Colors

Shades

A shade is a variation of a color made by adding black to it, which darkens the original hue without changing its hue value. In HSL terms, shades are created by decreasing lightness while keeping hue and saturation the same.

Tints

A tint is a variation of a color made by adding white to it, which lightens the original hue without altering its basic tone. In HSL terms, tints are created by increasing lightness while keeping hue and saturation constant.

Tons

A tone is created by adding gray (a mix of black and white) to a color, which reduces its intensity or saturation without changing the hue. Tones make colors look softer, more muted, and less vibrant compared to their pure form.

Temperature

Temperature refers to how “warm” or “cool” a color appears. Warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows) feel energetic and inviting. Cool colors (blues, greens, purples) feel calm and soothing.

Warmer Variants

Cooler Variants

Analogous

Analogous colors are groups of colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel and share a similar hue. They create harmonious, natural-looking palettes often found in nature, such as green, yellow-green, and yellow.

Complementary

Complementary colors are pairs of colors that are directly opposite each other on the color wheel. They create high contrast and vibrant looks when placed together, such as red and green or blue and orange.

Split Complementary

Split Complementary colors use a base color and the two colors adjacent to its complementary color on the color wheel. This scheme offers strong visual contrast like complementary colors but with less tension, making it more harmonious.

Triadic

Triadic colors are three colors evenly spaced 120° apart on the color wheel. They create vibrant, balanced palettes with strong contrast while maintaining harmony.

Tedradic

Tetradic colors (also called double complementary) use four colors arranged as two complementary pairs on the color wheel. This scheme offers rich variety but requires careful balance to avoid overwhelming the design.

Square

Square colors are a color scheme using four colors evenly spaced at 90° intervals on the color wheel. They provide strong contrast and variety while maintaining balance, as each color is equally distant from the others.