Find Color Codes

Random Color Generator

Generate a random color, or a random palette that actually works.

Three steps

How to use it

  1. 1

    Generate

    Press the button or hit the spacebar. Each result comes with its full code set.

  2. 2

    Constrain it

    Limit the hue range, the saturation or the lightness. Constraining lightness is usually the most useful. It is what keeps a random palette usable.

  3. 3

    Keep what you like

    Lock a color to hold it while you regenerate the rest of the palette.

About this tool

Truly uniform random RGB is a poor source of colors. Most of the RGB cube is dark and desaturated, so uniform sampling produces a lot of near-black sludge and very few colors anyone would choose. Sampling in HSL with a constrained saturation and lightness band gives far better results, which is what the filters here do.

For palettes, the generator holds lightness roughly constant across the set and varies hue. That is the same principle behind most designed palettes: consistent lightness makes colors feel like a family, and it means any of them can be swapped for another without breaking the contrast of the layout.