it's so in my face - I'm literally backing away from my monitor to get a better sense. I like how they're bigger than the previous site but I'm thinking this is a bit too much... Like others, I also don't like the color wheel blocking the pallet. The whole purpose of design is... visual, so things need to be visable so we can see them in their entirety and plan our work accordinlgy.
  I'm also missing the "from photo" feature and look forward to its return (along with the options to choose muted, bright, etc.).
  Reordering the swatches is a nice option and I think the reason people didn't know it was there is because the interface didn't make it clear (I discovered this feature within my first few hours of using the old site but only because I played outside the obvious boundaries). I think the fact that people aren't aware of the feature is more indicative of gaps in the interface than it is of the usefulness/interest in the feature.
  I do like how it feels a bit cleaner and easier to find buttons and options so, overall, I like the new layout - just some tweaks and enhancements needed, I think.
  25. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teambenmp May 30, 2013 5:41 PM (in response to Dave E)
  I understand the reasoning behind making the color wheel bigger for accuracy, but placing it on top of the swatch squares is not the solution. Can we at least have the ability to resize it? Can it only cover the swatches when you are manipulating it then shrink down? Can I have a button to click to downsize it so I can view the swatches unbostructed? Please reconsider this.
  Also, how exactly are we suppose to edit and save new swatche sets made from previously saved swatch sets without losing the original swatch set? When I edit a saved swatch set and rename it, I lost the original swatch set I started from. I'd like to keep both the original saved swatch set and the new edited one. Can we at least make a duplicate? I thought I could rename the saved swatch set I was editing and that it would save both the original and newlery renamed. I was wrong and lost the original swatches I started with.
  Why did the sliders need to be taken out? Couldn't they still be there hidden and then shown via a drop down? Why completely remove a feature that many did use just because some didn't use them?
  26. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDiana Eva May 30, 2013 8:24 PM (in response to Dave E)
  I just tried another theme while paying close attention to the color wheel -
  As you can see from this screen shot, the wheel covers most of the middle color - the only colors that are totally visible are the ones at each end - I feel the need to view my colors fully - the size is fine, my problem is that it covers the colors way too much (apparently some others feel this way, also)
  27. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDave E
  May 31, 2013 2:27 PM (in response to benmp)
  @benmp: thanks for the feedback. I'm taking note.
  There is a workaround for creating a duplicate theme. It's not as easy as before (I'll see if we can fix that). But, it works. Here's how:
  (1) Click edit on an existing theme.
  (2) Make your edits on the color wheel. (note, all your edits are recorded in the URL)
  (3) Copy the URL and paste into a new window.
  (4) rename the theme to whatever you prefer.
  (5) save.
  28. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamPECourtejoie May 31, 2013 10:05 AM (in response to Dave E)
  Hello, Dave! It was nice meeting you in real life at Adobe MAX, thanks for reaching out to the community!
  The kuler faq does not state anymore that the kuler panel is not available in the french versions of Photoshop, did the situation evolue in that matter?
  29. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamJonna May 31, 2013 11:11 AM (in response to Dave E)
  Aha,
  Thanks ! This was the problem I meant before (post 9), I'm glad there's a workaround.
  30. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamanchor_sore May 31, 2013 11:41 AM (in response to Dave E)
  31. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDave E
  May 31, 2013 2:26 PM (in response to PECourtejoie)
  @PECourtejoie: great meeting you as well! No, the panel is still not available in French. Sorry.
  32. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamBrad F. May 31, 2013 6:51 PM (in response to Dave E)
  HELP!!! I need the "create a theme from an image feature"! Is there a way to do this? Some other source?? anything???
  I'm new to this world of color (currently in school) and I was introduced to Kuler by my instructor several months ago. I use it for every project and the most important feature to me is missing....and I'm in the middle of a project where I need this feature.
  33. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamRogerAasheim May 31, 2013 7:36 PM (in response to Brad F.)
  Hi Brad, if you have access to a computer with Adobe Photoshop you can use that to choose colors from an image. It's as simple as using the eyedropper tool. I can give you step by step directions just let me know.
  34. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamBrad F. May 31, 2013 8:38 PM (in response to RogerAasheim)
  Great! I can use the eye dropper. If there is a way to make themes I'd appreciate instructions?
  I consider myself anti-artistic. I liked the 'create a theme from an image' tool because it did all of the creative work for me. I don't believe that creativity is something that you can learn...and I wasn't born with it so I need help.
  35. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamphoto_giraffe Jun 1, 2013 8:06 AM (in response to Dave E)
  I am really dissapointed in the new site- I find it even harder to use, more confusing and quite frustrating. I use Kuler quite often and I study at a design college. There are many of us students that are Kuler fans! But soon to be dissappearing elsewhere!!! Please bring back the old site?
  36. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamPECourtejoie Jun 1, 2013 10:50 AM (in response to Dave E)
  That's what
  I thought, maybe should it then be re-written in the FAQ, unless I missed it?
  37. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamRogerAasheim Jun 1, 2013 4:05 PM (in response to Brad F.)
  Open your image in Photoshop and use the eyedropper to choose a color. You will notice a little color window in the upper right corner of Photoshop, it displays the RGB values for the color you selected with your eyedropper. Write those values down and open the Kuler website. In Kuler create a custom theme and use those numbers you have written down for the colors. Rinse and repeat until you have all the colors you need for a theme. Hope that helps!
  38. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamDiana Eva Jun 1, 2013 4:32 PM (in response to RogerAasheim)
  39. Re: Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler teamhate flash Jun 2, 2013 5:26 AM (in response to captenaj)
  About the slider controls for the team:
  One of the nice things about the slider controls is that it allows a designer to experiment with color. For example, a designer could edit another color scheme by sliding only the hue slider for example, leaving all the other values the same. Or changing only the saturation. Having to type in numbers to do that means it is unlikely anyone will want to do that.
  Adding a feature that would allow users to control ALL the sliders at once on a custom theme would be AWESOME. Maybe a little lock feature would allow a custom theme to behave like a standard one. ???
  Tabbing from one value to the next:
  I'm not sure how the old system worked because I always used HSB which was on the top, but you should be able to tab to the next value in the color picker you are using. Right now tabbing through HSB sends me to HEX and then to CMYK.
  Please put back the ability to create a new theme from an old one simply by changing the name or alternatively, add a duplicate button to start a new theme from an old one.
  Definitely lose the black borders around all the themes.
  It was probably not a good idea to release this new version without the ability to create schemes from photos. I'm willing to bet that your hits dropped when you did that. It was probably the most popular way of creating schemes - and not just for designers either. Why not wait until everything was ready? Or release a beta version at another address? As it is, maybe you can put the old one back at another address...
  If you want to add functionality rather than subtract it - a color tester would be a nice feature. For example testing on a sample web page would be a very useful tool. I do something like this using Illustrator's Recolor feature (make it more intuitive than that, though.) Pattern testing, too. There are color testers out there, but Kuler was more intuitive, and had the ability to assert more control over the color, so it was preferrable.
  Those are my thoughts for now.
  Lisa