Palette Generator – Color Harmony Palettes

Create Harmonious Color Palettes Instantly

Choosing colors that look good together is one of the most common challenges in design. Color harmony rules, based on the relationships between hues on the color wheel, provide a reliable foundation for building balanced palettes.

This palette generator takes any base color and applies standard harmony rules to produce a set of complementary colors. Enter a color in HEX, RGB, or HSL format and switch between harmony types to explore different combinations.

Color Harmony Types Explained

• Complementary — two colors opposite each other on the color wheel (180° apart). High contrast, bold combinations.
• Analogous — three colors adjacent on the color wheel (30° apart). Naturally harmonious and low contrast.
• Triadic — three colors equally spaced around the wheel (120° apart). Vibrant and balanced.
• Split-complementary — a base color plus two colors adjacent to its complement (150° and 210°). Softer than pure complementary.
• Tetradic (Square) — four colors equally spaced around the wheel (90° apart). Rich, complex palettes.

How to Use the Palette Generator

1. Enter a base color — type a HEX, RGB, or HSL value, or use the native color picker
2. Choose a harmony type from the selector
3. See the generated palette displayed as color swatches
4. Copy HEX or RGB values for any swatch with one click
5. Switch between harmony types to compare different palettes

When to Use a Palette Generator

• Starting a new design project and need a balanced color scheme
• Building a brand identity around a specific hero color
• Creating UI themes with harmonious accent colors
• Exploring color relationships for illustration or art
• Quickly generating palettes for presentations or prototypes

Fast, Free, and Private

All palette calculations happen instantly in your browser — no data is sent to any server. Harmony is computed via HSL hue rotation, keeping the saturation and lightness of your base color for consistent results.

Need to extract a color from an image first? Use the Color Picker. Want to convert between formats? Try the Color Converter. Need to check accessibility? Use the Contrast Checker.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a color harmony?

Color harmony refers to combinations of colors that are visually pleasing together. These combinations are based on the geometric relationships between hues on the color wheel — for example, colors opposite each other (complementary) or evenly spaced (triadic).

Which harmony type should I use?

It depends on your design goal. Complementary creates strong contrast and visual impact. Analogous feels calm and cohesive. Triadic is vibrant and balanced. Split-complementary offers contrast with less tension. Tetradic gives rich, complex palettes best suited for designs with many elements.

What color formats can I enter?

You can enter colors in HEX (e.g. #3B82F6), RGB (e.g. rgb(59, 130, 246)), or HSL (e.g. hsl(217, 91%, 60%)) format. The tool auto-detects the format, or you can use the native color picker.

How are the palette colors calculated?

The base color is converted to HSL. Palette colors are generated by rotating the hue by specific degrees while keeping saturation and lightness constant. For example, a complementary color is 180° away, triadic colors are at 120° intervals, and so on.

Can I copy the generated colors?

Yes. Each palette color has inline copy buttons for both HEX and RGB values. Click the copy icon and the value is copied to your clipboard instantly.

Does this tool work on mobile?

Yes. The palette generator is fully responsive and works on any device with a modern browser.

Is this tool free?

Yes. ColourPicker.app is completely free to use, with no signup required.

Can I save my generated palettes?

The tool does not save palettes between sessions. You can copy individual color values and save them in your project files or design tool.