Google Calendar fixes its biggest design flaw with expanded event color options

One glance at a Google Calendar does not always tell you all you need to know. When you’re managing multiple simultaneous calendars or trying to keep track of events of all kinds, the most helpful thing to do is to color code.

But Google Calendar had a limit of 11 predefined colors that you could assign to events, so there was a limit on how creative you could get and how much differentiation there could be. Today, Google is lifting those restrictions, expanding the default palette and introducing a wave of customizable color options.

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More predefined colors and a color mixer

There are now 24 predefined colors available across all platforms for Google Calendar. Furthermore, users on the web or those using the Google Calendar API can now access a full RGB color picker. While the grid offers quick access to up to 200 shades, the custom mixer technically unlocks millions of color variations via custom Hex codes. Best of all, these custom colors will sync to your mobile view, even if you can only create them on a desktop browser.

In its announcement of this expanded feature, Google said, "This fulfills a long-standing feature request from both business and personal users for more customizable options."

Indeed, social media is sprinkled with comments and frustrations from users.

Then there are the workarounds. One user on Reddit went so far as to create multiple calendars, each tied to a single event type, just to maximize their color options.

Another Reddit user said, “I use Google Calendar a lot and one thing that always bothered me was how limited the event colors are. After a while everything just starts blending together and it gets harder to scan the calendar quickly.” They ended up building their own Chrome extension.

Check your account for access

The expanded color palette is rolling out now for all Google Calendar users, both those with personal and those with Workspace accounts, and should be available to all within about two weeks.

The feature is on by default. To access it, go to Google Calendar and open an event invitation. Then click Edit and next to the name, select the current calendar color. You’ll be able to add a color label or create your own. Then click save. You can also create or assign a color label by right-clicking an existing event invitation.