Color Palette Generator 2026

Start with your brand personality. Blues convey trust, greens suggest growth, oranges feel energetic. Choose 1-2 primary colors, then generate complementary shades. Test with real content and get feedback from your target audience.

Use 60% dominant color (backgrounds), 30% secondary color (containers, cards), and 10% accent color (CTAs, highlights). This creates visual balance and hierarchy. It's a guideline, not a strict rule - adjust based on your design needs.

A typical UI palette has 5-7 colors: 1-2 primary, 1 secondary, 1 accent, plus neutrals (grays). Each color should have 5-9 shades for different use cases. Don't forget semantic colors: success (green), warning (orange), error (red), info (blue).

Color accessibility ensures text is readable for everyone, including people with color blindness. WCAG requires 4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal text, 3:1 for large text. Our tool shows contrast ratios. Never rely on color alone to convey meaning.

Shades are darker versions (add black), tints are lighter (add white). For consistency, use HSL color model and adjust lightness values evenly. Our generator creates balanced shade scales automatically from any base color.

Complementary colors sit opposite each other on the color wheel (red/green, blue/orange, yellow/purple). They create high contrast and visual interest. Use complementary colors for accents, not large areas - they can be jarring in large doses.

For web: HEX (#FFFFFF) or HSL for easier shade generation. For design tools: HEX. For print: CMYK. Our tool exports in HEX, RGB, and HSL. CSS custom properties (variables) make implementation easiest.

Don't just invert colors. Create a separate dark palette with adjusted saturation and brightness. Light text on dark backgrounds should use slightly desaturated colors. Test both modes thoroughly for readability and eye strain.

Semantic colors communicate meaning: green for success/positive, red for errors/danger, yellow/orange for warnings, blue for information. Keep these consistent across your product. Users recognize these patterns instantly.

Apply colors to real UI mockups. Test on different screens (monitors vary in color reproduction). Check contrast ratios. Use color blindness simulators. Get feedback from diverse users. Print colors if used in physical materials.

Yes! All palettes and colors generated here are free to use for any purpose, commercial or personal. Colors themselves cannot be copyrighted. Feel free to modify and use in your projects.

They represent the same colors differently. HEX uses 6 hexadecimal digits (#FF5733), RGB uses red/green/blue values (255, 87, 51). HEX is common in CSS, RGB is easier to understand. HSL (hue, saturation, lightness) is best for adjusting colors.