Color Palette Generator: Extract from Image

Extract dominant colors from any photo and create perfect design harmonies exportable to CSS and Tailwind.

100% Private

HEX / RGB / HSL

Export CSS

Instant Analysis

Setup

How to Create a Professional Color Palette

From visual inspiration to code in 3 steps.

Upload Inspiration

Select any photo, screenshot, or design you love.

AI Analysis

Our algorithm extracts the 5 dominant colors and calculates their harmonies (Complementary, Triads).

Copy Code

Click to copy the HEX code or export the full configuration for Tailwind CSS.

Pro Color Tools

Everything you need for your design system.

Smart Extraction

We don't just pick random pixels. We identify visually dominant tones from the image.

Random Mode

Creative block? Generate infinite palettes randomly with valid harmonies in one click.

Color Theory

Automatically calculate complementary and analogous colors for each extracted tone.

Tailwind Ready

Copy the exact JSON object to paste into your tailwind.config.js file.

CSS Export

Get CSS variables (:root) ready to use in any web project.

Total Privacy

Analysis happens in your browser. Your inspiration image is never uploaded to the cloud.

Applied Color Theory

How to use these palettes in your projects.

The 60-30-10 Rule

Once you extract your palette, apply this golden rule of interior and web design: Use the dominant color in 60% of the space (background), the secondary in 30% (cards/sections), and the accent color in 10% (buttons/CTAs).

Mathematical balance for the human eye.

Why Export to HSL?

While HEX is popular, professional designers prefer HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness). It allows you to create variations of a color simply by adjusting 'Lightness' without changing the hue, ideal for :hover states or dark modes.

Full control over color variations.

Brand Consistency

If you are designing a corporate presentation, upload the company logo. Our tool will extract the exact brand colors, ensuring all your graphics and text vary perfectly aligned with visual identity.

Zero branding errors.

Quantization: how we pick colors

Naïvely, you'd average all the pixels, the result is a muddy brown for every photo. We use median-cut quantization: the algorithm splits the colour space into buckets of similar pixels, then picks the centroid of each bucket. The output: 5 visually-distinct colours that actually represent the image, not the mathematical mean. The same algorithm GIF encoders have used for 30 years to compress to 256 colours.

Median-cut beats k-means and naïve averaging for palette extraction.

WCAG contrast: the part most palettes ignore

A palette can be beautiful and still fail accessibility: light grey on white reads great in Figma and disappears for low-vision users. WCAG 2.2 demands a 4.5:1 contrast ratio for body text and 3:1 for large text. After extracting your palette, run each text-on-background combo through a contrast checker, and use the darkest extracted tone for body copy, never the prettiest.

Pretty palette + bad contrast = inaccessible site.

Format Comparison

Choose the right format for your use case

Color Model	Format	Best For
HEX	#RRGGBB	Quick Copy/Paste	General Web Design
RGB	rgb(r, g, b)	Digital Manipulation	Screen Displays
HSL	hsl(h, s%, l%)	Shade Adjustment	Design Systems
Tailwind	JSON Object	Configuration	Frontend Devs

Color FAQ

Quick answers about the tool

How do you choose dominant colors?

We use a Quantization algorithm that groups similar pixels and determines which tones have the most visual weight in the image, ignoring background noise.

Can I export the palette to Photoshop or Figma?

Yes. You can copy the HEX codes individually. For Figma, we recommend using HEX format, which is the universal standard.

Is generating palettes free?

Totally. No limits or watermarks. You can use the tool for all your personal or commercial projects.

What is a color triad?

It's a combination of three colors equidistant on the color wheel. It generates high contrast while maintaining harmony. Our tool can suggest triads based on your main color.

Does it work with WebP and SVG images?

Yes, the extractor supports JPG, PNG, WebP, and SVG. If the image is viewable in the browser, we can extract its colors.

How do I use the Tailwind config?

Copy the JSON code we generate and paste it inside the theme.extend.colors section of your tailwind.config.js file. This creates classes like bg-primary or text-accent automatically.

Are my images saved anywhere?

No. The analysis is 100% Client-Side. Your image loads into your browser's temporary memory, is analyzed, and discarded. No one, not even us, sees what you upload.

Can I save my palette?

Currently, you can download a text file with the codes or take a screenshot. We are working on a PDF export feature.

How do I extract a brand palette from a logo?

Upload the logo PNG or JPG. The extractor finds the dominant tones, for most logos that's 2-4 brand colours plus a neutral. Save the HEX values in your design system as --brand-primary, --brand-secondary, etc. For maximum fidelity, work from the original vector (SVG) source if you have it, since JPG compression can shift logo colours by 1-2% per channel.

What's the difference between complementary, analogous and triadic?

Complementary = colours opposite on the wheel (red ↔ green), high contrast, eye-catching. Analogous = neighbours on the wheel (blue → blue-green → green), calm, harmonious. Triadic = three colours equidistant (120° apart), vibrant but balanced. Pick complementary for CTAs, analogous for backgrounds, triadic for kid-friendly or playful brands.

Can I extract palettes from screenshots and UI designs?

Yes, drop in a Figma export, a Dribbble shot, a competitor's homepage screenshot. The tool extracts the actual rendered colours, not the source CSS. Useful for reverse-engineering a design system, or for quickly matching a new component to an existing one. All processing local, your screenshots never leave the browser.