Random Color Generator

Create beautiful random color palettes with 12 generation modes. Lock colors, check WCAG contrast, and export in multiple formats including CSS, SCSS, JSON, Tailwind, and PNG.

How to Use the Color Generator

Create professional color palettes instantly with 12 different generation modes. Lock individual colors to preserve them while regenerating others, and export your palette in multiple developer-friendly formats.

  1. Choose a color mode from 12 options (Random, Monochromatic, Analogous, etc.)
  2. Adjust palette size from 1 to 8 colors using the slider
  3. Click any color swatch to lock/unlock it (locked colors won't change when regenerating)
  4. Press Spacebar or click Generate to create a new palette
  5. Enable WCAG checker to see contrast ratios for accessibility compliance
  6. Each swatch displays HEX, RGB, and HSL values - click to copy
  7. Export your palette as CSS, SCSS, JSON, Tailwind classes, or PNG image

Color Modes Explained

Random: Completely random colors with no relationship. Creates diverse, eye-catching palettes with maximum variety.

Monochromatic: Variations of a single hue with different saturation and lightness. Creates harmonious, sophisticated palettes perfect for minimalist designs.

Analogous: Colors adjacent on the color wheel (e.g., blue, blue-green, green). Creates serene, comfortable designs with natural harmony.

Complementary: Colors opposite on the color wheel (e.g., blue and orange). Creates high contrast and visual vibration, ideal for making elements stand out.

Triadic: Three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel (e.g., red, yellow, blue). Offers vibrant, balanced palettes with strong visual contrast.

Tetradic (Square): Four colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. Provides the most color variety while maintaining harmony, ideal for complex designs.

Warm Colors: Reds, oranges, yellows - colors associated with warmth, energy, and passion. Perfect for creating inviting, energetic designs.

Cool Colors: Blues, greens, purples - colors associated with calmness and professionalism. Ideal for corporate, tech, and healthcare designs.

Pastel: Soft, low-saturation colors with high lightness. Creates gentle, soothing palettes perfect for feminine, youthful, or spring-themed designs.

Vibrant: High-saturation, intense colors that pop. Ideal for modern, energetic designs targeting younger audiences or entertainment brands.

Dark: Low-lightness colors perfect for dark mode interfaces, sophisticated branding, or creating dramatic contrast.

Light: High-lightness colors ideal for minimalist designs, backgrounds, or creating airy, spacious feels.

WCAG Contrast Ratios

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) defines minimum contrast ratios for text readability:

  • AAA Large Text: 3:1 ratio (18pt+ regular or 14pt+ bold)
  • AA Large Text: 3:1 ratio
  • AA Normal Text: 4.5:1 ratio (default body text)
  • AAA Normal Text: 7:1 ratio (enhanced accessibility)

Enable the WCAG checker to see which color combinations meet accessibility standards. Higher contrast ratios improve readability for users with visual impairments, low-vision conditions, or when viewing in bright sunlight.

Export Format Guide

CSS Variables: Exports as custom properties (--color-1, --color-2, etc.) ready to paste into your :root selector.

SCSS Variables: Exports as Sass variables ($color-1, $color-2, etc.) for use in .scss files.

JSON: Exports as a JSON array with hex, rgb, and hsl values for each color. Perfect for importing into design tools or JavaScript applications.

Tailwind: Generates Tailwind CSS configuration with color definitions ready to paste into your tailwind.config.js file.

PNG: Downloads a PNG image showing all colors as horizontal swatches with their hex codes, perfect for presentations or design handoffs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Click the lock icon on any color swatch to lock it. Locked colors remain unchanged when you generate a new palette, allowing you to preserve colors you like while exploring alternatives for others. Click again to unlock.
Complementary uses two colors directly opposite on the color wheel (like blue and orange), creating maximum contrast. Triadic uses three colors evenly spaced (120° apart), like red, yellow, and blue, offering more variety while maintaining balance. Triadic is more versatile for multi-color designs.
Click on any color value (HEX, RGB, or HSL) displayed on the swatch to copy it to your clipboard. A toast notification will confirm the copy. This makes it easy to grab specific values for use in your code or design software.
It calculates contrast ratios between all color pairs in your palette and indicates which meet WCAG AA and AAA standards for normal and large text. Use this to ensure your color choices provide adequate readability and accessibility for users with visual impairments.
Yes! Colors cannot be copyrighted. All palettes generated are free to use in any project - personal, commercial, client work, etc. However, specific color combinations may be trademarked by brands (like Tiffany Blue or UPS Brown), so research before using colors identical to famous brand palettes.
It depends on your goals. Monochromatic offers elegance and cohesion. Analogous provides harmony with variety. Complementary creates bold contrast. For professional/corporate: cool or monochromatic. For energetic/youthful: vibrant or warm. For accessibility: ensure high contrast between text and backgrounds.
Clicking PNG export generates an image with horizontal color swatches and their hex codes, then automatically downloads it as "color-palette.png". This is perfect for sharing palettes with clients, adding to presentations, or keeping a visual reference in your design files.
You can lock colors in all modes! However, in relationship-based modes (monochromatic, analogous, complementary, triadic, tetradic), locking one color constrains the others since they must maintain their color theory relationships. For maximum locking flexibility, use Random mode.

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