When working on complex molecular models, selecting the right colors can make all the difference. Whether it’s to better highlight specific atom types, differentiate residues, or distinguish molecular groups, effective color use improves both clarity and communication.
Yet, many molecular modelers often face the same challenge: overused or indistinguishable color schemes. That dull gray that hides important atoms, or the bright red clashing with another component—these issues can make data interpretation harder than it should be.
This is where discrete color palettes in SAMSON come in.
What Are Discrete Color Palettes?
Discrete color palettes assign specific, distinct colors to elements, making them especially useful for categorical data—like different molecules, chains, or atom types. Unlike sequential palettes (which emphasize gradients of value), discrete palettes are about strong visual separation.
SAMSON includes a variety of discrete palettes under its default options, and you can access them directly from the color palette or color scheme dialogs.
Available Discrete Palettes in SAMSON
Here are some examples of discrete palettes available to instantly improve the visual clarity of your models:
- Accent – A great all-purpose set with vibrant hues.
- Carto Vivid – Colorful and designed with visualization in mind.
- Okabe-Ito – Colorblind-friendly with high contrast.
- tab10 – Widely used and easily distinguishable.
- Set3 – Large enough for datasets with many categories.
Why Use Discrete Palettes?
Using a discrete palette helps make your visualization instantly more readable:
- Improves communication: colleagues can quickly grasp visual groupings without reading labels.
- Aids colorblind accessibility: some palettes are specifically optimized for visibility and accessibility.
- Easier publication prep: many of these palettes are designed with printing in mind (e.g. Set1, Dark2, Paired).
- Reduces visual fatigue: effective color contrast helps maintain attention during long modeling sessions.
Pro Tip 🧠
You can reverse color arms in SAMSON’s color palette dialogs if needed, allowing even more flexibility—especially helpful when adjusting to a specific background or visual environment.
Make It Personal
Not loving the defaults? You’re not limited to the built-ins. SAMSON allows you to create and save your own custom discrete palettes as well.
Explore more options and fine-tune your workflow by visiting the official color palettes documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.