diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d58f223..338ef06 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ and this project does adhere to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2
 - *Settings, General*: [Auxiliary application](https://github.com/relikd/URL-Scheme-Defaults) for changing default feed reader
 - *UI:* Accessibility hints for most UI elements
 - *UI*: Show welcome message upon first usage (empty db)
+- *UI*: Custom colors via user defaults plist (bar icon tint & unread indicator)
 - Welcome message also adds Github releases feed
 - Config URL scheme `barss:` with `open/preferences`, `config/fixcache`, and `backup/show`
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fb10d03..316b083 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -95,25 +95,36 @@ If you prefer the optimized release version go to `Product > Archive`.
 Hidden options
 --------------
 
-1) When holding down the option key, the menu will show an item to open only a few unread items at a time. 
+This listing contains of options that have no UI that can be configured. 
+Most likely, you wouldn't ever stumble upon these if not reading this chapter.
+**Note:** To reset an option run `defaults delete de.relikd.baRSS {KEY}`, where `{KEY}` is an option from below.
+
+
+1. If you hold down the option key and click on an article item, you can mark a single item (un-)read.
+
+2. When holding down the option key, the menu will show an item to open only a few unread items at a time. 
 This number can be changed with the following Terminal command (default: 10):
+```
+defaults write de.relikd.baRSS openFewLinksLimit -int 10
+```
 
-```defaults write de.relikd.baRSS openFewLinksLimit -int 10```
-
-
-2) If you hold down the option key and click on an article item, you can mark a single item (un-)read.
-
-
-3) In preferences you can choose to show 'Short article names'. This will limit the number of displayed characters to 60 (default). 
+3. In preferences you can choose to show 'Short article names'. This will limit the number of displayed characters to 60 (default). 
 With this Terminal command you can customize this limit:
+```
+defaults write de.relikd.baRSS shortArticleNamesLimit -int 50
+```
 
-```defaults write de.relikd.baRSS shortArticleNamesLimit -int 50```
-
-
-4) Limit the number of displayed articles per feed menu.
+4. Limit the number of displayed articles per feed menu.
 **Note:** displayed unread count may be different than the unread items inside ('Open unread' will open hidden items too).
+```
+defaults write de.relikd.baRSS articlesInMenuLimit -int 40
+```
 
-```defaults write de.relikd.baRSS articlesInMenuLimit -int 40```
+5. You can change the appearance of colors throughout the application. E.g., The tint color of the menu bar icon and the color of the blue dot of unread articles.
+```
+defaults write de.relikd.baRSS colorStatusIconTint -string "#37F"
+defaults write de.relikd.baRSS colorUnreadTickMark -string "#FBA33A"
+```
 
 
 
diff --git a/baRSS/Helper/DrawImage.h b/baRSS/Helper/DrawImage.h
index 1585e14..e2ea804 100644
--- a/baRSS/Helper/DrawImage.h
+++ b/baRSS/Helper/DrawImage.h
@@ -22,14 +22,6 @@
 
 @import Cocoa;
 
-@interface NSColor (RandomColor)
-/// just for testing purposes
-+ (NSColor*)randomColor;
-/// RGB color with (251, 163, 58)
-+ (NSColor*)rssOrange;
-@end
-
-
 /// Draw separator line in @c NSOutlineView
 IB_DESIGNABLE
 @interface DrawSeparator : NSView
diff --git a/baRSS/Helper/DrawImage.m b/baRSS/Helper/DrawImage.m
index 7887157..d335499 100644
--- a/baRSS/Helper/DrawImage.m
+++ b/baRSS/Helper/DrawImage.m
@@ -22,20 +22,7 @@
 
 #import "DrawImage.h"
 #import "Constants.h"
-
-@implementation NSColor (RandomColor)
-/// @return Color with random R, G, B values for testing purposes
-+ (NSColor*)randomColor {
-	return [NSColor colorWithRed:(arc4random()%50+20)/100.0
-						   green:(arc4random()%50+20)/100.0
-							blue:(arc4random()%50+20)/100.0
-						   alpha:1];
-}
-/// @return Orange color that is typically used for RSS
-+ (NSColor*)rssOrange {
-	return [NSColor colorWithCalibratedRed:251/255.0 green:163/255.0 blue:58/255.0 alpha:1.0];
-}
-@end
+#import "UserPrefs.h"
 
 
 @implementation DrawSeparator
@@ -278,14 +265,14 @@ static void DrawRSSIcon(CGRect r, CGColorRef color, BOOL background, BOOL connec
 }
 
