How to Build a CSS Color Palette Generator
Creating consistent color palettes is essential for design systems. Learn how to generate HSL-based palettes and CSS custom property scales.
Key Takeaways
- HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness) is the most intuitive color model for palette generation.
- A standard palette includes shades from 50 (lightest) to 950 (darkest), following the Tailwind CSS convention.
- Map palette values to semantic tokens: `--color-primary`, `--color-danger`, `--color-success`.
- OKLCH improves on HSL by producing perceptually uniform scales — each lightness step looks equally different to human eyes.
- After generating a palette, verify that text/background combinations meet WCAG contrast requirements.
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HSL: The Designer's Color Model
HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness) is the most intuitive color model for palette generation. By keeping hue constant and varying lightness from 5% to 95%, you create a consistent shade scale from darkest to lightest.
Generating a 10-Step Scale
A standard palette includes shades from 50 (lightest) to 950 (darkest), following the Tailwind CSS convention. Each step reduces lightness by roughly 8-10 percentage points.
Semantic Color Tokens
Map palette values to semantic tokens: --color-primary, --color-danger, --color-success. This abstraction lets you change the entire palette by updating a single hue value.
OKLCH: Better Perceptual Uniformity
OKLCH improves on HSL by producing perceptually uniform scales — each lightness step looks equally different to human eyes. HSL scales can appear uneven because human perception of lightness is nonlinear.
Accessibility Verification
After generating a palette, verify that text/background combinations meet WCAG contrast requirements. Light backgrounds need dark text (shade 900 on shade 50) and vice versa. Aim for at least 4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal text.
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