Color Palette Generator
Create beautiful, harmonious color palettes using color theory. Pick a seed color, choose a harmony mode, and export for your project.
Quick Answer
Color palettes are built using color theory harmony rules on the HSL color wheel. Complementary colors sit 180 degrees apart, analogous colors are within 30 degrees of each other, and triadic colors are spaced 120 degrees apart. A well-balanced palette typically includes 5-7 colors: a primary, secondary, accent, and neutral shades for backgrounds and text.
Export Palette
About This Tool
The Color Palette Generator uses established color theory principles to create harmonious color combinations from a single seed color. Whether you are designing a website, building a brand identity, or choosing colors for a presentation, understanding color harmony is essential to creating visually cohesive work.
Understanding Color Harmony
Color harmony refers to the aesthetic relationship between colors when used together. The concept is rooted in the color wheel, first developed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666 and refined by artists and scientists over centuries. The six harmony modes in this tool each leverage different geometric relationships on the color wheel to produce naturally pleasing combinations.
Harmony Modes Explained
Complementary pairs colors directly opposite each other on the wheel, creating high contrast and visual energy. Analogous selects neighbors on the wheel for a serene, unified feel. Triadic spaces three colors equally around the wheel for vibrant, balanced palettes. Split-complementary offers the contrast of complementary with less tension by using the two colors adjacent to the complement. Tetradic (rectangle) uses four colors forming two complementary pairs, offering rich variety. Monochromatic varies only lightness and saturation of a single hue for elegant, cohesive designs.
Choosing the Right Palette
For websites and apps, limit your main palette to 3-5 colors and use the 60-30-10 rule: 60% dominant color, 30% secondary, and 10% accent. Ensure sufficient contrast between text and backgrounds for accessibility. Tools like our Color Contrast Checker can verify WCAG compliance. Consider your audience and the emotions different colors evoke: blues convey trust, reds signal urgency, greens suggest growth, and warm tones feel approachable.
Exporting Your Palette
This tool supports three export formats. CSS Variables integrate directly into any web project. The Tailwind Config format drops into your Tailwind CSS setup for utility-class access. JSON export works for design tokens, Figma plugins, or any programmatic color workflow. Lock individual colors to preserve them while experimenting with new seed colors.