 /// Draw RSS icon (with orange gradient, corner @c 0.4, white radio waves)
-static void DrawRSSGradientIcon(CGRect r) {
+static void DrawRSSGradientIcon(CGRect r, NSColor *color) {
 	const CGFloat size = ShorterSide(r.size);
 	CGContextRef c = NSGraphicsContext.currentContext.CGContext;
 	DrawRoundedFrame(c, r, NSColor.whiteColor.CGColor, YES, 0.4, 1.0, 0.7);
 	// Gradient
 	CGContextSaveGState(c);
 	CGContextClip(c);
-	DrawGradient(c, size, [NSColor rssOrange]);
+	DrawGradient(c, size, color);
 	CGContextRestoreGState(c);
 	// Bars
 	AddRSSIconPath(c, size, YES);
@@ -297,7 +284,8 @@ static void DrawUnreadIcon(CGRect r, NSColor *color) {
 	CGFloat size = ShorterSide(r.size) / 2.0;
 	CGContextRef c = NSGraphicsContext.currentContext.CGContext;
 	CGMutablePathRef path = CGPathCreateMutable();
-	SetContentScale(c, r.size, 0.8);
+	SetContentScale(c, r.size, 0.7);
+	CGContextTranslateCTM(c, 0, size * -0.15); // align with baseline of menu item text
 	
 	CGContextSetFillColorWithColor(c, color.CGColor);
 	PathAddRing(path, size, size * 0.7);
@@ -325,12 +313,17 @@ static void Register(CGFloat size, NSImageName name, NSString *description, BOOL
 /// Register all icons that require custom drawing in @c ImageNamed cache
 void RegisterImageViewNames(void) {
 	const CGColorRef black = [NSColor controlTextColor].CGColor;
-	Register(16, RSSImageDefaultRSSIcon, NSLocalizedString(@"RSS icon", nil), ^(NSRect r) { DrawRSSGradientIcon(r); return YES; });
+	NSColor* const orange = [NSColor colorWithCalibratedRed:251/255.f green:163/255.f blue:58/255.f alpha:1.f]; // #FBA33A
+	
+	Register(16, RSSImageDefaultRSSIcon, NSLocalizedString(@"RSS icon", nil), ^(NSRect r) { DrawRSSGradientIcon(r, orange); return YES; });
 	Register(16, RSSImageSettingsGlobal, NSLocalizedString(@"Global settings", nil), ^(NSRect r) { DrawGlobalIcon(r, black, NO); return YES; });
 	Register(16, RSSImageSettingsGroup, NSLocalizedString(@"Group settings", nil), ^(NSRect r) { DrawGroupIcon(r, black, NO); return YES; });
 	Register(16, RSSImageSettingsFeed, NSLocalizedString(@"Feed settings", nil), ^(NSRect r) { DrawRSSIcon(r, black, NO, YES); return YES; });
-	Register(16, RSSImageMenuBarIconActive, NSLocalizedString(@"RSS menu bar icon", nil), ^(NSRect r) { DrawRSSIcon(r, [NSColor rssOrange].CGColor, YES, YES); return YES; });
-	Register(16, RSSImageMenuBarIconPaused, NSLocalizedString(@"RSS menu bar icon, paused", nil), ^(NSRect r) { DrawRSSIcon(r, [NSColor rssOrange].CGColor, YES, NO); return YES; });
-	Register(12, RSSImageMenuItemUnread, NSLocalizedString(@"Unread icon", nil), ^(NSRect r) { DrawUnreadIcon(r, [NSColor systemBlueColor]); return YES; });
-	// TODO: user selected color for rss bar icon & unread dot
+	
+	NSColor *c1 = [UserPrefs defaultColor:orange forKey:@"colorStatusIconTint"];
+	NSColor *c2 = [UserPrefs defaultColor:[NSColor systemBlueColor] forKey:@"colorUnreadTickMark"];
+	
+	Register(16, RSSImageMenuBarIconActive, NSLocalizedString(@"RSS menu bar icon", nil), ^(NSRect r) { DrawRSSIcon(r, c1.CGColor, YES, YES); return YES; });
+	Register(16, RSSImageMenuBarIconPaused, NSLocalizedString(@"RSS menu bar icon, paused", nil), ^(NSRect r) { DrawRSSIcon(r, c1.CGColor, YES, NO); return YES; });
+	Register(14, RSSImageMenuItemUnread, NSLocalizedString(@"Unread icon", nil), ^(NSRect r) { DrawUnreadIcon(r, c2); return YES; });
 }
diff --git a/baRSS/Helper/UserPrefs.h b/baRSS/Helper/UserPrefs.h
index 87902d6..d1826ca 100644
--- a/baRSS/Helper/UserPrefs.h
+++ b/baRSS/Helper/UserPrefs.h
@@ -33,9 +33,10 @@
 + (BOOL)openURLsWithPreferredBrowser:(NSArray<NSURL*>*)urls;
 
