Color Wheel
Explore relationships between hues on an interactive 360° color wheel. Generate complementary, analogous, triadic, split-complementary, and monochromatic schemes with instant CSS export.
173°
#14b8a6
Drag anywhere around the wheel, or focus it and use arrow keys (hold Shift for 10° jumps).
Complementary Palette
Generated color harmony scheme
Palette hierarchy in context
Sample compositional preview showing how your harmony colors interact.
UI Preview
Cohesive color relationships in action.
Use your base color as the primary anchor, then introduce complementary accents and supporting tones to guide user attention.
CSS custom properties
Ready to paste into your stylesheet or design system tokens.
:root {
--harmony-1: #14b8a6; /* Base */
--harmony-2: #b81426; /* Complement */
}How Our Interactive Color Wheel Works
Build balanced, harmonious color schemes in three simple steps.
Choose a Base Color
Drag the marker around the 360° color wheel or enter your exact brand HEX code to set your starting hue.
Select a Harmony Rule
Switch between Complementary, Analogous, Triadic, Split-Complementary, Square, and Monochromatic harmonies.
Preview & Export CSS
Fine-tune saturation and lightness, preview the palette in a sample layout, and copy HEX codes or CSS variables.
Key features
Everything you need to turn color theory into practical web and brand palettes.
6 Classic Harmony Modes
Compare Complementary, Split-Complementary, Analogous, Triadic, Square, and Monochromatic combinations immediately.
Instant CSS Variables Export
Copy individual HEX swatches or export the entire harmony group as ready-to-paste CSS custom properties.
Browser-Local Processing
Your files are processed directly in your browser and are not uploaded to Pinatool's servers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about color theory, harmony models, and palette implementation.
What is a color wheel and how does it work?
A color wheel arranges visible hues circularly in order of wavelength. By mapping hues around a 360-degree circle, relationships between colors become geometric angles: opposite colors (180°) form complementary pairs, 120° angles form triadic schemes, and adjacent angles form analogous palettes.
Which color harmony rule should I choose?
Use analogous or monochromatic palettes when creating calm, unified brand interfaces or background tones. Use complementary or split-complementary schemes when you need high-energy contrast for call-to-action buttons. Use triadic or square schemes when organizing complex multi-category data visualizations.
How should I balance multiple colors in a design?
Follow the classic 60-30-10 design rule: allocate 60% of your visual weight to a dominant neutral or background tone, 30% to your secondary supporting brand color, and 10% to your high-contrast accent or complement for primary buttons and badges.
Does color harmony guarantee accessibility?
No. While harmony rules ensure hues feel pleasing together, they do not guarantee adequate contrast for text readability. Always test foreground text against background colors using our Color Contrast Checker to satisfy WCAG AA/AAA standards.
Can I export the generated palette to CSS?
Yes. You can copy individual HEX codes, the full comma-separated list of colors, or a complete set of CSS custom property variables (:root { --harmony-1: ... }) ready to drop into your stylesheet.
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