---
key: use-your-own-colours-in-nova
title: Use your own colours in Nova
audience: staff
section: your-profile
routes: ["/profile/branding"]
permissions: ["profile.branding.read"]
features: ["core.profile"]
since: 0.0.1
updated: 0.0.1
status: published
summary: Colour your own top bar and sidebar differently from the rest of your team, with a light and a dark look, or go back to your company's colours.
keywords: [my colours, my colors, theme, personal theme, top bar colour, sidebar colour, dark mode colours, change look]
related: [set-your-workspace-colors, save-branding-as-a-shared-preset, set-your-profile-preferences]
---

Select your picture or initials at the right end of the top bar, select **Profile**, then choose the **Branding** tab. The page is headed **My Branding**. The page address is `/profile/branding`.

Your company sets the colours everyone sees ([[set-your-workspace-colors]]). This page lets you keep your own colours instead, for the company you are working in right now. Nobody else sees them. If you belong to several companies, each one keeps its own choice.

## Before you start

- Your admin has to allow personal colours. The **Active Source** card reads **Mine** when yours are in use and **Shared** when you see the company's. If personal colours are blocked, a yellow note says so and the controls are greyed out.
- Changing your colours needs permission to save personal branding. Without it you can look but not save.

## Steps

1. Select the card that starts with "Override branding for" and your company name, or its switch. The switch now reads **Override active**, and the colour fields open.
2. Pick **Light variant** or **Dark variant** under **Appearance Variants** to choose which look you are editing. Nova uses the one that matches your light or dark mode.
3. Quickest route: under **Preset Library**, press **Select** on one of the **Nova Presets**.
4. Or set colours yourself: under **Top Bar** choose a **Display style** of **Solid** or **Gradient** and set **Top bar primary color** (and **Top bar secondary color** for a gradient). Under **Sidebar**, set **Sidebar background color** and **Sidebar text color**. If your plan allows it, **App Theme Tokens** recolours buttons, cards and text as well.
5. Happy with one look? Press **Generate dark from light** (or **Generate light from dark**) to build the other.
6. Watch the **Live preview** and read any **Color contrast warnings**.
7. Press **Save changes**. Nova says "Personal branding override saved."

## What you see

- Your own top bar and sidebar change straight away; your team's do not.
- **Save Current As Preset** keeps your colours as a personal preset you can pick again later. Your saved presets can be copied, edited, renamed or deleted from their cards.

## If something looks different

- To go back to your company's colours, press the reset button beside **Save changes**. It takes effect at once, without saving, and Nova says "Reverted to the organization branding." Switching the card off (it reads **Using shared branding**) and pressing **Save changes** does the same.
- The page says **Organization workspace required**: you are in an enterprise hub or the platform console. Switch into a company first.
- Your company turned personal colours off after you saved some: your presets are kept, but the company colours show until it allows them again.