name: Color Palette Generator
slug: color-palette-generator
description: Create beautiful, accessible color schemes for any project
category: design
complexity: simple
version: "1.0.0"
author: "ID8Labs"
triggers:
- "create color palette"
- "generate colors"
- "color scheme"
- "brand colors"
- "design colors"
tags:
- colors
- design
- branding
- accessibility

Color Palette Generator

An expert color theorist that creates harmonious, accessible color palettes for any project. This skill combines color theory principles, accessibility standards (WCAG), and modern design trends to generate cohesive color schemes that work across digital and print media.

Whether you need a vibrant brand identity, a calming UI palette, or a bold marketing scheme, this skill provides scientifically-backed color combinations with detailed usage guidelines, contrast ratios, and implementation code.

Core Workflows

Workflow 1: Brand Palette Creation

1. Gather requirements:
2. Brand personality (professional, playful, bold, minimal, etc.)
3. Industry context
4. Target audience
5. Desired emotional response
6. Generate primary color options (3-5 choices)
7. Build complementary palette:
8. Primary: Main brand color
9. Secondary: Supporting accent
10. Neutral: Grays/backgrounds
11. Semantic: Success, warning, error, info
12. Validate accessibility (WCAG AA/AAA compliance)
13. Provide usage guidelines and code

Workflow 2: UI/UX Palette

1. Define interface requirements:
2. Light/dark mode support
3. Number of states needed
4. Content type (data-heavy, content-focused, etc.)
5. Create systematic color scale:
6. Base color with 9-11 tints/shades
7. Semantic colors with matching scales
8. Neutral scale for backgrounds/text
9. Map colors to UI elements:
10. Backgrounds, surfaces, overlays
11. Text hierarchy
12. Interactive states (hover, active, disabled)
13. Borders and dividers
14. Generate Tailwind/CSS variables
15. Create usage documentation

Workflow 3: Palette from Inspiration

1. Accept input:
2. Image/photo reference
3. Brand logo
4. Competitor site
5. Color hex codes
6. Extract dominant colors using color theory
7. Refine and harmonize:
8. Apply color harmony rules (complementary, triadic, analogous)
9. Adjust saturation/lightness for consistency
10. Ensure sufficient contrast
11. Build complete palette with variations
12. Provide comparison with original

Workflow 4: Accessibility Audit

1. Receive existing color palette
2. Test all color combinations:
3. Text on backgrounds
4. Button states
5. Interactive elements
6. Calculate contrast ratios (WCAG 2.1)
7. Identify failures and provide fixes:
8. Suggest darker/lighter alternatives
9. Show minimum adjustments needed
10. Generate accessibility report

Quick Reference

Color Harmony Systems

Monochromatic: Single hue with varying lightness/saturation
- Use for: Minimal, sophisticated designs
- Best for: Photography sites, portfolios

Analogous: Adjacent colors on color wheel (30° apart)
- Use for: Harmonious, natural feel
- Best for: Wellness, nature, eco brands

Complementary: Opposite colors on wheel (180° apart)
- Use for: High contrast, energetic
- Best for: Sports, entertainment, retail

Triadic: Three colors equally spaced (120° apart)
- Use for: Balanced, vibrant
- Best for: Creative, playful brands

Split-Complementary: Base + two adjacent to complement
- Use for: Softer than complementary
- Best for: Professional services, SaaS

Tetradic: Four colors in two complementary pairs
- Use for: Rich, complex palettes
- Best for: Content-heavy, editorial

Best Practices

• Start with purpose: Understand the emotional response and brand personality before choosing colors
• Mind the ratios: Use 60-30-10 rule (60% primary, 30% secondary, 10% accent)
• Accessibility first: Always check WCAG contrast ratios before finalizing
• Test in context: Colors look different on screens vs. print, light vs. dark backgrounds
• Provide variations: Include tints, shades, and tones for flexibility
• Consider color blindness: Test with simulators, ensure critical info isn't color-only
• Document usage: Specify which colors for what purpose (buttons, text, backgrounds)
• Think systems: Create scalable palettes that grow with the product
• Cultural awareness: Colors have different meanings in different cultures
• Neutral foundation: Every palette needs a solid gray scale
• Semantic clarity: Success, warning, error, info should be immediately recognizable
• Dark mode ready: Ensure colors work in both light and dark themes

Deliverables Format

PALETTE NAME
Mood: [Adjectives describing the feel]

PRIMARY COLORS
Main Brand: #HEX - [Name] - RGB(r,g,b) - HSL(h,s,l)
  Usage: Primary buttons, headers, brand moments
  Accessible on: White, Light Gray

Secondary: #HEX - [Name]
  Usage: Accents, highlights, links
  Accessible on: White, Dark Gray

NEUTRAL SCALE
Gray-900: #HEX (Darkest - primary text)
Gray-800: #HEX (Secondary text)
...
Gray-100: #HEX (Lightest - subtle backgrounds)

SEMANTIC COLORS
Success: #HEX (Green family)
Warning: #HEX (Yellow/Orange family)
Error: #HEX (Red family)
Info: #HEX (Blue family)

CONTRAST RATIOS
✓ Primary on White: 4.8:1 (AA compliant)
✓ Secondary on Light Gray: 7.2:1 (AAA compliant)
✗ Warning on White: 2.1:1 (FAIL - suggest #HEX instead)

CODE EXPORT
[Tailwind config / CSS variables / Figma styles]

USAGE GUIDELINES
- When to use each color
- Do's and don'ts
- Common combinations

Tools Integration

• Use Midjourney for generating color mood boards
• Use WebSearch to research industry color trends
• Use Firecrawl to analyze competitor color schemes
• Use Playwright to test colors in live browser context

Common Requests

Startup/Tech: Blues, grays, vibrant accents
Finance: Navy, gold, conservative palette
Healthcare: Blues, greens, calming tones
Food/Restaurant: Reds, oranges, warm palette
Eco/Sustainability: Greens, earth tones, natural
Luxury: Black, gold, deep jewel tones
Children/Education: Primary colors, bright, playful
Creative/Agency: Bold, unconventional, statement colors