Color Converter & Palette Generator
🎨 What is Color Conversion?
Color conversion is the art and science of translating colors between different representation systems. Every digital color can be expressed in multiple formats—HEX codes for web development, RGB values for screens, HSL for intuitive editing, CMYK for printing, and more. Understanding these formats and how they interrelate is fundamental to anyone working with digital design, development, or visual content creation.
This comprehensive tool provides instant, accurate conversion between all major color formats while offering advanced features like palette generation based on color theory, WCAG accessibility checking, and visual color exploration. Whether you're matching brand colors, ensuring accessibility compliance, or exploring creative color schemes, this tool streamlines your workflow with precision and ease.
⚙️ How This Color Converter Works
Built on the robust Palette crate, this tool performs mathematically precise conversions using industry-standard color space transformations. Every format is bidirectionally linked—change any value and watch all other formats update in real-time.
🔥 Key Features:
- 7 Color Formats: HEX, RGB, HSL, HSV, HWB, CMYK, and NCol with full precision
- HTML5 Color Picker: Visual color selection with instant format conversion
- Smart Palette Generation: Create harmonious color schemes using color theory principles
- WCAG Contrast Calculator: Real-time accessibility checking against white and black backgrounds
- Color History: Track your recent colors for quick access and comparison
- One-Click Copy: Copy any format instantly to your clipboard
- Bidirectional Editing: Modify values in any format and see all others update
- Precision Inputs: Fine-tune individual channels with number inputs
🎯 Understanding Color Formats:
HEX (Hexadecimal): Web standard using base-16. Format: #RRGGBB where each pair represents Red, Green, Blue from 00-FF (0-255 in decimal). Example: #FF5733 is bright red-orange.
RGB (Red Green Blue): Additive color model matching how screens emit light. Each channel: 0-255. Used in web CSS, canvas APIs, and most digital contexts. Example: rgb(255, 87, 51)
HSL (Hue Saturation Lightness): Intuitive model matching human color perception. Hue: 0-360° (color wheel position), Saturation: 0-100% (color intensity), Lightness: 0-100% (brightness). Preferred for color manipulation and theme generation.
HSV (Hue Saturation Value): Similar to HSL but with Value instead of Lightness. Often used in color pickers and graphics software. Hue: 0-360°, Saturation: 0-100%, Value: 0-100%.
HWB (Hue Whiteness Blackness): CSS Color Module Level 4 format. More intuitive than HSL for some users. Hue: 0-360° (color wheel), Whiteness: 0-100% (amount of white mixed in), Blackness: 0-100% (amount of black mixed in). Example: hwb(120, 20%, 10%)
CMYK (Cyan Magenta Yellow Key/Black): Subtractive color model for printing. Each channel: 0-100%. Essential for print design, though screen approximation may differ from actual print output.
NCol (Natural Color System): Developed in Sweden, this notation uses color perception. Format: Base color (R/Y/G/C/B/M) + percentage to next color (0-100). Example: R50 (50% between Red and Yellow). More aligned with how humans describe colors naturally.
🎨 Color Palette Generation Explained
Our palette generator applies time-tested color theory principles to create harmonious color combinations. Each palette type follows specific mathematical relationships on the color wheel.
🔵 Complementary (2 colors)
Colors opposite on the color wheel (180° apart). Creates maximum contrast and vibrant visual tension. Perfect for call-to-action buttons, highlighting important elements, or creating bold, energetic designs. Example: Blue and Orange, Red and Green.
🟢 Analogous (3 colors)
Colors adjacent on the wheel (30° apart). Creates serene, harmonious schemes with gentle transitions. Ideal for backgrounds, natural themes, or cohesive brand identities. One color typically dominates while others support.
🔴 Triadic (3 colors)
Colors evenly spaced at 120° intervals. Provides vibrant diversity while maintaining balance. Excellent for playful designs, infographics, or when you need distinct yet coordinated colors. Use one as primary, others as accents.
🟣 Tetradic (4 colors)
Two complementary pairs forming a rectangle on the wheel (90° spacing). Offers rich variety and flexibility. Best for complex interfaces, data visualizations, or designs requiring multiple distinct color roles. Requires careful balance to avoid overwhelming users.
Pro Tip: Generated palettes maintain your original color's saturation and lightness values, adjusting only the hue. For best results, choose a saturated, medium-lightness base color, then manually adjust individual palette colors if needed.
♿ WCAG Accessibility & Contrast Ratios
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 define minimum contrast ratios to ensure text remains readable for users with visual impairments, color blindness, or in challenging viewing conditions (bright sunlight, low-quality displays).
📊 Contrast Ratio Standards:
- WCAG AA (Minimum): 4.5:1 for normal text (< 18pt regular, < 14pt bold), 3:1 for large text. Required for legal compliance in many jurisdictions.
- WCAG AAA (Enhanced): 7:1 for normal text, 4.5:1 for large text. Recommended for critical interfaces, educational content, or public services.
- Graphics/UI Components: 3:1 minimum for meaningful graphics, icons, and interactive elements.
🎯 Practical Application:
Our tool shows contrast against pure white (#FFFFFF) and pure black (#000000)—the two most common background colors. If your color passes AA or AAA against one of these, it's safe for text on that background. For custom backgrounds, test both your text color and background color against white/black to ensure sufficient contrast between them.