 // Hidden Plist Properties
-+ (NSUInteger)openFewLinksLimit; // Change with: 'defaults write de.relikd.baRSS openFewLinksLimit -int 10'
-+ (NSUInteger)shortArticleNamesLimit; // Change with: 'defaults write de.relikd.baRSS shortArticleNamesLimit -int 50'
-+ (NSUInteger)articlesInMenuLimit; // Change with: 'defaults write de.relikd.baRSS articlesInMenuLimit -int 40'
++ (NSUInteger)openFewLinksLimit; // Change with:  defaults write de.relikd.baRSS openFewLinksLimit -int 10
++ (NSUInteger)shortArticleNamesLimit; // Change with:  defaults write de.relikd.baRSS shortArticleNamesLimit -int 50
++ (NSUInteger)articlesInMenuLimit; // Change with:  defaults write de.relikd.baRSS articlesInMenuLimit -int 40
++ (NSColor*)defaultColor:(NSColor*)defaultColor forKey:(NSString*)key; // Change with:  defaults write de.relikd.baRSS {KEY} -string "#FBA33A"
 
 // Application Info Plist
 + (NSString*)appName;
diff --git a/baRSS/Helper/UserPrefs.m b/baRSS/Helper/UserPrefs.m
index c535b7c..42bef45 100644
--- a/baRSS/Helper/UserPrefs.m
+++ b/baRSS/Helper/UserPrefs.m
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 
 #import "UserPrefs.h"
 #import "StoreCoordinator.h"
+#import "NSString+Ext.h"
 
 @implementation UserPrefs
 
@@ -84,6 +85,18 @@
 /// Default: @c 40
 + (NSUInteger)articlesInMenuLimit { return [self defaultUInt:40 forKey:@"articlesInMenuLimit"]; }
 
+/// @return Returns @c defaultColor if defaults value couldn't be parsed or wasn't modified by user.
++ (NSColor*)defaultColor:(NSColor*)defaultColor forKey:(NSString*)key {
+	NSString *colorStr = [[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults] stringForKey:key];
+	if (colorStr) {
+		NSColor *color = [colorStr hexColor];
+		if (color) return color;
+		NSLog(@"Error reading defaults '%@'. Hex color '%@' is invalid. It should be of the form #RBG or #RRGGBB.", key, colorStr);
+		[[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults] removeObjectForKey:key];
+	}
+	return defaultColor;
+}
+
 
 #pragma mark - Application Info Plist
 
diff --git a/baRSS/Info.plist b/baRSS/Info.plist
index fc997f9..6635c69 100644
--- a/baRSS/Info.plist
+++ b/baRSS/Info.plist
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@
 		</dict>
 	</array>
 	<key>CFBundleVersion</key>
-	<string>13723</string>
+	<string>13931</string>
 	<key>LSApplicationCategoryType</key>
 	<string>public.app-category.news</string>
 	<key>LSMinimumSystemVersion</key>
diff --git a/baRSS/NSCategories/NSError+Ext.h b/baRSS/NSCategories/NSError+Ext.h
index 7f8f282..94cd1f8 100644
--- a/baRSS/NSCategories/NSError+Ext.h
+++ b/baRSS/NSCategories/NSError+Ext.h
@@ -28,8 +28,9 @@
 @interface NSError (Ext)
 // Generators
 + (instancetype)statusCode:(NSInteger)code reason:(nullable NSString*)reason;
-+ (instancetype)canceledByUser;
 + (instancetype)feedURLNotFound:(NSURL*)url;
++ (instancetype)canceledByUser;
+//+ (instancetype)formattingError:(NSString*)description;
 // User notification
 - (BOOL)inCaseLog:(nullable const char*)title;
 - (BOOL)inCasePresent:(NSApplication*)app;
diff --git a/baRSS/NSCategories/NSError+Ext.m b/baRSS/NSCategories/NSError+Ext.m
index 31f7b40..0fa14e3 100644
--- a/baRSS/NSCategories/NSError+Ext.m
+++ b/baRSS/NSCategories/NSError+Ext.m
@@ -115,17 +115,23 @@ static const char* CodeDescription(NSInteger code) {
 	return [self errorWithDomain:NSURLErrorDomain code:errCode userInfo:info];
 }
 
