A functional color selection system is provided for automatically generating a palette of coordinated, harmonious, and aesthetically pleasing colors from symmetrically manipulating colorimetrically specified colors in a perceptually uniform color space. The color selections system operates in a calibrated color display gamut using device independent color specifications based on internationally recognized color specification systems. A simple-to-use interface is provided for a user to select a key color on which the palette is to be based, and from the key color to select analogous and complement harmony colors. The user may also select chroma and lightness variations of the key, analogous, and complement harmony colors, and these colors will be computed at predetermined equally spaced intervals from those colors in the uniform color space. Colors are generated according to known color theories for selecting harmonious colors. The coordinated color palette selected may be saved in a palette memory for subsequent reuse in a wide variety of color presentation systems.