Palette Generator
Create harmonious color palettes based on classic color theory models like triadic, analogous, and more.
About Color Palette Generator
Our Color Palette Generator creates harmonious color schemes based on proven color theory principles. Whether you're designing a website, creating a brand identity, or working on any creative project, this tool helps you generate professional color palettes that work beautifully together.
The generator uses classic color harmony rules including triadic, analogous, complementary, and tetradic relationships. These time-tested approaches ensure your color combinations are visually pleasing and balanced, taking the guesswork out of color selection.
Export your palettes in CSS or JSON formats for easy integration into your projects. Perfect for web developers, graphic designers, UI/UX designers, and anyone working with digital color schemes.
Understanding Color Harmony Types
Triadic Color Schemes
Triadic harmonies use three colors evenly spaced around the color wheel (120° apart). This creates vibrant, high-contrast palettes while maintaining color balance. Perfect for bold, energetic designs that need visual impact.
Analogous Color Schemes
Analogous colors are adjacent on the color wheel, creating serene and comfortable designs. These palettes are pleasing to the eye and work well for creating calm, harmonious atmospheres in designs.
Tetradic (Rectangle) Color Schemes
Tetradic schemes use four colors forming a rectangle on the color wheel. This offers the richest color variety while maintaining harmony. Best used when one color dominates and others serve as accent colors.
Complementary Color Schemes
Complementary colors sit opposite each other on the color wheel, creating maximum contrast and visual impact. Use these for highlighting important elements or creating dynamic, attention-grabbing designs.
How to Use the Palette Generator
Choose a Base Color
Select your starting color using the color picker. This will be the foundation for your color harmony. Choose a color that represents your brand or design direction.
Select Harmony Type
Click on different harmony buttons (Triadic, Analogous, Tetradic) to see how your base color works with different color theory principles.
Preview Your Palette
Review the generated colors in the palette grid. Each color shows its hex code for easy copying and reference.
Export Your Palette
Download your palette as CSS variables or JSON format for easy integration into your design workflow and development projects.
Perfect Use Cases
Web Design & Development
Create cohesive color schemes for websites, web applications, and user interfaces. Export as CSS variables for easy implementation.
Brand Identity Design
Develop brand color palettes that work harmoniously across all brand touchpoints, from logos to marketing materials.
Digital Art & Illustration
Generate inspiring color combinations for digital artwork, illustrations, and creative projects.
UI/UX Design
Create consistent design systems with harmonious color palettes that enhance user experience and visual hierarchy.
Print Design
Develop color schemes for brochures, posters, business cards, and other print materials that maintain visual appeal.
Interior Design Inspiration
Generate color schemes for room design, decoration planning, and creating cohesive interior color stories.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between color schemes?
Each color scheme follows different rules: Triadic uses three evenly-spaced colors for vibrant contrast, Analogous uses neighboring colors for harmony, Tetradic uses four colors for rich variety, and Complementary uses opposite colors for maximum contrast.
How do I choose the right harmony type?
Consider your project's mood: Analogous for calm, soothing designs; Triadic for energetic, dynamic looks; Complementary for high impact and attention; Tetradic for complex designs needing color variety.
Can I use these colors for commercial projects?
Yes! All generated color palettes are free to use in personal and commercial projects. Colors themselves cannot be copyrighted, so you're free to use any combinations our tool generates.
What format should I export for web development?
For web development, export as CSS format to get CSS custom properties (variables) that you can directly copy into your stylesheets. For design tools or data processing, use JSON format.
How many colors are in each palette?
Most harmony types generate 3-4 colors based on color theory principles. This provides enough variety for most design needs while maintaining visual harmony. You can use some or all colors depending on your project requirements.
Pro Tips for Better Color Palettes
Start with Brand or Mood
Choose your base color based on your brand colors or the emotional response you want to evoke. Warm colors (reds, oranges) feel energetic, while cool colors (blues, greens) feel calm and professional.
Consider 60-30-10 Rule
Use one color for 60% of your design (dominant), another for 30% (secondary), and the third for 10% (accent). This creates visual balance and hierarchy in your designs.
Test Accessibility
Always check that your color combinations meet accessibility standards for contrast ratios. Use our Accessibility Checker tool to ensure your palettes work for all users.
Create Variations
Generate multiple palettes with different base colors to explore various options. Sometimes the perfect palette emerges from experimentation with unexpected starting colors.