explore
Part travel journal, part color library. This collection brings together color palettes inspired by adventures across the Americas, Europe, and beyond - sourced from real landscapes, small towns, coastlines, mountains, and the photographs I've captured along the way.
If you know me personally, you know there's a pretty good chance that when I'm not designing, I'm off exploring somewhere with a camera in hand. Whether it's a weekend camping trip, a long hike, a cross-country road trip, or an international adventure, I've always loved documenting the places I visit along the way.
Over the years, I've accumulated thousands of photos from adventures. Most of them started as personal souvenirs - a way to remember a place, a view, or a really good day spent outside. But while digging through old folders recently, I started noticing something I hadn't fully realized before - every place seemed to have its own color palette.
Photography has become an important part of my creative practice because it encourages me to slow down and pay attention. The bright greens of a marsh, the warm stone of a historic building, the way sunlight changes a landscape throughout the day - those little details are often where the best color inspiration comes from.
This collection brings together a handful of palettes and places pulled from photographs I've taken over years of traveling and exploring. Some are from places I visited recently, while others come from landscapes I've been wandering through for most of my life. Together, they tell a colorful little story of just a few of the places that have stuck with me along the way.
Whether you're looking for inspiration for your next project or simply enjoy seeing beautiful places through someone else's lens, I hope you enjoy the journey <3
Bright sunsets, weathered stone, volcanic ash, and colorful architecture inspired by Antigua and Acatenango. These colors remind me of one of my favorite hikes from earlier this year. We started in lush forest terrain and slowly climbed into a completely different landscape of volcanic rock and ash. Watching the volcano glow against the night sky from basecamp is a memory I'll hold forever.
Big skies, turquoise lakes, sunbaked rock formations, and hardy desert plains inspired by a cross-country road trip from Pennsylvania to Oregon. This palette pulls from some of the incredible places I visited along the way. The American West is so much more diverse than I ever imagined, and every day felt like driving into an entirely different landscape.
Layers of jungle greens, tropical flowers, colorful wildlife, and warm sunlight inspired by the Ecuadorian Amazon. I visited the rainforest at the end of a backpacking trip through Latin America earlier this year and was completely blown away by the biodiversity. Everywhere I looked there seemed to be another bright bird, unusual plant, or shade of green I hadn't noticed before.
Misty mountain blues, forest greens, wildflowers, and warm summer tones inspired by years spent exploring Appalachia. These colors bring back memories of camping trips with friends, chasing waterfalls, and wandering small mountain towns. More than anywhere else in this collection, this palette feels like home.
Warm stone, olive trees, terracotta rooftops, and coastal blues inspired by visits to my family in rural Italy. These photos remind me of winding farm roads, historic towns, long summer afternoons, and dinners that last forever. Most of my family still lives in small towns throughout Italy, so these landscapes feel especially meaningful to me.
Marsh greens, faded blues, bright shrimp pinks, and warm sunset colors inspired by the small fishing town where I grew up. The town has changed quite a bit over the years, but these colors still remind me of salty air, alligator-filled marshes, afternoons spent near the water, and grabbing a shrimp po' boy after a day at the beach.
One of my favorite things about photography is that it allows me to revisit places long after I've returned home. Looking through these images feels a bit like flipping through a travel journal, with each palette tied to a different adventure, memory, or season of my life. It's also fun to see my growth as a photographer reflected in the work as the years go by.
Thanks for joining me on this little color journey. I certainly had fun collecting these moments over the years and turning them into palettes. If you'd like to see more of my photography, you can check out my work on Unsplash :)