A good colorway is more than a palette. It is a clear story, a readable legend, and a few intentional accents. This guide helps you design a clean, usable set.
1) Start with a palette
Pick a base and accent first:
- Base: neutral or muted (black, beige, gray)
- Accent: 1 to 2 highlight colors (blue, red, purple)
Explore color pages:
- Hub: keycaps.dev/colors
- Examples: Black/White, Blue PBT, Gunmetal Gray
2) Balance contrast and readability
- Dark base needs light legends
- Light base needs dark legends
- Avoid mid tone on mid tone if the board is for daily use
3) Use accents sparingly
- Accent on ESC, Enter, or arrow cluster works well
- Keep accents consistent with your theme
4) Build a theme story
Tie the palette to a simple theme:
- Space, retro, minimal, or nature
- Use 2 to 3 descriptive words in your prompt
See themes: keycaps.dev/themes and keycaps.dev/themes/retro
5) Match material and legends
- PBT works well for muted, matte palettes
- ABS is great for high saturation or neon accents
- Doubleshot or dye-sub changes how bold your legends feel
Useful links:
- Materials: keycaps.dev/materials
- Legends: Doubleshot, PBT Dye-Sub
Prompt starter
Theme: deep space
Palette: charcoal base, cyan accents, soft white legends
Profile: Cherry
Material: PBT
Legends: clean, high contrastTry it in Studio and publish the result:
- Studio: keycaps.dev/ai-keycaps-generator
- Gallery: keycaps.dev/gallery