Common Pitfalls:
- Light gray text on white backgrounds (fails AA)
- Pastel colors for primary CTAs (poor visibility)
- Yellow or lime text on white (barely passes AA)
- Medium blue on black (often fails despite appearing readable)
Safe Combinations: Dark navy/charcoal on white, white on dark blue/purple/green, black on yellow/lime, white on red/orange/blue.
💼 Real-World Use Cases
1. 🎨 UI/UX Design & Prototyping
Design systems require consistent color definitions across platforms. Extract HEX from design tools, convert to RGB for CSS, generate analogous palettes for hover states, and verify WCAG compliance—all in one place. Use the color history to track your brand's primary, secondary, and accent colors.
2. 💻 Web Development & CSS
Developers often receive colors in one format but need another. Designer provides #3498db? Instantly get rgb(52, 152, 219) for older browsers or hsl(204, 70%, 53%) for creating theme variations. RGBA values enable sophisticated overlay effects and glass-morphism designs.
3. 📱 Mobile App Development
iOS and Android have different color APIs. Convert HEX to RGB decimals (0-1 scale) for iOS UIColor, or to 8-bit ARGB integers for Android. HSV values work perfectly with color picker controls in both platforms.
4. 🖨️ Print Design & CMYK
Screen colors (RGB) don't match print output (CMYK). Preview approximate CMYK values before sending to print. Note: Screen CMYK is an approximation—always request physical proofs for critical color matching.
5. ♿ Accessibility Audits
Quickly check if existing color combinations meet WCAG standards. Test each text color against its background, verify icon colors, and ensure interactive elements have sufficient contrast. Document passing combinations for your style guide.
6. 🎨 Brand Identity Development
Start with a primary brand color, generate complementary palettes, adjust saturation/lightness in HSL for variations, then export all formats for your brand guidelines. The palette generator helps discover secondary and accent colors that harmonize with your primary.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why do HEX colors sometimes have 8 characters instead of 6?
A: The optional 8th and 9th characters represent the alpha (opacity) channel in hexadecimal. Format: #RRGGBBAA. For example, #FF5733FF is fully opaque, while #FF573380 is 50% transparent (80 in hex ≈ 128/255 ≈ 0.5). Not all contexts support 8-character HEX—use RGBA for broader compatibility.
Q: What's the difference between HSL and HSV?
A: Both use Hue and Saturation, but differ in the third component:
- HSL (Lightness): 0% = black, 50% = pure color, 100% = white. More intuitive for creating tints/shades. Better for generating color scales.
- HSV (Value/Brightness): 0% = black, 100% = brightest possible color at that hue. Common in image editing software and color pickers.
For web design, HSL is generally more useful and is natively supported in CSS.
Q: Can I use CMYK colors on the web?
A: Web browsers only display RGB. This tool converts CMYK to RGB for screen preview, but the printed result will differ due to the fundamental difference between additive (RGB - light emission) and subtractive (CMYK - ink absorption) color models. Always use CMYK only for print-destined work and request proofs.
Q: How do I create lighter or darker versions of a color?
A: Use HSL format! Keep Hue and Saturation constant, adjust Lightness:
- Increase Lightness → lighter tints (toward white)
- Decrease Lightness → darker shades (toward black)
- Decrease Saturation → grayer tones
For UI design, create a scale by incrementing/decrementing Lightness in 10% steps: 90% (lightest), 80%, 70%... 20%, 10% (darkest).
Q: Why doesn't my color pass WCAG AA?
A: Common reasons:
- Colors too similar in lightness (both light or both dark)
- Pastel colors generally fail on white backgrounds
- Yellow family colors struggle against white (low inherent contrast)
Solutions: Increase lightness difference, choose colors from opposite ends of the lightness spectrum (0-30% vs 70-100%), or use our contrast checker to find compliant alternatives.
Q: How accurate are the palette suggestions?
A: The palettes follow strict color theory mathematics (complementary = 180° rotation, triadic = 120° spacing, etc.). However, aesthetically pleasing combinations also depend on saturation, lightness, context, and subjective preference. Use generated palettes as starting points, then adjust individual colors to match your specific needs and brand personality.
Q: What format should I use for CSS?
A: Modern recommendation:
- HEX (#RRGGBB): Standard for opaque colors, universal browser support
- RGBA: When you need transparency
- HSL: When creating theme systems or programmatically generating color variations (easier to manipulate)
- CSS Variables: Define colors once as custom properties, reference everywhere
Avoid named colors ("red", "blue") except for quick prototyping—they offer no precision.
🎯 Professional Tips & Best Practices
- 60-30-10 Rule: Use 60% dominant color, 30% secondary, 10% accent. Prevents overwhelming designs.
- Limit Your Palette: 3-5 colors maximum for most interfaces. More colors = harder to maintain consistency.
- Test in Context: Colors look different on various backgrounds. Always preview your combinations.
- Accessibility First: Check contrast before finalizing designs, not after. Retrofitting accessibility is costly.
- Use HSL for Themes: Generate dark mode by decreasing Lightness while keeping Hue/Saturation. Create hover states by adjusting Lightness ±10%.
- Save Your History: Click recently used colors to quickly compare similar shades or revisit previous decisions.
- Document Everything: Export all formats to your design system. Include HEX, RGB, and HSL minimum.
- Consider Color Blindness: Don't rely on color alone to convey information. Red/green combinations are particularly problematic for ~8% of males.
- Print vs Screen: CMYK is approximate on screen. Always order physical proofs for print projects.
- Gradients Need Contrast: Ensure both endpoints of a gradient meet WCAG requirements against their backgrounds.
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