Introducing Color Palette Explorer: Extract & Generate Beautiful Color Schemes

Finding the perfect color palette is one of the most time-consuming parts of any design project. You either spend hours tweaking colors manually, or you search through endless pre-made palettes hoping to find something that fits.

We built Color Palette Explorer to solve this. Upload any image, extract its colors, generate harmonious schemes using color theory, and export to your favorite format — all in seconds.

The Problem with Color Selection

Designers and developers face the same challenges:

Starting from scratch — Picking colors that work together is hard
Color theory complexity — Not everyone knows complementary vs. triadic
Format conversion — You need HEX for CSS, RGB for Figma, different formats for mobile
Inspiration to implementation — You see a color palette you like, but can't easily use it

Traditional tools either focus on extraction OR generation, and rarely export to developer-friendly formats.

Enter Color Palette Explorer

Color Palette Explorer combines image color extraction, color theory generation, and multi-format export into one seamless experience.

🎨 Extract Colors from Any Image

Drop any image onto the canvas and instantly see its dominant colors:

Smart Sampling — Our algorithm identifies the most prominent colors, not just random pixels
Adjustable Palette Size — Extract 3, 5, 8, or more colors
Preview Cards — See how your colors look together
One-Click Copy — Copy any color in HEX, RGB, or HSL

🌈 Generate Harmonious Schemes

Start with any color and generate matching palettes using color theory:

Monochromatic

Variations of a single hue — perfect for creating depth without introducing new colors.

Analogous

Adjacent colors on the color wheel — naturally harmonious and pleasing to the eye.

Complementary

Opposite colors — high contrast for attention-grabbing designs.

Triadic

Three evenly spaced colors — vibrant and balanced.

Tetradic

Four evenly spaced colors — rich and complex palettes.

Split Complementary

A base color plus two colors adjacent to its complement — contrast with less tension.

📤 Export to Any Format

The real magic happens when you export. We support:

For Web Development

CSS Variables:

:root {
  --color-primary: #6366f1;
  --color-secondary: #8b5cf6;
  --color-accent: #ec4899;
}

Tailwind CSS:

module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        primary: '#6366f1',
        secondary: '#8b5cf6',
        accent: '#ec4899',
      }
    }
  }
}

SCSS Variables:

$color-primary: #6366f1;
$color-secondary: #8b5cf6;
$color-accent: #ec4899;

For Design Tools

Figma Design Tokens — Copy and import directly into your Figma file.

For Mobile Development

SwiftUI:

extension Color {
    static let primary = Color(hex: "#6366f1")
    static let secondary = Color(hex: "#8b5cf6")
    static let accent = Color(hex: "#ec4899")
}

Android XML:

<color name="primary">#6366f1</color>
<color name="secondary">#8b5cf6</color>
<color name="accent">#ec4899</color>

🔒 100% Local & Private

Everything happens in your browser:

No uploads — Images are processed locally using the Canvas API
No accounts — Just open and use
Works offline — It's a PWA, install it and use anywhere
No tracking — We don't collect your color choices

Use Cases

For Designers

Extract colors from inspiration images
Generate harmonious schemes for branding
Export design tokens for handoff

For Developers

Get Tailwind/CSS variables from design mockups
Match colors from existing apps or websites
Generate accessible color combinations

For Mobile Developers

Export SwiftUI or Android color resources
Maintain consistent colors across platforms
Quick prototyping with real palettes

The Tech Stack

Color Palette Explorer is built with:

Next.js 16 (App Router) for the framework
TypeScript for type safety
Tailwind CSS for styling
Framer Motion for smooth animations
shadcn/ui for beautiful components
Canvas API for image processing

Try It Now

Ready to find your perfect palette?

👉 Try Color Palette Explorer

No signup, no installation. Just drop an image and start exploring.

Open Source

Color Palette Explorer is open source! Check out the code or contribute:

👉 GitHub Repository

What's Next?

We're planning new features:

Palette History — Save and recall your favorite palettes
Accessibility Checker — WCAG contrast validation
Gradient Generator — Create gradients from your palette
Brand Kit Export — Full brand guidelines PDF

Have a feature request? Let us know!

Stop guessing colors. Try Color Palette Explorer today →