Color Palette Generator

What this generator does

Rolls a five-color palette that's actually usable — not the chaotic noise you get from a pure random RGB roll. It picks from a curated pool of designer-tested seed palettes about two-thirds of the time, and the rest are built algorithmically using harmony rules (analogous, triadic, split-complementary, tetradic, complementary-with-neutrals) with saturation and lightness ranges tuned per mood. Pick a mood — warm, cool, pastel, vibrant, earth, monochrome, or auto — to bias the output toward a specific feel. Lock any color to keep it across re-rolls; unlocked slots are replaced each time.

How to use the generator

Pick a mood (or leave it on Auto for a mix). Hit Generate or just press Space to roll a new palette. Click any hex code to copy it to your clipboard. Click the lock icon on a color you want to keep, then re-roll to replace the others. Use Copy CSS to grab a ready-to-paste :root block of custom properties, or Copy JSON for an array of hex strings to drop into a config file or design-token export.

What makes a palette feel intentional

Five colors is the sweet spot — enough variety for primary / secondary / accent / light neutral / dark neutral, but not so many that nothing dominates. Within those five, plan a hierarchy: one dominant color carries 60% of the layout, a secondary takes 30%, and the remaining three split the last 10%. The Auto mood is great for ideation; Earth and Pastel work well for editorial and wellness brands; Vibrant for kids' products, gaming, and call-to-action-heavy landing pages; Monochrome when you want a single-hue ramp.

When each mood works

Auto — best mix of curated seeds and algorithmic schemes; the right starting point if you don't know what you want yet. Warm — sunset palettes, food brands, energy-and-warmth campaigns. Cool — fintech, SaaS, anything that should feel calm and trustworthy. Pastel — children's products, beauty brands, soft hero sections. Vibrant — gaming, music, anything that should grab attention. Earth — outdoor, sustainability, agriculture, real-estate. Monochrome — minimalist editorial, single-color brand systems, accessible design.

Frequently asked questions