Which panel would you use to manage colors and swatches in Illustrator?

The Swatches Panel is the primary tool in Illustrator for managing colors and swatches. This panel allows users to create, store, and organize color swatches for easy access during design. You can add various colors, gradients, and patterns, as well as create new swatches based on current fills or strokes used in your artwork. It also provides features for swapping out colors and applying them quickly to different shapes and elements in your design, streamlining the workflow.

In this context, the Appearance Panel focuses on the attributes of objects, such as fills, strokes, and effects applied to them, rather than managing swatches. The Layers Panel is used for organizing and managing the stacking order of objects and groups within your artwork. The Tools Panel contains various selection and drawing tools but does not specifically cater to color management. The purpose of the Swatches Panel distinctly stands out as it is dedicated to color management, making it the best choice for this question.