Color Picker
Professional color picker with hex, RGB, HSL support. Generate color palettes, check accessibility, create gradients, and export for design projects.
Color Picker
Color Palettes
How to Use
Step-by-step instructions for using the Color Picker
Using Colors in Web Design
🎨 Color Selection
- • Use the visual picker to select your base color
- • Input specific values in Hex, RGB, or HSL format
- • Try CSS color names for standard web colors
- • Adjust alpha transparency for overlays
- • Generate random colors for inspiration
🌈 Color Harmony
- • Complementary colors for high contrast
- • Triadic schemes for vibrant designs
- • Analogous colors for harmonious themes
- • Split-complementary for balanced contrast
- • Use shades and tints for variations
♿ Accessibility
- • Check contrast ratios for text readability
- • Aim for AA or AAA compliance standards
- • Test with color blindness simulation
- • Use sufficient contrast for UI elements
- • Consider users with visual impairments
💾 Palette Management
- • Save colors to your custom palette
- • Use preset palettes for quick starts
- • Export palettes as CSS, JSON, or ASE
- • Create brand color collections
- • Share palettes with team members
Examples
Common use cases and examples for the Color Picker
Color Applications
Website Color Schemes
Create cohesive color schemes for websites. Use complementary colors for call-to-action buttons and analogous colors for backgrounds.
Brand Identity Colors
Develop brand color palettes that reflect your company's personality. Create primary, secondary, and accent color collections.
Print Design Colors
Choose colors that translate well to print. Consider CMYK conversion and ensure sufficient contrast for readability.
Mobile App Interfaces
Design mobile-friendly color schemes with high contrast ratios. Consider both light and dark mode variations.
Digital Art & Graphics
Create color palettes for digital artwork, illustrations, and graphic design projects. Use harmony rules for pleasing combinations.
Data Visualization
Choose accessible colors for charts and graphs. Ensure colors are distinguishable for colorblind users and in grayscale.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the Color Picker
What's the difference between RGB and HSL?
RGB (Red, Green, Blue) defines colors by mixing light values from 0-255. HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness) is more intuitive - hue is the color (0-360°), saturation is intensity (0-100%), and lightness is brightness (0-100%). HSL is often easier for adjusting colors.
What are web-safe colors?
Web-safe colors are 216 colors that display consistently across all browsers and devices. While less relevant today due to modern displays, they ensure maximum compatibility. Our CSS color names include many web-safe options.
How do I choose accessible colors?
Use our contrast checker to ensure text is readable. AA standard requires 4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal text, 3:1 for large text. AAA standard requires 7:1 and 4.5:1 respectively. Also test with colorblindness simulation.
What are the best colors for websites?
Choose colors based on your brand and audience. Blue conveys trust (finance, healthcare), green suggests growth (environmental, finance), red creates urgency (sales, alerts). Always prioritize readability and accessibility over aesthetics.
How do I create a cohesive color palette?
Start with one primary color, then use our harmony generator to find complementary colors. Use the 60-30-10 rule: 60% primary color, 30% secondary color, 10% accent color. Add neutral colors (grays, whites) for balance.
Can I extract colors from images?
While our current tool doesn't support image upload, you can use other tools to extract dominant colors and then input them here for further analysis, harmony generation, and palette creation.
What formats can I export my palettes in?
Export palettes as CSS (with custom properties), JSON (for developers), or ASE-style format. CSS format is perfect for web projects, JSON for apps and tools, and ASE for design software compatibility.
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