How to Choose a Color Palette for Your Brand

Begin with purpose

Choose one base color that suits the tone of the project and works on common backgrounds. Then add supporting colors sparingly. A palette is useful only when it helps people recognize actions, read text and understand hierarchy.

Explore relationships

Complementary colors sit opposite on a color wheel and create contrast. Analogous colors sit near one another and tend to feel calmer. Triadic colors are spaced around the wheel. The Color Palette Generator offers starting points for each scheme.

• Assign roles such as primary action, background and warning.
• Test text contrast on every actual background.
• Do not use color alone to signal an error or success.

Test in context

Export CSS variables or a Tailwind snippet, apply the colors to a real screen and review it in light and dark conditions. The mathematical relationship between hues does not guarantee accessible contrast.