Getting started with Palette Generator
Generate complementary, analogous, and triadic palettes from a base HEX. A practical guide to Palette Generator: when it fits, how to get a reliable result, and the mistakes worth avoiding.
Most people open Palette Generator with one specific question and no interest in a tour. Generate complementary, analogous, and triadic palettes from a base HEX. The sections below cover when that helps, how to work through it quickly, and what to double-check before you use the output.
When Palette Generator is the right tool
Color work is iterative, so the value of a focused tool is how quickly it answers one question before you move on.
- Kickstart a brand palette.
- Explore accent options for dashboards.
- Generate monochrome scales for charts.
- Teach color harmony in workshops.
Getting a reliable result
Work from a single base color rather than adjusting several values at once, and keep the output format you actually ship—HEX for handoff, channels when you need alpha. Any pair that will carry text should be measured against a contrast threshold before it becomes a token, because a value that looks fine on one display can fail on another.
- Start from an accessible base color.
- Check contrast before adopting accents.
- Limit the final system to a few intentional roles.
Mistakes that waste time
- Shipping every generated swatch without curation.
- Ignoring contrast on light and dark surfaces.
- Treating complementary pairs as automatic AA pairs.
- Over-saturating UI accents.
Privacy and local processing
Colors and any image you sample from stay in the browser. Nothing is uploaded, so brand assets and unreleased screenshots are safe to work with here.
Related tools and reading
Open Palette Generator to try it with your own input. Nearby utilities include Random Color Generator and Tint Shade Generator. For background, read Color and contrast: making palettes readable, and browse the Color Toolkit collection for the rest of the cluster.
Try related tools
Keep exploring
- learnColor and contrast: making palettes readableHow WCAG contrast ratios work, why lightness is not brightness, and how to build a palette that passes accessibility checks.
- learnGetting started with Random Color GeneratorGenerate random HEX colors with crypto randomness. A practical guide to Random Color Generator: when it fits, how to get a reliable result, and the mistakes worth avoiding.
- learnHow to use Tint Shade GeneratorGenerate tints and shades from a base HEX color. A practical guide to Tint Shade Generator: when it fits, how to get a reliable result, and the mistakes worth avoiding.
- compareComplementary vs Analogous PalettesHigh-contrast opposite hues versus neighbouring hues—compare two palette strategies for UI and brand work.