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Color Palette Generator

Build a colour palette from one base colour.

Color Tools Free, no sign-up Runs in your browser

Palette

Shade scales

Export

About the Color Palette Generator

Color Palette Generator builds a set of colours around one you choose, using the harmony rules that come from the colour wheel. Complementary takes the colour opposite yours for maximum contrast. Analogous takes its neighbours for a calm, related scheme. Triadic and tetradic space colours evenly around the wheel. Monochromatic varies lightness and saturation while keeping the hue.

Each palette is shown as large swatches with HEX, RGB and HSL values, and a shade scale is generated for every colour so you have the lighter and darker steps an interface actually needs. One base colour rarely survives contact with a real design; a scale of nine steps usually does.

Contrast is checked as you go. Each colour is tested against white and black text so you can see immediately which members of the palette can carry text and which belong on backgrounds and decoration. A palette that looks beautiful and fails contrast is a palette you will have to rebuild later.

How to use the Color Palette Generator

  1. Choose a base colourPick it, type a HEX value, or generate a random one.
  2. Choose a harmonyComplementary, analogous, triadic, tetradic, split or monochromatic.
  3. Review the paletteEach colour with its values, shade scale and contrast rating.
  4. ExportCopy as HEX list, CSS custom properties or a Tailwind-style config.

Features

  • Six harmony types from one base colour
  • HEX, RGB and HSL for every colour
  • A nine-step shade scale for each palette member
  • Contrast rating against white and black text
  • Lock a colour and regenerate the rest
  • Random palette generator
  • Export as a HEX list, CSS custom properties or a config block

Who uses this tool

The color palette generator is used by writers, developers, students, marketers and anyone else who needs the job done once without installing software. Common cases include:

  • Choosing a colour scheme for a new site
  • Building the shade scale a design system needs
  • Finding an accent colour that works with a brand colour
  • Checking which palette colours can carry text
  • Exploring schemes before committing to one

Frequently asked questions

What do the harmony types mean?

They are positions on the colour wheel. Complementary is directly opposite, giving maximum contrast. Analogous is adjacent, giving a calm related set. Triadic and tetradic space colours evenly, giving variety while staying balanced. Monochromatic keeps one hue and varies lightness.

Which harmony should I choose?

Analogous for something calm and cohesive, complementary when you need a strong accent against a dominant colour, monochromatic when you want a restrained interface. Triadic and tetradic give more variety and take more discipline to use well.

Why does each colour get a shade scale?

Because interfaces need more than one step of a colour: a background tint, a border, a hover state, a pressed state. Generating the scale from the base keeps them all visibly related.

What does the contrast rating tell me?

Whether white or black text is readable on each colour, measured against the accessibility thresholds. Mid-tone colours often fail both, which means they belong on backgrounds and decoration rather than behind text.

Can I keep one colour and change the rest?

Yes. Lock any colour and regenerate, and the locked one stays while the others are rebuilt around it.

How do I use the exported CSS?

The custom properties block goes in a :root rule in your stylesheet, after which each colour is available as a variable throughout your CSS.

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