Paletton
Design professional color schemes and palettes.
Open the official app on paletton.com
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Use it free
Open the official tool or demo — no account needed.
Self-host it
Run the open-source version on your own infrastructure.
What is Paletton?
Paletton is an open-source color scheme designer that helps users create harmonious color combinations based on classical color theory. It leverages the RYB (Red-Yellow-Blue) color wheel, a traditional model used in art, to generate palettes with 1 to 4 hues and five shades per hue. The tool is primarily used by web designers, UI/UX professionals, and textile artists to visualize color relationships for projects like websites, interfaces, or fabric patterns. It addresses the challenge of selecting visually cohesive colors that work together in design contexts, offering simulations for different media and accessibility considerations.
How it works
Paletton is a web-based tool that combines classical color theory with modern design needs. It enables users to explore color relationships through the RYB color wheel, which prioritizes artistic color mixing principles over digital RGB models. The tool's primary purpose is to simplify the creation of color palettes that are visually balanced and functional for design applications. It provides immediate feedback on how colors interact in various contexts, such as web design or textile patterns. Paletton supports multiple color models, including monochromatic (single hue variations), triadic (three hues in a triangle), and tetradic (four hues in a rectangle) schemes. Users can adjust brightness and saturation levels to fine-tune palettes. It also includes a vision simulation filter to preview how color combinations appear to people with color vision deficiencies like protanopia or deuteranopia.
How to use it
- 1Navigate to paletton.com and select a base hue from the RYB wheel. 2. Choose a color model (e.g., monochromatic, triadic) to generate adjacent or complementary hues. 3. Adjust brightness and saturation sliders to refine the palette. 4. Use preview modes to test colors in design contexts like website mockups or fabric swatches. Practical tips: Experiment with the vision simulation filter to ensure color accessibility. Save palettes as images or share them via export options for reuse in design projects.
What it can do
- color scheme designer
Use cases
Assumptions and limitations
Assumptions
- source: https://paletton.com/
- license: Open source
- privacy: Opens an external demo
Limitations
- Limited support for advanced color models like HSL or LAB beyond basic RYB interactions
- No built-in export functionality for palettes in design software formats
- Basic interface may require manual adjustments for complex color relationships
- Vision simulation filters do not account for all types of color blindness variants
- Lack of integration with modern design tools like Figma or Adobe Color
Understanding the result
Design professional color schemes and palettes.
Tool details
- Clearly flagged when a network request is needed.
- No account, no sign-up, and no tracking of your content.
- Powered by (MIT).
- Built with
- (https://paletton.com/)
- License
- MIT
- Runs locally
- No — requires a network request
- Verification
- Not yet verified
- Input
- Query
- Output
- Text
Built with https://paletton.com/. OpenToolVault provides the discovery and browser interface while crediting the original project maintainers.
- Built with
- License
- MIT
Open-source project
OpenToolVault is an independent directory. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by this project.
References
- / — GitHub Repository
Upstream project · GitHub
Frequently asked
How does Paletton handle color accessibility for users with vision impairments?
Paletton includes a vision simulation filter that approximates how color combinations appear to people with various types of color blindness, including protanopia, deuteranopia, and tritanopia. This feature helps designers test their palettes for accessibility, but it does not replace professional accessibility testing tools.
What color models does Paletton support beyond the RYB wheel?
While Paletton is based on the RYB color wheel, it can generate color combinations using modern models like complementary (opposite hues), split-complementary (two hues adjacent to the opposite hue), and triadic (three hues spaced 120 degrees apart). These models are derived from the RYB framework rather than digital color spaces like RGB or CMYK.
How do I create a monochromatic palette with varying shades?
Select a base hue on the RYB wheel, then adjust the brightness and saturation sliders to generate lighter and darker variations. The tool automatically creates five shades per hue, allowing you to fine-tune the palette by manually adjusting individual shade levels.
How does Paletton compare to Adobe Color or Coolors?
Paletton focuses on classical color theory with the RYB model, making it ideal for art-based color exploration. Adobe Color and Coolors use RGB/HEX models and offer more modern design tools, but they lack Paletton's specialized vision simulation filters and emphasis on traditional color mixing principles.
What should I do if the vision simulation filter doesn't show expected results?
Ensure you're using the latest version of Paletton, as simulation algorithms are continually refined. For complex accessibility needs, combine Paletton's results with dedicated tools like AccessiBe or WebAIM's color contrast checker. Test palettes in multiple contexts, as screen readers and color perception vary across devices.