Pick a base color, choose a harmony type, and instantly generate a 5-color palette built on color theory. Free, no sign-up required.
Enter a hex code or use the color picker
Based on hue rotation on the HSL color wheel
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Use Tool \u2192How It Works
No account needed, no sign-up required. Completely free. Pick a base color, choose a harmony, and get a 5-color palette built on color theory in seconds.
Use the color picker or type a hex code to set your starting color. This is the anchor of your entire palette. Choose a color that represents your brand, product, or design direction.
Select from five color theory harmonies: Complementary, Analogous, Triadic, Split-Complementary, or Monochromatic. Each applies a different hue rotation on the HSL color wheel to generate balanced, visually cohesive colors.
Instantly see 5 color swatches with hex codes and RGB values. Click any swatch to copy the hex code to your clipboard. Paste directly into Figma, CSS, Canva, or any design tool. Free, no account needed.
Color Theory
Every palette this tool generates is based on proven color theory formulas. Here is what each harmony type means and when to use it.
Core Formula
Harmony Color = (Base Hue + Rotation Angle) mod 360
Example: Base hue 240 + 180 = 420 mod 360 = 60 (yellow, the complement of blue)
All color harmonies are calculated by rotating around the HSL color wheel. The hue (H) value is a degree between 0 and 360. Every harmony type defines specific rotation angles from the base hue. Saturation (S) and Lightness (L) are adjusted independently to create tints and shades within each harmony.
Complementary colors sit exactly 180 degrees apart. They create maximum contrast because they are as far from each other on the wheel as possible. Analogous colors cluster within 30 to 60 degrees and feel naturally related. Triadic harmonies use three colors at 120-degree intervals, creating a vibrant, balanced triad.
Harmony Reference
Use this table to choose the right harmony type for your design goal before generating your palette.
| Harmony | Angle | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complementary | 180 degrees | High-contrast designs, CTAs, bold branding | Two colors on opposite sides of the color wheel. Creates strong visual contrast. Best for call-to-action buttons, price tags, and attention-grabbing highlights. |
| Analogous | 30 degrees apart | Serene UIs, nature themes, gradients | Three to five colors adjacent on the color wheel. Creates harmony and a natural, soothing look. Best for backgrounds, illustrations, and nature-inspired designs. |
| Triadic | 120 degrees apart | Vibrant brands, playful designs, icons | Three colors equally spaced around the color wheel. Vibrant and dynamic, yet balanced. Best for playful brands, children's products, and creative layouts. |
| Split-Complementary | 150 degrees apart | Balanced contrast, editorial layouts | One base color plus two colors adjacent to its complement. Less tension than pure complementary but still high contrast. Best for sophisticated, nuanced designs. |
| Monochromatic | Same hue, varied lightness | Minimalist design, brand consistency | Multiple shades and tints of a single hue. Creates elegant, unified designs. Best for minimalist brands, corporate identities, and single-color marketing materials. |
Based on the Itten color wheel and Munsell color system, 2026 design standards.
Color Psychology
Color choices shape how users feel about your brand before they read a single word. Use this guide to align your palette with your brand message and target industry.
| Color | Emotion / Meaning | Industries | Example Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | Urgency, energy, passion | Food, retail, entertainment | Clearance sales, fast food brands |
| Blue | Trust, calm, reliability | Finance, tech, healthcare | Banks, SaaS platforms, hospitals |
| Green | Growth, health, balance | Wellness, finance, environment | Organic products, investment apps |
| Yellow | Optimism, warmth, attention | Consumer goods, education, food | Warnings, children brands, taxis |
| Purple | Luxury, creativity, wisdom | Beauty, premium, spiritual | Cosmetics, creative agencies |
| Orange | Enthusiasm, playfulness, affordability | Retail, entertainment, sports | Discount brands, action sports |
| Black | Sophistication, power, elegance | Luxury, fashion, tech | Premium products, high-end brands |
| White | Purity, simplicity, cleanliness | Healthcare, minimal tech, retail | Apple, medical brands, clean UIs |
Color psychology references: Pantone Color Institute, Adobe Color trends, 2026.
Accessibility
A beautiful palette that fails accessibility checks is not ready for production. Use these contrast ratio benchmarks to ensure your palette meets WCAG 2.1 standards before shipping.
| Contrast Ratio | WCAG Level | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | Fail | Same color on same background. Never use. |
| 2:1 - 2.9:1 | Fail | Decorative or non-essential elements only. |
| 3:1 | AA Large | Large text (18pt+) and UI components. |
| 4.5:1 | AA Normal | Standard body text and interactive elements. |
| 7:1 | AAA | Maximum accessibility for all text sizes. |
Source: W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, 2026.
