What PIQE is
PIQE Color Lab is an independent website for designers, developers, students, makers, and anyone choosing screen colors. The name points to a simple action: pick a color, then understand what that choice does in context.
The site combines seven browser tools with editorial material. Tools solve the immediate task; guides explain the standards and tradeoffs; art palettes show how color relationships operate in a real composition. Every core feature is free and there is no paid tier.
Why it is more than a converter
A value conversion alone is easy to reproduce and rarely answers the next question. PIQE connects results: colors extracted from an image can become a palette, the palette can become a gradient, and the intended text pair can move into a contrast check.
Each tool page includes its method, examples, practical failure points, and limits. We avoid indexing millions of pages whose only difference is a color code. The public site contains a finite set of reviewed pages intended to solve distinct decisions.
The principles behind the site
PIQE is built around useful output, inspectable reasoning, privacy by default, and accessible design. The image color picker processes files on-device. The color calculations are tested. Public-domain art pages link to the museum record and rights statement.
Advertising is the planned source of operating revenue so the tools can remain free. Advertising is kept separate from upload, generation, copy, and navigation controls. Policy, support, and error pages do not carry ads.
- Free core tools with no sign-up
- Browser-side image processing
- Primary standards and museum records
- Original analysis rather than mass-generated variants
- Visible limits and a documented review process
- Ads separated from interactive controls
Independence and attribution
PIQE is not affiliated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Rijksmuseum, the W3C, Google, or the brands discussed in standards and examples. Their names identify primary sources.
Museum works appear only when the institution identifies the work and reproduction as Public Domain or Open Access. The five-color analysis and design applications are PIQE’s interpretation; they are not official palettes supplied by the artist or museum.
Review and support scope
PIQE does not currently operate a public inbox or contact form. Calculations, translations, rights records, links, and core browser flows are instead checked during scheduled site reviews, with accessibility, privacy, rights, and repeated tool output treated as high-priority areas.