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Color Palette Generator & Analyzer

Generate beautiful, harmonious colour palettes from any seed colour. Choose from seven harmony rules, view detailed colour values, check WCAG contrast ratios, and export as CSS variables, SVG swatches, or plain text.

Color Palette Generator & Analyzer

Quick presets:

Complementary

5 colors · Click any swatch to copy HEX

Base

rgb(13, 162, 231)

hsl(199°, 89%, 48%)

⬜ Fail⬛ AAA

Base Light

rgb(101, 200, 246)

hsl(199°, 89%, 68%)

⬜ Fail⬛ AAA

Base Dark

rgb(8, 95, 135)

hsl(199°, 89%, 28%)

⬜ AAA⬛ Fail

Complement

rgb(231, 82, 13)

hsl(19°, 89%, 48%)

⬜ AA Large⬛ AA

Complement Light

rgb(246, 147, 101)

hsl(19°, 89%, 68%)

⬜ Fail⬛ AAA

Export

:root {
  --color-base: #0da2e7;
  --color-base-light: #65c8f6;
  --color-base-dark: #085f87;
  --color-complement: #e7520d;
  --color-complement-light: #f69365;
}

Common Use Cases for Color Palette Generator

UI Design & Prototyping

Generate harmonious colour palettes for website and app UI mockups. Use the complementary and analogous rules to create balanced interfaces with proper colour hierarchy.

Tailwind CSS & Design Tokens

Use the Shades 50→900 rule to generate full shade scales for custom brand colours. Export CSS variables and plug them directly into your design system configuration.

Design System Creation

Build a consistent colour system for your design tokens. Generate tetradic and triadic palettes that work together, then export as CSS custom properties for your design system documentation.

Brand Identity & Logos

When building a brand identity, use the split-complementary or analogous rules to find colours that complement your primary brand colour while maintaining visual harmony.

Presentation & Slide Decks

Create cohesive colour schemes for presentations. Use the monochromatic rule to get a range of tints and shades that keep your slides professional and consistent.

Data Visualizations & Charts

Generate accessible colour palettes for charts and infographics. Each swatch includes WCAG contrast badges so you can verify readability against both white and black backgrounds.

Understanding Color Palettes & Harmonies

What is a Color Palette?

A color palette is a curated set of colours that work together harmoniously. In design, colour harmony refers to the aesthetic arrangement of colours based on their relationships on the colour wheel. Common harmony rules include complementary (opposite colours), analogous (adjacent colours), triadic (evenly spaced colours), and tetradic (rectangle-based) arrangements. Good colour palettes create visual hierarchy, convey brand identity, and improve readability and accessibility in designs.

How the Color Palette Generator Works

Enter any hex colour code or use the colour picker to select a base colour. Choose from seven harmony rules - Complementary, Triadic, Analogous, Split-Complementary, Tetradic, Monochromatic, or Shades 50→900. The generator uses proper RGB/HSL colour math to compute the palette swatches. Each swatch displays its HEX, RGB, and HSL values along with WCAG contrast badges showing readability against black and white backgrounds. Click any swatch to copy its HEX code to your clipboard.

Understanding WCAG Contrast Ratings

The WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) define contrast ratios for accessible text. A ratio of 3:1 is required for large text (18px+ or 14px+ bold) at AA level, 4.5:1 for normal text at AA level, and 7:1 for AAA level. Each swatch in your palette shows both white and black text contrast badges - green means the colour passes that level, red means it fails. This helps you quickly determine which palette colours work for foreground text on white or black backgrounds.

Privacy, Security & Availability

All colour generation and analysis happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. No data is uploaded to any server, stored, or shared. The tool is completely free to use with no signup required, no limits on how many palettes you generate, and works offline after the initial page load. Your colour choices never leave your device.

Frequently Asked Questions About Color Palette Generator

What colour harmony rules are available?
The Color Palette Generator supports seven harmony rules: Complementary (opposite colours on the wheel - high contrast), Triadic (three evenly spaced colours - balanced), Analogous (adjacent colours - harmonious), Split-Complementary (base colour plus two near-complements), Tetradic (four colours in a rectangle - complex), Monochromatic (same hue at different lightness levels), and Shades 50→900 (Tailwind-style ten-step shade scale).
How do I copy a colour value?
Simply click on any swatch card to copy its HEX code to your clipboard. A checkmark icon briefly appears to confirm the copy. Each swatch also displays RGB and HSL values so you can use them in any design tool or code editor. For bulk export, use the CSS Variables, SVG, or TXT download options in the Export section.
What do the WCAG contrast badges mean?
Each swatch shows two badges - one for white text (⬜) and one for black text (⬛). Green badges indicate the colour meets the WCAG contrast requirement; red indicates it fails. The levels shown are AA Large (3:1), AA (4.5:1), and AAA (7:1). This helps you quickly assess whether a colour is readable as a background for text.
Can I generate Tailwind-style colour scales?
Yes! Select the "Shades 50→900" harmony rule to generate a ten-step shade scale (50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900) - the same pattern used by Tailwind CSS. The base colour becomes the 500 shade, with lighter and darker variants generated automatically. Export the CSS variables to use directly in your tailwind.config.js.
What export formats are supported?
You can export your palette in three formats: CSS Variables (custom properties as :root { ... }), SVG Swatch Sheet (a visual grid of colour swatches with hex labels), and Plain Text (list of name: hex pairs). Use the Copy CSS button or the Download buttons for CSS, SVG, or TXT files.
How accurate are the colour conversions?
All colour conversions use standard algorithms for RGB↔HSL conversion with proper hue (0-360°), saturation (0-100%), and lightness (0-100%) representation. Contrast ratios are calculated using the WCAG 2.1 relative luminance formula, which accounts for the non-linear gamma correction of display devices. This ensures accurate and reliable colour information.
Is this tool free to use?
Yes, the Color Palette Generator is completely free with no signup required. There are no hidden fees, no premium features, and no limits on how many palettes you can generate. Since everything runs locally in your browser, there are no server costs or API limits.
Can I use this offline?
After the initial page load, the Color Palette Generator works entirely offline. All colour math, swatch rendering, and export functions run in your browser without any server requests. This makes it a reliable tool for designers and developers working in environments with limited or no internet connectivity.

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