Why is the base in the middle of the strip?

The rule derives one hue below the base and one above, so the base naturally sits between them. It is always present, which keeps the color you must keep inside the set.

Can I make the neighbouring hues closer or further apart?

No. The analogous color scheme is fixed at 30 degrees either side. A narrower spread would collapse towards one hue and a wider one would stop being analogous; other spreads are served by the triadic and tetradic tools.

Why do the three colors look so similar?

That is the rule working as intended. Neighbouring hues at a shared lightness read as one family. Separate them by role and area, or pull one member's lightness apart with the tints and shades tools.

Is this the same as a monochromatic palette?

No. Analogous varies hue and holds lightness, while the monochromatic generator does the reverse, holding hue and stepping lightness. They are two routes to a quiet palette from different axes.

Can the three hues carry text against each other?

Rarely without help. Neighbours at equal lightness give very low contrast, so check the pair with the contrast checker and darken or lighten one side before assigning text.

Analogous Palette Generator

Color

#0097e1

#3B82F6

#886cee

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The analogous palette generator derives a three-color set from one base, using the base hue together with the two hues 30 degrees to either side. It is the quietest harmony here: neighbouring hues, one small step apart.

What is Analogous Palette Generator?

An analogous palette generator builds its set from hues that sit next to each other on the wheel: the base, minus 30 degrees, and plus 30 degrees. That yields a run of three neighboring hues in which every member is a neighbour rather than an opposite, so the effect is continuity instead of contrast. The base is placed in the middle of the strip, with the two derived hues flanking it, which makes the relationship visible at a glance. The count is fixed by the rule at three, and the analogous color scheme is the gentlest set this domain produces.

The rotation is applied in OKLCH, and hue is the only coordinate that moves: lightness and chroma are carried over from the base, so all three swatches share the base's weight and differ only by hue. Keeping the weight constant is what stops the set from reading as a gradient; the 30 degree color harmony is a small hop in hue, and the uniform lightness makes the neighbours read as one family. Because OKLCH spaces hue perceptually, the minus and plus steps look evenly placed to the eye even though they are equal rotations from the base.

The spread is fixed at 30 degrees either side. There is no control for widening or narrowing the run.
The count is fixed at three. There is no count control and no fourth hue.
No contrast check. Neighbouring hues at equal lightness are the hardest set to separate for text, so pairings must be verified elsewhere.
No ordering or sorting. The strip keeps derivation order: minus 30, base, plus 30.
No lightness or chroma controls. The base is the only input, so tonal work moves to the tints and shades tools afterwards.

Use the run where the palette should feel calm and continuous rather than pointed: a section background, a two-step hover, or a chart that steps gently through one family. Because neighbouring hues sit close together, the practical work is making them distinguishable. Adjacent swatches can read as one colour at small sizes, so assigning them to large, separate areas helps. If the set needs a point of emphasis, pair it with a complementary accent rather than adding a fourth neighbour, since the analogous color scheme is at its best when something else supplies the contrast.

Keep a note of the base hue when the set is settled, because the whole trio is derived from it and reproducing the palette later means reproducing that one choice. A subtle palette also benefits from being tested on real content rather than the swatch strip: fill an actual surface and a real heading with the three hues, and the run either holds together as intended or shows where it needs a lightness step.

The set is also fully deterministic, which matters when a palette has to be reproduced: the same base always yields the same minus 30, base and plus 30 trio, on any machine and in any session. That makes an analogous palette generator useful for design tokens, where two neighbouring hues often serve successive states such as rest and hover, since the values can be regenerated exactly rather than eyeballed from a screenshot. Where the base is a brand colour, the derived neighbours inherit its identity automatically, so a quiet interface can be built from a single decision instead of three.

How to use Analogous Palette Generator

Set the base color with the picker or by typing a hex value.
Read the three swatches: the -30° hue, the base, then the +30° hue.
Copy the hex value from any swatch you want to keep.

When to use Analogous Palette Generator vs related tools

Use the analogous generator when the palette should read as one family, such as gentle backgrounds, quiet chart steps or atmospheric gradients. The complementary generator is this set's opposite in temperament, the triadic generator spreads the same idea into a balanced triangle, and the monochromatic generator holds the hue and varies lightness instead. Check any text pair with the contrast checker, and use the palette sorters if the strip needs an order.

Privacy & Security

This tool runs entirely in your browser — no data ever leaves your device. There is no server round-trip, no upload, no logging, and no account required. Your input is processed locally using client-side JavaScript and is never stored, transmitted, or accessible to anyone else. When you close the tab, everything disappears.