Designers Can Save a Color or Find Recently Used Colors in The: Efficient Workflow Hack

I spent years watching designers waste 30+ minutes daily hunting for that one perfect color. There’s a better way built right into most design tools.

PowerPoint and similar apps let you save custom colors and quickly recall recent picks. No more recreating hex codes or guessing at RGB values from last week’s project.

You’ll find your saved swatches in the color picker, while recent colors appear automatically. This cuts color selection from minutes to seconds, every single time.

Works across documents too. Once saved, your palette travels with you. Here’s how to set it up properly.

What Youll Need

Instructions

Here’s the procedure I follow to streamline color management in design projects.

Open your design software and select the color picker tool from the toolbar. In most applications, this appears as an eyedropper icon. I always start with a blank artboard to avoid accidentally sampling colors from existing elements.

If you’re working in Adobe Photoshop, you can also press I on your keyboard to activate the eyedropper. This shortcut saves time and keeps your workflow smooth. Verify the tool is active by checking for the eyedropper cursor on screen.

Once you’ve selected your desired color, look for the Add to Swatches option. In Photoshop, this appears as a small folder icon at the bottom of the color picker panel. Click it to save the color permanently to your swatches library.

Give the color a descriptive name in the dialog box that appears. I recommend using specific terms like Brand Blue #234F6E rather than vague names like “Blue 1.” This makes it easier to find later. Confirm the color appears in your swatches panel before moving on.

To find recently used colors, look for the Recent Colors section in your color picker panel. In most design applications, this appears as a row of color squares at the top of the picker interface.

The number of recent colors displayed varies by software, but typically shows between 10-20 most recently used colors. These update automatically as you work. If you don’t see this section, check your software’s view options to enable it.

For better workflow, create custom swatch groups. In Photoshop, click the folder icon at the bottom of the swatches panel to create a new group. I organize mine by project or color family, like Brand Colors or Neutrals.

Drag and drop saved colors into these groups for quick access. To delete a color, simply select it and click the trash can icon. Always verify your groups are properly named and organized before starting a new project.

Memorize these time-saving shortcuts: Alt+Click (Windows) or Option+Click (Mac) on a color in your swatches panel to set it as your foreground color. This is much faster than manually selecting colors each time.

For sampling colors from your canvas, hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) while clicking with the eyedropper tool. Practice these shortcuts until they become second nature—they’ll significantly speed up your design process.

Tips and Common Mistakes

Here are some workflow insights I’ve picked up after years of digital design work.

Step 1 Efficiency: Always verify your color picker tool is active by checking for the eyedropper cursor. I learned this the hard way after accidentally sampling colors from existing elements instead of my intended source. Starting with a blank artboard in Step 1 helps prevent this common mistake.

Naming Convention: In Step 2, when saving custom colors, use descriptive names like Brand Blue #234F6E rather than generic terms. This might seem tedious, but it saves hours of frustration later when you’re searching through dozens of unnamed swatches.

Recent Colors Hack: For Step 3, if you don’t see the Recent Colors section, check your view options. Most design applications default to showing between 10-20 recently used colors, but this can be adjusted. I typically keep mine set to the maximum for quick access to recent work.

Shortcut Mastery: The keyboard shortcuts in Step 5 are game-changers. Practice the Alt+Click (Windows) or Option+Click (Mac) until it becomes muscle memory. I’ve cut my color selection time in half since adopting these shortcuts consistently.

Frequently Asked Questions

Saving and accessing recently used colors streamlines your design workflow in PowerPoint, making it faster and more consistent. Take advantage of this feature to maintain visual harmony across your projects. Next, try experimenting with custom color palettes to elevate your designs even further! 🎨