Transport yourself to the most beautiful beaches in the world with these 10 FREE color palettes inspired by celebrated coastlines.
Whether you’re travelling or wanderlusting this summer, you’ll find plenty of travel inspiration with these free coastal color palettes. From iconic tropical beaches featured in James Bond films to dramatic coastlines made for sunset photography, these world-famous beaches provide an endless resource of creative color ideas.
Scroll down to discover 10 FREE color palettes inspired by world-famous beaches. They range from vibrant city promenades to remote, untouched coastlines that are a haven for wildlife. Use these color palettes to create atmospheric color schemes for social media posts, marketing campaigns or print designs. Or you can simply add their destination to your travel bucket list for future adventures.
License this image via Marie-Therese Schlierkamp.
You’ll find the HEX code swatches that allow you to use these color schemes for online designs. If you want to use these palettes for creating print designs, you can also easily convert them to CMYK swatches.
Did you find a coastal color palette you adore? Simply right-click and save the image to your computer, or save to a mood board to come back to later.
1. Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland: Cool Colors of Rock Beaches
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Giant’s Causeway (in Irish: Clochán an Aifir) is a geological phenomenon, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. More than 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns create an epic landscape of natural stepping stones overlooking the wild Atlantic ocean.
This color palette takes inspiration from this otherworldly coastline. Rich teal green of the ocean and basalt columns dominate this palette. Delicate sea pinks of a hardy coastal flower dot the shoreline.
2. Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro: The Bright Colors of Brazil
This is an epic curved beach that stretches for 4 kilometers against the backdrop of buzzing Rio de Janeiro. Copacabana Beach is famous for posing (in obligatory Brazilian swimwear), volleyball, and of course, the famous Rio nightlife that can be found the clubs and bars that line the vibrant Avenida Atlântica (Atlantic Avenue).
This color palette is a celebration of Copacabana’s ultra-colorful personality. Brazilian jungle green and yellow are given even more vibrancy when accompanied by bright magenta pink and azure blue.
3. Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach, Big Island, Hawaii: Colors that Complement Black
Famous for its dramatic black basalt beaches caused by lava flows, Hawaii’s volcanic islands are a paradise for surfers and nature-lovers. Punaluʻu Beach, is situated on the southern coast of Big Island. It is one of the most famous black sand beaches of Hawaii. Coconut palms overlook the surf and green turtles come to the bay to breed.
Transport your senses to Hawaii’s coast with this dramatic, brooding palette of basalt black, dark plum purple, marine blue, and seafoam blue.
4. Marina Grande Beach, Amalfi Coast, Italy: Pastel Colored Sand
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At the base of the stunningly picturesque town of Positano is Marina Grande Beach. It’s also known as Positano Hollywood Beach, due to its reputation for attracting screen stars and celebrities since the 1950s. When you’re not celebrity-spotting, you can rent a beach umbrella and sun bed. Or enjoy a limoncello at one of the cliff-perched restaurants overlooking this popular hotspot.
Of course, visitors to Italy’s Amalfi coast are spoilt for choice when it comes to picturesque coves and coastal cliff villages. This color palette will transport your designs to sunnier European climes with a classic Neapolitan palette of forest green, terracotta, blush pink, and lemon yellow.
5. Aegean Islands, Greece: Classic Nautical Colors
It’s impossible to pick just one beautiful beach from the sun-kissed Aegean islands, with so many immaculate white-sanded bays and hidden olive-groved coves to choose from. A couple of picks might be Sarakiniko Beach on Milos Island is well worth a visit to see its white volcanic cliffs which drop dramatically into the bluest of waters. Santorini’s blue-and-white traditional towns perch above idyllic pebbled coves.
The striking azure blue and off-white palette characteristic of the Greek islands give your designs instant coastal breeziness. Meanwhile golden orange offers a warm, sunlit aspect to this classic color scheme.
6. Miami Beach, Florida, USA: Bright Colors and City Lights
The city of Miami Beach features a variety of beaches, such as palm-lined Lummus Park. South Beach, a celebrity hotspot, is lined with Miami’s iconic art deco buildings in shades of bright, clashing pastels. For serious fun and a party atmosphere, there’s no better place to be than Miami Beach.
Get into the nostalgic party spirit of Miami with this pastel color palette. It takes inspiration from Miami’s lavender, orange, and lemon yellow architecture, as well as its clear blue lagoon waters.
7. Rialto Beach, Washington, USA: A Moody Color Palette
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Lucky roadtrippers are treated to a variety of jaw-dropping beaches on the Pacific Northwest coast route. Rialto beach, with its distinctive rock formations, diving pelicans, and dramatic driftwood may just be one of the most wild and beautiful. Situated in the Olympic National Park in Washington State, Rialto combines comfortable fine sand with the most dramatic of settings.
Did you know? The famous magician Claude Alexander Conlin named Rialto Beach after the Rialto theater chain. Conlin had a home in the 1920s overlooking the beach, but the house burned down in the 1930s.
The coastline of the Pacific Northwest is known for its dramatic foggy mists, which only add to the beauty and wildness of this coastline. This color palette references the oceanic colors of these nature-haven beaches with dark teal blue, sable brown, foggy dew, and the palest of sky blues.
8. Tulum Beach, Mexico: Rich With Neon Green Color
Arguably the most archaeologically atmospheric of beaches, Tulum Beach boasts a Pre-Columbian Mayan walled city. It served as a major port for Coba, a ruined Mayan city in inland Yucatan. When you’ve finished exploring ruins, say hello to the resident iguanas or kick back with a tequila-based Tulum cocktail.
This suitably tropical palette is inspired by Tulum’s idyllic combination of crystal-clear Caribbean ocean and lush palm forest, with jungle green, jade green, aqua gray, and pale lime.
9. Khao Tapu Beach, Khao Phing Kan, Thailand: Bold Colors That Inspired Books
Thailand is renowned for its stunningly beautiful beaches. Alex Garland immortalized Thai beaches in his novel The Beach, which describes a backpacker’s search for a legendary, isolated beach untouched by tourism.
While tourists certainly do flock to Thailand, it’s still possible to find beaches that are fantastically beautiful, with clear turquoise waters and immaculate white sand. One of these is Khao Tapu Beach on Khao Phing Kan, also known as James Bond Island, after featuring in the 1974 movie The Man With the Golden Gun. Surrounded by green-topped rocks and with an iconic limestone karst tower perched in the center of the bay, there’s perhaps no beach more glamorous or cinematic than Khao Tapu Beach.
Get inspired by the colors of Thailand in this bright, tropical scheme of coral red, coral, turquoise green, and cyan green.
10. Cape Cross, Skeleton Coast, Namibia: Natural Colors for a Stark Landscape
Named for the thousands of whale bones and shipwrecks that litter this dramatic stretch of coastline, Namibia’s Skeleton Coast is where the Namib desert meets the wild Atlantic ocean. This bleak and hostile environment might not be the best choice for a relaxed, sun-soaked vacation. However, if you want to visit one of the most untouched, wildest parts of Africa, you won’t be disappointed.
Colonies of Cape fur seals cluster on Cape Cross nature reserve to breed, and you can also spot zebra, giraffe and even the occasional cheetah stalking the dunes above the crashing waves.
The dramatic dunes and wild waves of the Skeleton Coast inspire this rich palette, which includes deep ink blue, pale sand, and amber orange set against a moody charcoal backdrop.
Explore even more creative inspiration.
License this cover image via contributor fokke baarssen.
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