How to Choose a Color Palette
Choosing a palette is easier when you follow a process instead of picking colors at random. Start from a single anchor color, use a harmony relationship to find companions, then refine for balance and accessibility. This guide walks through a repeatable method you can apply to any project.
Start with one color
Pick a single anchor color that carries the mood you want — often a brand color or a color drawn from key imagery. Everything else in the palette will relate to it. If you are starting from a photo, the image palette extractor can suggest an anchor.
Apply a harmony
Use a color-theory relationship to find companions. Analogous schemes feel calm, complementary schemes feel bold, and triadic schemes feel balanced and playful. Generate a few options and compare them before committing.
Build a usable scale
A palette needs more than a handful of accent colors. Generate tints and shades of your main colors so you have surfaces, text colors, and hover states. A monochromatic or tint-and-shade scale turns one hue into a full set of design tokens.
Check contrast
Before finalizing, verify that text and background pairs meet WCAG contrast guidelines. A beautiful palette that fails contrast is not usable for body text. Adjust lightness until key pairs pass at least AA.