Thoughts on the site re-design from the Kuler team

[Dave_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: We know many users really like the “Create from an Image” feature.  Unfortunately, this feature was not ready for the new site launch.  So, rather than launching a buggy or half-baked feature, we decided to take a bit more time to get it right.

We intend to add this feature to the site as soon as it’s ready.  Until then, you can use the free iPhone app to create themes from images.

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 working to rebuild the Kuler API to offer more robust capababilities.  Until then, we're no longer issuing new API keys.  If you already have a key and are using the API, your service will not be interupted (your key will continue to work).

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.

[ScatterOfLight]

I knew it.  We have to pay to use the palette from an image feature don't we? 

http://www.adobe.com/products/kuler.html

[tiffanylc]

Not having the create theme from an image feature is extremly irritating. That was the main thing I used kuler for!

They should have waited to push it out if it wasn't complete.

[Dave_E]

Did you see the note about this feature being available as a beta? See this thread: http://forums.adobe.com/message/5548462#5548462

[Dave_E]

Today we released a few more beta features for you to give feedback on.  We've added the ability to re-order colors in a swatch and slider editing controls for each color space.  Check out the forum post here: http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1271659

Thank you for your feedback!

[PECourtejoie]

Looks like David__B and many others will be happy! Thanks for the ongoing improvements!

[BPVendor]

The old Kuler tool was much better, please bring it back.

Thank you.

[Barbara Ash]

The way Kuler works in Illustrator CC is horrible. Very inefficient. In previous versions of Illustrator I was able to type in a key word and quickly browse and add color schemes to Swatches. Now it take 10 times as long.

Adobe -- PLEASE BRING BACK THE OLD KULER FUNCTIONALITY!

[DrStrik9]

No Kuler used here, since they sabotaged it. I don't even think about it anymore.

The great thing about the current Kuler is that (by necessity) I've left it in the dust (where it belongs) and am thinking about colors and color groups in completely different ways.  :+)

[Dave_E]

Hi Barbara,

Can you help me understand exactly what you are trying to do? What version of Illustrator are you using?  And, where are you attempting to get your colors from?

Thank you.

[Barbara Ash]

Dave,

The reason I use Kuler is to quickly get sets of colors that I can use in my Illustrator files.

In Illustrator CS6, I can open the Kuler panel, type in a keyword to immediately download sets of colors that are related to that keyword. Any sets that I want to use can be added to the Swatches panel with a single click. It's very fast and efficient.

In Illustrator CC that behavior was changed. Now nothing shows in the Kuler panel. I have to go to the Kuler web site to select colors (going through the step of logging in first), and there are multiple steps involved to get a set of colors from the Kuler web site into the Illustrator CC swatches panel. Because of this new behavior in CC, whenever I want to use Kuler, I launch Illustrator CS6.

[Duke3D]

Dave, You have an entire thread explaining how Kuler's redesign gutted important functionality.  I'm sure your analytics numbers are verifying the decline in usefulness.

[Chris_Cousins]

What a shame, Kuler was such a great time saver. Glad I kept CS6 installed anyway.

[Dmillion]

I was very disappointed to open Illustrator CC and find that I couldn't browse Kuler swatches in the program anymore. Forcing us to go to a site and save the swatches, and then refresh before they're available, is a major inconvenience and a downright insult to my workflow. Please add a search and browse functionality in the Illustrator panel itself. I understand this whole re-design is a push to create a cloud-based repository, but at least add the most-desired and used functionality back into the application instead of removing it. Are you even listening to what the users are saying?

[jay fresno]

I agree completely with Dmillion's comments. Kuler funtionality in Illustrator CC is a huge disappointment. Instead of streamlining the workflow, it has become nearly impossibly convoluted.

Adobe -- I thought that the "Cloud" didn't mean we had to work in the cloud. Illustrator CC runs on my computer, not in the cloud -- why doesn't ALL of Illustrator's functionality also run on my computer, including Kuler!