Common Color Mistakes
Most color problems are avoidable. These six mistakes silently undermine design quality and brand trust across thousands of websites.
More than five distinct brand colors creates visual chaos. Every additional color reduces the impact of the others. A tight palette of two to three primary colors with one or two accents is far more effective than a rainbow.
Limit primary palette to 3-5 colors maximumLow contrast between text and background fails WCAG accessibility standards and makes content unreadable for many users. Always verify that your primary text colors achieve at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio against backgrounds.
WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 contrast for body textBrand palettes without neutral grays, off-whites, or dark tones are difficult to apply in real UI. Neutral colors anchor your layout, provide breathing room, and make your accent colors pop without fighting each other.
Always include at least one neutral shadeColors look different on OLED, LCD, and printed material. A vibrant blue on a designer monitor may appear muted or oversaturated on a mobile phone. Always test your palette on multiple devices before finalizing.
Test on mobile, desktop, and printYour primary brand blue is not the same as your interactive blue. Use separate color tokens for brand identity versus functional UI states like hover, focus, error, and success. Mixing them creates confusing experiences.
Separate brand tokens from UI state tokensColors carry different meanings across cultures. White signals mourning in some Asian countries. Green has religious significance in parts of the Middle East. If you are building for a global audience, research cultural color associations.
Research cultural context for global audiencesImprove Your Color Usage
These strategies help you get the most out of any palette. All CommonNinja widgets mentioned below are free to start.
Pair your color palette with a curated image gallery that uses those exact hues. Seeing your colors in real photography or product shots is the fastest way to validate whether the palette works in the real world.
Try Image Gallery widget →A logo showcase widget lets you display your brand mark and partner logos against your new palette. Consistent color application across logo contexts builds brand recognition and professionalism.
Try Logo Showcase widget →Image hover effects are a subtle way to introduce secondary palette colors without overwhelming the design. A color overlay on hover that matches your complementary or analogous color adds depth and interactivity.
Try Image Hover Effects widget →An image carousel that follows your color palette creates a cohesive visual story across multiple images. Use it to showcase campaigns, product photography, or brand moments that bring your palette to life.
Try Image Carousel widget →The 60-30-10 rule is the most reliable ratio for applying a color palette. Use your dominant neutral or background color for 60% of the design, your secondary brand color for 30%, and your accent for 10%. This keeps designs balanced without feeling flat.
Once you have your hex codes, define them as CSS custom properties at the root level. This makes your palette reusable across your entire codebase and easy to update. Use semantic names like --color-primary instead of --color-blue500.
A palette that looks great in light mode can fail in dark mode if backgrounds and text colors are not adjusted. For every palette color, define both a light-mode and dark-mode variant and test them together before publishing.
Around 8% of men and 0.5% of women have some form of color blindness. Tools like Coblis and browser devtools let you simulate how your palette looks with deuteranopia, protanopia, and tritanopia to catch critical visibility issues.
Color Glossary
Color has its own vocabulary. Here are the essential terms used in this tool and across design and development workflows.
| Term | Definition | Format | When to Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hue | The pure color value expressed as a degree on the 360-degree color wheel. Red is 0, green is 120, blue is 240. Hue is the foundation of all color theory harmony calculations. | 0 to 360 degrees | Calculating color harmonies, rotating palette colors |
| Saturation | How vivid or muted a color appears, expressed as a percentage. 100% is a fully saturated pure color. 0% is a pure gray with no color. Lowering saturation creates more neutral, professional-looking tones. | 0% to 100% | Creating tints, tones, and muted palette variants |
| Lightness | How light or dark a color appears on a scale from black to white. 0% is pure black, 100% is pure white, and 50% is the most vivid version of the hue. | 0% to 100% | Generating shades and tints within a monochromatic palette |
| Contrast Ratio | A numerical measure of the difference in luminance between two colors. WCAG guidelines define minimum ratios for accessible text. Higher ratios mean better readability. | (L1 + 0.05) / (L2 + 0.05) | Checking text legibility and WCAG accessibility compliance |
| Hex Code | A six-character hexadecimal representation of an RGB color. The first two characters represent red, the next two green, the last two blue. Used universally in web development and design tools. | #RRGGBB (0-9, A-F) | Specifying colors in CSS, HTML, Figma, and design systems |
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