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.

[Dakota_Kota]

I am very sad that I cannot create a theme from an Image right now.

[Biomechanic44]

I hadn't used Kuler for a while... And it looks like it's gonna stay that way.

What an absolute mess they have made of it - has it been redesigned for grannies ? Every element on the page is huge, way too big... So big that I can stand 10 feet away and use my AirMouse to create...

And which bright spark in the 'design' team thought it would be a good idea to overlay the colour wheel on top of the working palette ? Big mistake, it needs to be isolated and not have anything near it, never mind touching it.

Where is the 'From an image' functionality ? This was Kulers ace in the pack and now it's gone - more than likely never to return

The old Kuler was a beautiful piece of design work, the new one is a shining example of bad design in my opinion...

There are people on here asking for the old version to be reinstated... that will never happen, I can tell you that now, they are not going to spend money on a redesign only to scrap it and fall back to the original.

Anyway, goodbye Kuler, hello COLOURLovers...

Jon

[jkillk]

"Or, is this now Kuler Lite - a free version of Kuler?  Will Adobe soon be announcing Kuler CS7 a new pay-to-play service?  I have no problem with Adobe chasing every coin you folks can get your fingers on, everyone needs to make money.  But please don't torcher us - just let me know what Kuler Pro or Kuler CS7 is going to cost - if it's resonable I'll subscribe."

Yes, it's highly unlikely that Adobe will go back to the original.  Even if they totally messed up this product launch. But it wouldn't be unprecedented--look at New Coke, Gap, or Tropicana. 

Let me be absolutely clear: I would HAPPILY pay to use the old Kuler, but I won't use the new version, not even for free.

[erdaestr]

The image feature is an important feature. I hope to see it soon as you continue developing. When will you have the iPad version of the Kuler app? And would be nice to be able to Pin to a Pinterest board.

[erdaestr]

Also bring back the CMYK values!!!!  My stuff is mostly for PRINT!  I do agree with most comments, the old was not broke, if you are to re-dregin to comply to the new cloud please improve on the awesomeness not degrading what you had. I know this work is often a thankless one but ... look at the bar Steve Jobs set and left behind? Each product they launched was tested and pretty complete when it got to the consumer. People were thought of first. How practical is the tool? How is it used? Deadlines often hinder quality. The accomplishment is to retain the customer, not desolution, nor impede their work flow with a lesser product. I don't use Kuler because it's pretty to look at, I use it because its a tool, because it helps get the job done faster, because we too must be efficient with our time. So focus on US before you focus on a dealine or cloud concept. WE should be your priority.

[Dave_E]

@erdaestr - all the color spaces are still accessible (including CMYK).  Click the little triangle next to RGB to expand and see the full set of color spaces options. 

[droflowb]

What little triangle?

[Zerflin]

You took away some of the most useful features in Illustrator.

I want to browse other swatches people have submitted, viewing by popular, etc, like I used to. Forcing us onto the website is such a pain in the butt, especially when you're trying lots of different colour schemes.

[kbtaylor]

Thanks for giving Kuler some dev time! 

I really like that it no longer uses flash and is available on more devices but as primarily a creator i'm struggling with a few of the changes...

1. The color wheel obscuring the middle of the theme is really distracting for me and is keeping me from making new themes.  I liked to be able to see equal amounts of each color in the theme and against a plain background instead of against portions of the wheel.  Visually it hurts my eyes trying to focus on my theme colors and ignore the interaction of the full saturated edges of the overlapped wheel. 
2. I miss the rearrange function.  I used it constantly to check each color against each other to make adjustments.  I think the most useful themes have colors which are harmonious in a variety of orders since projects often require more than 2 colors against one another.
3. I miss the other sliders.  I used them often.  They were so handy for those subtle tweaks.

thanks for the opportunity for feedback!

kristi

[axxelerate]

Sorry, the new kuler.adobe website ist awful

- The design is like computers in the 90ths

- This big ugly color wheel is in the way

- CMYK and lab is missing

- its all much to big

- before it was much easier with more information on less space and...

---> is there really no more photo upload???

I'm really a big fan of Adobe and never complained before but this is so bad!

you lost 75 % of usability.

[jaminroe]

My Themes are all gone, after updating my email address... What gives?

[BLee2582]

This interface makes it really hard to be artistic. Sure, it's great for popping out themes on your phone. And that's fine for some people's needs.

But color artists are looking for that fine control that allows them to create quality palettes for specific projects, specific customer tastes or for future use.

Just because a theme pops up from a photo doesn't mean it will translate well to interior design or web design. It is a starting place, but needs to be refined.

The ability to fine tune a palette is virtually gone with this new interface.

I am guessing this will drive the artists to other color scheming websites where their artistic touches will have more of a chance to shine.

[belhaikes]

This is so bad. Really you launch without the picture ability? Looks like I will be removing this lesson from my syllabi. Adobe- you are seriously dissappointing by dumbing down your software and removing important functions. Agh.

don't be evil

don't be stupid

your market research is awful

you are pandering to the bottom

[dezign2the9z]

Wow, the old kuler was so much more sophisticated compared to this new one which looks like it was built for  kids who want to play around on their smartphones but for a professional designer like me, who works mainly on a larger calibrated computer screen the old version seemed much more sophisticated.     All of the features on the "My Themes Page" seem to be gone except for the search field and custom color swatches which are ginormous and take up the entire page.  The old account page had more features.   This one seems very impersonal.   I loved the image upload feature so I hope you get that back soon. The reorder feature was excellent as well.    It seems to me that if you were not ready to launch this new Kuler, you might have left the old, more complete one up until you were ready.  Anyway, Thanks for creating Kuler in the first place.   I'm still happy that it exists so I will patiently await the new improvements.  Laura

[yerbajunkie]

One more issue regarding the development process (the market research and analyzing results from testing part): As far as I'm convinced, kuler is/was an app for designers. What's the point of making a color palette from an image on a screen that's not normally being precisely calibrated - it is possible to calibrate a smartphone screen, but who knows that and how often one actually does that (a wild assumption, but the number is probably smaller then that of users unaware of the reorder feature in the old kuler)? On the other hand, desktop users - professional designers - calibrate their screens on a regular basis and the feature is gone in the new website... I'm sure the new kuler's been tested on mobile devices by designers. Were they calibrated? When, how often?