-/// Generate @c NSError for user canceled operation. With title "Operation canceled.".
-+ (instancetype)canceledByUser {
-	NSDictionary *info = @{ NSLocalizedDescriptionKey: NSLocalizedString(@"Operation canceled.", nil) };
-	return [self errorWithDomain:NSURLErrorDomain code:NSURLErrorCancelled userInfo:info];
-}
-
 /// Generate @c NSError for webpages that don't contain feed urls.
 + (instancetype)feedURLNotFound:(NSURL*)url {
 	return RSXMLMakeErrorWrongParser(RSXMLErrorExpectingFeed, RSXMLErrorExpectingHTML, url);
 }
 
+/// Generate @c NSError for user canceled operation. With title "Operation was canceled."
++ (instancetype)canceledByUser {
+	return [NSError errorWithDomain:NSCocoaErrorDomain code:NSUserCancelledError userInfo:nil];
+}
+
+/*// Generate @c NSError for invalid or malformed input. With title "The value is invalid."
++ (instancetype)formattingError:(NSString*)description {
+	NSDictionary *info = nil;
+	if (description) info = @{ NSLocalizedRecoverySuggestionErrorKey: description };
+	return [NSError errorWithDomain:NSCocoaErrorDomain code:NSFormattingError userInfo:info];
+}*/
+
 //  ---------------------------------------------------------------
 // |  MARK: - User notification
 //  ---------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/baRSS/NSCategories/NSString+Ext.h b/baRSS/NSCategories/NSString+Ext.h
index 79cb81d..2fad26f 100644
--- a/baRSS/NSCategories/NSString+Ext.h
+++ b/baRSS/NSCategories/NSString+Ext.h
@@ -22,7 +22,11 @@
 
 @import Cocoa;
 
-@interface NSString (Ext)
+@interface NSString (PlainHTML)
 + (NSString*)plainTextFromHTMLData:(NSData*)data;
 - (nonnull NSString*)htmlToPlainText;
 @end
+
+@interface NSString (HexColor)
+- (nullable NSColor*)hexColor;
+@end
diff --git a/baRSS/NSCategories/NSString+Ext.m b/baRSS/NSCategories/NSString+Ext.m
index 4555752..e66e3e9 100644
--- a/baRSS/NSCategories/NSString+Ext.m
+++ b/baRSS/NSCategories/NSString+Ext.m
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 
 #import "NSString+Ext.h"
 
-@implementation NSString (Ext)
+@implementation NSString (PlainHTML)
 
 /// Init string with @c NSUTF8StringEncoding and call @c htmlToPlainText
 + (NSString*)plainTextFromHTMLData:(NSData*)data {
@@ -112,3 +112,51 @@ static inline BOOL CLOSE(NSString *tag, NSString *match) {
 }
 
 @end
+
+
+
+@implementation NSString (HexColor)
+
+/**
+ Color from hex string with format: @c #[0x|0X]([A]RGB|[AA]RRGGBB)
+
+ @return @c nil if string is not properly formatted.
+ */
+- (nullable NSColor*)hexColor {
+	if ([self characterAtIndex:0] != '#') // must start with '#'
+		return nil;
+	
+	NSScanner *scanner = [NSScanner scannerWithString:self];
+	scanner.scanLocation = 1;
+	unsigned int value;
+	if (![scanner scanHexInt:&value])
+		return nil;
+	
+	NSUInteger len = scanner.scanLocation - 1; // -'#'
+	if (len > 1 && ([self characterAtIndex:2] == 'x' || [self characterAtIndex:3] == 'X'))
+		len -= 2; // ignore '0x'RRGGBB
+	
+	unsigned int r = 0, g = 0, b = 0, a = 255;
+	switch (len) {
+		case 4: // #ARGB
+			// ignore alpha for now
+			// a = (value >> 8) & 0xF0;  a = a | (a >> 4);
+		case 3: // #RGB
+			r = (value >> 4) & 0xF0;  r = r | (r >> 4);
+			g = (value)      & 0xF0;  g = g | (g >> 4);
+			b = (value)      & 0x0F;  b = b | (b << 4);
+			break;
+		case 8: // #AARRGGBB
+			// a = (value >> 24) & 0xFF;
+		case 6: // #RRGGBB
+			r = (value >> 16) & 0xFF;
+			g = (value >> 8)  & 0xFF;
+			b = (value)       & 0xFF;
+			break;
+		default:
+			return nil;
+	}
+	return [NSColor colorWithCalibratedRed:r/255.f green:g/255.f blue:b/255.f alpha:a/255.f];
+}
+
+@end