web colour generator 2026 / theory lab
Colour Systems Engine
Pick a colour or hit random. Build usable palettes with harmonies, perceptual tone ladders, and live WCAG contrast scoring.
Locked Colours
Retune around these anchors.
Alternate Tunings
A tuning is a controlled mistake: wrong relationships, disciplined colour behaviour.
Detuned Fifths
Almost-triadic intervals, pushed slightly out of tune.
Palette In Action
The tuned palette mapped into UI roles, with contrast checks for the main text pair.
Retuned System
Live Palette
Controlled chaos
The palette has a job now.
Dark and light extremes create structure, while the detuned colours bring tension.
Detune
The character
Counter
The tension
Noise
The impostor
Text candidates
Background candidates
Base Palette
Original plus nearest web-safe and shorthand color.
Wheel Offsets
Fast hue travel around the base at consistent lightness/chroma.
Perceptual Tone Ladder
OKLCH lightness steps for smoother visual spacing than raw RGB tints.
Chroma Ramp
Muted to vivid variations built from OKLCH chroma scaling.
Harmony Engine
Analogous, triadic, split complementary, tetradic, and monochrome systems.
Spectrum
Complete hue sweep at current saturation and lightness.
History
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