[BLee2582]

Yerbajunkie, I'm pretty sure this isn't about designers anymore. I could be wrong. But designers are craftsmen. And there has always been a lower ROI (return on investment) when catering to craftsmen as opposed to catering to the public at large. When furniture ceased to be created by individual craftspersons and assembly line furniture came into vogue it was a boon to manufacturers. Yes, I am talking the industrial revolution. At last, the common man could afford everyday furniture. Maybe not as nice as hand crafted, but everyone had a shot.

I see this new app the same way. Kuler cannot remain the bastion of designers when the fever to create color palettes has caught on. And it's so much fun to do it. Not just for designers. But for anyone with a phone. Color is a universal language. And Sally wants to tell her bff what colors would be mad for her wedding. Kuler can do that. Bringing the wider audience into the experience will keep Adobe front and center. Besides, a lot of people probably will find uses for color palettes. If only to play with in digital art. There's nothing wrong with that. It's a good thing.

But it makes it darn inconvenient for the color artists and designers who used the old interface. It was a glorious interface. Now it is a one-size-fits-all interface that is inadequate for the way designers like you and I want to work. I am sad. I am very sorry to see it go this way. But there is always colrd.com and colourlovers.com. There is the ability to refine colors more with those aps.

I don't think our old interface will come back again. So, we find alternatives. Or we adapt. It's as simple as that.

[Duke3D]

Seriously?  This is analogous to the industrial age and that is the reason they cannot restore the old software to a different subdomain and add a link to "Kuler Classic" or "Kuler for Designers?"

No issues with a phone app for the masses, but that doesn't mean you cripple a highly used tool.  Instead you offer the new Kuler Essentials to Sally and everyone is happy.

[DrStrik9]

Sorry, BLee2582, I could not disagree more.

If we applied your logic to other parts of life, we would all wear the same clothing, eat the same foods, listen to the same music, and drive the same cars.  AACCKK!!!

The Kuler interface (if designed well) CAN (and should) work for designers -- to the enth degree -- AND work like a toy for complete noobs who have no concept of color models, screen calibration, or what works exceedingly well with a specific photo.

[jkillk]

BLee2582,

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Kuler is free, so how is ROI relevant? 

[Axxelerate_Hahn]

I dont understand why we can't have a link to the old kuler which is a professionla tool

(and let the others use this toy )

[JaimeZee123456]

Just wanted to extend a great big super thank you for no "Create a theme from an image"

I am on a deadline today (as usual) and trying to figure out the new extra-ultra-mega-sleek navigation is annoying enough (paired with the SLOW load times), but to come on the forum to find you just didn't have your new concept finalized, but went live anyway?!? really?

the solution: I can download the app, send the customer's logo to my phone, to create a theme, to then come back to the site to download the theme. Pretty weak.

QUESTION: What is a good alternative to using Adobe Kuler? Nevermind, I'll ask Google.

[heathercoles]

Here is a suggestion for how to layout the CMYK/RGB section. http://imgur.com/a/rXb8f
In the current layout, there does not seem to be a relationship between the Color fields and their numerical designations.

The theme from an image feature is by far the coolest thing Kuler does/did. Delaying the launch date until key features like that are completed is perferrable to pushing an impared version.
If I had a choice between driving a used car and driving a new car without tires, I would go with the used one, even if it's a clunker; at least it would get me there.

I will probably never use the kuler iphone app because I can't use Illustrator or photoshop on the iphone.
Assuming I have the base image I want to use in my phone (which would be unprecedented) and I use that image in the kuler app to make a palette, what happens then?

How would I use the file?

How does it get from phone to computer?

How much will I have to think?

How many steps will there be?

How inconvienient will it be?

How long will it take?

I'll give you two things:
1) it's a sexier layout

&

2) the overly simplified interface might be more approachable to new users.

However, you're dismissing your primary audience - advanced users.

The largest barrier to participation, especially for new users, is how difficult it has always been to get the downloaded palette into the swatch menu of Illustrator or photoshop.

It is in no way intuitive and it is often easier for me to copy/paste the HEX code 5 times than to try to open the swatch file inside the application.

Plz fix the broken stuff, maintain your BEST features, and focus on solidifying your existing fan base instead of trying to find an entirely new one.
As it is, I have next to no reason to use kuler anymore.
I just keep coming back, hoping it will be fixed. 😕

[Dave_E]

Hi everyone.  Thank you for all the feedback you've posted the last few weeks.  We appreciate thoughtful and helpful feedback. 

Today we're releasing a few new features that we'd like your input on.  Most of these features are in direct response to comments posted on this thread. Rather than posting all the details here, I've created a new thread to explain what we plan to update. 

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1259895

Please take a look and post your feedback on that thread.  Thanks! 

[randygazette70]

YEAH!!!!! Import colors from an uploaded photo is BACK!!!!!!

But will the InDesign palette be added back for the next update?

[slt_uxd]

To be honest, I'm disappointed. The product's UI may have been redesigned to be simpler, but the utility has been dumbed-down way too much for me. Losing the "Create from color" and "Create from image" features pretty much made Kuler useless for me. At this point I'm using colorschemedesigner.com because at least it has cool export functions.

Your Kuler iPhone app is awesome though.