Color Palette Generator - Create Beautiful Color Schemes
Generate stunning color palettes using proven color theory principles. Perfect for designers, developers, and anyone working with colors. Features accessibility checking, multiple export formats, and advanced customization options.
Key Features
Color Harmony Rules
Generate palettes using proven color theory: analogous, complementary, triadic, tetradic, split-complementary, and monochromatic schemes.
Accessibility Checker
Built-in WCAG contrast ratio checking ensures your colors meet accessibility standards for text readability.
Multiple Export Formats
Export palettes as CSS variables, SCSS, JSON, or Tailwind config. Perfect for design systems and development workflows.
Color Locking
Lock specific colors to preserve them while regenerating the rest of the palette. Perfect for brand color constraints.
Smart Generation
Advanced algorithms ensure visually pleasing color combinations with customizable saturation and lightness ranges.
Customizable Options
Fine-tune palette generation with adjustable color count, saturation range, lightness range, and harmony rules.
Color Harmony Rules Explained
Analogous
Colors adjacent on the color wheel, creating harmonious and pleasing combinations.
Complementary
Colors opposite on the color wheel, providing high contrast and vibrant looks.
Triadic
Three colors evenly spaced around the color wheel, offering vibrant balance.
Tetradic
Four colors forming a square on the color wheel, providing rich color variety.
Split-Complementary
Base color plus two colors adjacent to its complement, softer than complementary.
Monochromatic
Variations of a single color using different shades, tints, and tones.
Export Formats
CSS Variables
Modern CSS custom properties for dynamic theming
:root {
--color-1: #3b82f6;
--color-2: #ef4444;
}
SCSS Variables
Sass/SCSS variables for preprocessing workflows
$color-1: #3b82f6;
$color-2: #ef4444;
JSON
Structured data format for programmatic use
{
"colors": [
{"hex": "#3b82f6", "name": "Blue"}
]
}
Tailwind Config
Ready-to-use Tailwind CSS configuration
{
"custom-1": "#3b82f6",
"custom-2": "#ef4444"
}
Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
AA Normal Text
Minimum contrast for body text (under 18px or under 14px bold)
AA Large Text
Minimum contrast for large text (18px+ or 14px+ bold)
AAA Normal Text
Enhanced contrast for better accessibility
AAA Large Text
Enhanced contrast for large text
How to Use the Color Palette Generator
Basic Usage
- 1Choose Base Color: Select your starting color using the color picker or enter a hex value.
- 2Select Harmony Rule: Choose from analogous, complementary, triadic, or other color harmony rules.
- 3Generate Palette: Click "Generate" to create a new palette based on your settings.
- 4Copy Colors: Click on any color or color value to copy it to your clipboard.
Advanced Features
- 1Lock Colors: Click the lock icon to preserve specific colors while regenerating others.
- 2Adjust Settings: Use the settings panel to customize color count, saturation, and lightness ranges.
- 3Check Accessibility: Enable accessibility checking to see contrast ratios for text readability.
- 4Export Palette: Download your palette in various formats for use in design tools and code.
Pro Tips for Better Color Palettes
Design Best Practices
- ✓Use 60-30-10 rule: 60% dominant, 30% secondary, 10% accent
- ✓Test your palette with different content types
- ✓Consider your brand personality and target audience
- ✓Create variations for different UI states (hover, active)
- ✓Save successful palettes for future reference
Technical Considerations
- ⓘTest on different devices and screen types
- ⓘConsider color blindness (8% of men, 0.5% of women)
- ⓘUse CSS custom properties for easy theme switching
- ⓘDocument your color system for team consistency
- ⓘPlan for dark mode variations early in the process
Color Psychology & Meaning
Red
Energy, passion, urgency. Great for call-to-action buttons and attention-grabbing elements.
Blue
Trust, stability, professionalism. Perfect for corporate websites and financial services.
Green
Growth, nature, success. Ideal for environmental, health, and financial success themes.
Yellow
Optimism, creativity, warmth. Great for creative industries and children's content.
Purple
Luxury, creativity, mystery. Excellent for premium brands and artistic projects.
Orange
Enthusiasm, confidence, friendliness. Perfect for lifestyle brands and social platforms.