Color Palette Generator: Create Harmonious Color Schemes

Choosing colors that work well together is one of the hardest parts of design. A single off-balance hue can make an entire interface feel wrong. Color harmony rules, rooted in color theory, take the guesswork out of palette creation by using mathematical relationships on the color wheel.

Color Harmony Types

Complementary

Two colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel. This produces the highest contrast and visual tension.

Purple (#6750A4) ←→ Yellow-Green (#A4A750)

Best for: Call-to-action buttons against backgrounds, high-impact hero sections, warning indicators. Use one color as dominant and the other as accent.

Analogous

Three colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel. This creates a harmonious, cohesive feeling with low contrast.

Blue-Purple → Purple → Red-Purple
#5050A4    #6750A4    #A45097

Best for: Gradient backgrounds, brand systems that need warmth and unity, nature-inspired designs. These palettes feel calm and pleasing because they mimic colors found together in nature.

Triadic

Three colors evenly spaced 120 degrees apart on the color wheel. This provides strong contrast while retaining balance.

Purple → Orange → Green
#6750A4  #A46750  #50A467

Best for: Playful brands, data visualizations needing distinct categories, children’s products. Let one color dominate and use the other two as accents.

Split-Complementary

A base color plus the two colors adjacent to its complement. This provides contrast similar to complementary but with less tension.

Purple → Yellow → Lime
#6750A4  #A49750  #67A450

Best for: Beginners to color theory. It’s nearly as vibrant as complementary but harder to get wrong. Works well for web interfaces that need variety without clashing.

Tetradic (Rectangle)

Four colors arranged as two complementary pairs. This is the richest scheme but the hardest to balance.

Purple → Yellow-Green → Blue-Green → Red-Orange

Best for: Complex designs with many elements, dashboards, illustrated content. Requires careful balance: let one color dominate and use the rest as secondary and accent colors.

Monochromatic

Variations of a single hue using different saturation and lightness levels.

#E8DEF8 → #B69BDB → #6750A4 → #3D2E6B → #1D192B
Light      Medium    Base       Dark      Darkest

Best for: Minimalist designs, professional and sophisticated themes, content-heavy pages where color should not compete with content. Always accessible because contrast scales naturally.

How to Use Our Palette Generator

Pick a base color using the color picker or enter a HEX value
Select a harmony type (complementary, analogous, triadic, etc.)
View the generated palette with all colors displayed together
Copy any color in HEX format with one click
Adjust the base color and see the palette update in real time

The generator calculates harmonious colors mathematically using HSL color space, ensuring accurate relationships on the color wheel.

Practical Tips for Using Palettes

The 60-30-10 Rule

Apply your palette using this classic interior design principle:

60%: Dominant color (backgrounds, large surfaces)
30%: Secondary color (cards, navigation, sidebars)
10%: Accent color (buttons, links, highlights)

Start with Purpose

Before generating a palette, decide what mood you want:

Trust and professionalism: Blues and cool tones
Energy and urgency: Reds and warm tones
Growth and health: Greens
Creativity and luxury: Purples
Warmth and friendliness: Oranges and yellows

Check Contrast

A harmonious palette is useless if users cannot read your text. Always verify that text colors have sufficient contrast against their background colors. A contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 is required for normal text under WCAG guidelines.

Test in Context

Colors look different when surrounded by other colors. A shade of blue that looks perfect in isolation may feel too bright next to your gray sidebar. Always preview your palette in a realistic layout before committing.

Common Palette Mistakes

Too many colors: Limit your palette to 3-5 core colors plus neutrals. More than that creates visual chaos.
Equal weight: Giving every color the same amount of space creates confusion. Establish a clear hierarchy.
Ignoring neutrals: Every palette needs neutral tones (grays, off-whites, dark backgrounds) for text and spacing.
Skipping dark mode: A palette that works on white may fail on dark backgrounds. Test both.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many colors should a palette have? Most interfaces work best with 3-5 colors: a primary, a secondary, an accent, and one or two neutrals. Data visualizations may need more, but limit distinct categories to 6-8 for readability.

Can I use colors from different harmony types together? Yes, but with care. Start with one harmony as your foundation, then add individual colors that serve a specific purpose (like a red for errors). The harmony rules are starting points, not strict rules.

What if my brand color does not fit any harmony? Start with your brand color as the base and generate a palette around it. Most brand colors work with at least one harmony type. Monochromatic is the safest fallback since any single color can produce a full monochromatic palette.

How do I create a dark mode palette? Take your light mode palette and invert the lightness values. Dark backgrounds use low lightness (10-20%), and text uses high lightness (80-95%). Keep hues and saturation similar, but reduce saturation slightly for dark mode to avoid neon-like vibrancy.

Try our free Color Palette Generator to create harmonious color schemes instantly.