Brand colors made simple: pick faster, look sharper, sell more

Running a business is already a juggling act: clients, cash flow, deadlines...and somehow, choosing colors still ends up on your to-do list. If you’ve ever lost half a day arguing whether “slightly less blue” is a design decision, this part’s for you. Picking brand colors shouldn’t feel like a hostage negotiation between taste and time.

When I started building websites, color was the step that always slowed everything down. I’d pick one shade I liked, and then I’d spend hours guessing what to pair it with: lighter backgrounds that looked washed out, darker buttons that killed readability, accents that screamed louder than the logo. I built the color tool below to stop that cycle. It’s the designer’s logic in a box: fast, visual, and based on real principles instead of guesswork.

Here’s how it thinks:

• Base — your anchor color. The emotional core of your brand. It’s the tone that shows up in your logo, primary buttons, and key sections.
• Lighter — a tint of your base color, created by increasing lightness. It’s what you use for backgrounds, cards, or soft highlights — the places you want breathing room.
• Darker — the opposite. It reduces lightness and adds weight, perfect for headings, CTAs, or anywhere you need solid contrast and structure.
• Complementary — the showstopper. It sits directly opposite your base on the color wheel (a 180° shift). it’s what gives visual tension — a spark that draws the eye.
• Split complementary — same concept, but gentler. It uses the two colors next to your complement instead of the direct opposite, giving high contrast without clashing.
• Triadic — the most balanced option: three hues evenly spaced 120° apart. Think energy, harmony, and variety that still feels controlled.

The below tool doesn’t just look pretty; it checks readability using the W3 contrast ratio. that’s the official web standard for making sure your text is legible for everyone, not just people with new monitors or perfect eyesight. The color relationships themselves follow classic color theory, the same foundation that’s guided artists, printers, and interface designers for centuries.

So when you scroll down to the tool, you’re not just picking random shades. You’re building a palette that works mathematically, aesthetically, and commercially. It’s your shortcut to looking professional without pretending to be a color scientist.

By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to use that system to lock a palette that fits your brand’s tone: Calm, bold, friendly, premium... and actually sells.

Step 1: Choose one word

Before you open the tool, take a minute to think about how you want people to feel when they land on your site. Not what you sell... how it should feel and were potential clients can relate to.

Here’s the cheat sheet:

• Calm / trustworthy → teal, ocean blue families or similar cool tones
• Bold / energetic → coral, vermilion, or reds
• Friendly / approachable → warm oranges and soft creams
• Premium / creative → deep purples, muted jewel tones

Try to imagine your customer scrolling through your site. what mood fits your story best? Once you’ve nailed that single word, the tool can take it from there.

Style tip: in your palette, let your base color carry the emotion. use its lighter and darker versions to structure your layout: lighter for backgrounds and softer UI sections, darker for CTAs, headers, and footers. If you want a spark of personality, bring in the split-complementary tone for badges or hover states.

What is color? Most of the colors you see on screens are written in something called a hex value: short for hexadecimal. it’s a six-digit code that tells your browser exactly how much red, green, and blue to mix to make a color.

For example, #34C2D6 breaks down like this:

• 34 = red level
• C2 = green level
• D6 = blue level

Mixed together it becomes this color, #34C2D6.

Each of those pairs ranges from 00 to FF, which represents 256 possible values per channel — from 0 (no light) to 255 (full brightness). combine the three channels and you get over 16 million color possibilities.

It looks technical, but it’s just math describing color. When you adjust sliders in the color picker, the hex value updates automatically. If you find a color you like, copy that code and reuse it anywhere in your design to keep everything consistent.

Step 2: Load your base color into the tool

Scroll down to the on-page tool and pick your starting shade using the color input box labeled Base. You can also preload the tool via the page url by adding a color hex value after ?color=. for example:

?color=34c2d6

The tool then generates:

• --base → your chosen color
• --lighter → a soft tint for subtle backgrounds
• --darker → a deep tone for text or emphasis
• --complementary, --split-complementary, and --triadic → suggested partners for balanced contrast

Each box displays its contrast ratio (Fail/Pass see below) so you instantly know if a color works for text or background. Below every separate color you can copy the hex code, a unique color code to use for designing for example a website. You can copy the whole palette by clicking the text "Copy Palette". This is a link to this page with the specific base color and its derived colors.

Step 3: Check readability

Your colors only work if people can read them.

• Change the background: click the small square above the palette to switch the page background. This shows how your colors perform on light vs darker surfaces.

• Use the contrast label under each color box. You’ll see Pass or Fail based on standard contrast rules.

• Targets:

  • Aim for 4.5:1 or higher for regular body text.
  • 3:1 can be acceptable for big headlines and bold buttons.

• If it fails: pick the Darker or Lighter version of your base, try the Complementary option, or adjust the background until the label flips to Pass.

• Sanity check: glance at it on your phone. If you’re squinting, it’s not ready.

• The tool marks Fail and Pass with the 4.5:1 or higher criterium according to W3 contrast ratio guidelines.

A note on readability: contrast rules are guides, not handcuffs. The ideal ratio depends on context: font size, weight, line height, and how much text sits together. A Fail doesn’t always mean a hard no. For short, oversized buttons or a single word in a hero, a slightly lower ratio can still work. Use the labels to flag potential issues, then make a judgment based on the content and its importance.

Step 4: Lock a small, functional palette

you don’t need a rainbow. you need six colors that work hard:

1. primary (--base) — your emotional anchor
2. primary dark (--darker) — buttons, headings, emphasis
3. primary light (--lighter) — cards, panels, highlights
4. neutral light — soft page background (e.g., #f8f9fa)
5. neutral dark — text gray or near-black
6. accent (--complementary or --split-complementary) — highlight color for links, icons, and badges

Use the Copy buttons in each color card to grab their hex codes or copy the whole palette by clicking the text "Copy Palette" and share it.

Step 5: Test in real scenes

Don’t trust static swatches. Test your palette where it actually lives:

• Homepage hero — headline + CTA on your --base or --darker background
• Product or card block — clean section using your --lighter tone
• Footer — dark section with white or pale text for contrast

If each section feels distinct but still coherent, you’ve nailed it.

Super quick checklist

• ☑️ One-word brand feeling chosen
• ☑️ Base color loaded into tool
• ☑️ Lighter/darker variants selected
• ☑️ One accent chosen (complementary or split-complementary)
• ☑️ Contrast checks passed
• ☑️ Palette saved as CSS variables

Want help? We’ll do it for you

If you don’t want to tinker with colors at midnight, bring your idea to Allroundwebsite. We’ll:

• Use the same color tool you see below to find your base tone
• Verify accessibility and responsive readability
• Integrate the palette site-wide so it actually sells

You run the business. We’ll make it look intentional.

Sources
W3 Contrast Ratio • Color Theory