Generate Color Palettes From Images or Color Theory
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The problem
Picking colors that work together is harder than it sounds. You find one color you like, then spend an hour trying shades and combinations that end up looking muddy, clashing, or bland. Designers learn color theory to solve this, but most developers and content creators just need a palette that works — without studying the color wheel first.
Another common situation: you have a photo or brand image and want to extract the dominant colors for your website or presentation. Eyeballing hex codes from a screenshot is imprecise and slow.
How it works
- Start from an image — drop in a photo and the tool extracts the dominant colors automatically.
- Or start from a color — pick a base color and choose a harmony rule to generate the palette.
- Copy the values in HEX, RGB, or HSL. Export as CSS custom properties if you want to drop them straight into a stylesheet.
Color harmony types explained
| Harmony | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | Two colors opposite on the wheel | High contrast, bold designs, CTAs |
| Analogous | Three colors next to each other | Calm, cohesive designs, nature themes |
| Triadic | Three colors evenly spaced (120 degrees apart) | Vibrant, balanced designs |
| Split-complementary | One color plus two adjacent to its complement | Contrast without the harshness of complementary |
| Monochromatic | One hue with varied lightness and saturation | Minimal, elegant layouts |
If you are not sure which to use, start with analogous for a safe, professional look, or complementary when you need something to pop.
Extracting palettes from photos
Drop in a landscape, product shot, or piece of art, and the tool samples the image to find the most prominent colors. This is useful for building a website theme that matches a hero image, creating social media graphics that feel cohesive with your photography, or pulling brand colors from a client's existing materials.
When to use this tool
- Starting a design and need a palette that works without design expertise
- Building a website theme to match a photo or brand image
- Creating CSS custom properties for a design system
- Exploring color combinations for presentations or graphics
Why I built it
I am a developer, not a designer. Every time I start a project I waste time picking colors that end up looking wrong together. A tool that gives me a mathematically sound palette from one starting color — or extracts one from an image I already like — saves that entire step.