Generate

Generate creates a new palette of three to ten colors. Choose a harmony such as complementary, analogous, triadic, or monochromatic, then select Generate until you find a combination you like. Lock the colors you want to keep; the next draw changes only unlocked slots.

Use + to add a color slot, the trash button to remove one, and the pencil button to edit a specific color. A slot’s context menu also lets you replace its color from the catalog or sample a new one.

Controls by platform

Mac

• Press Space or click Generate to redraw unlocked colors. Right-click a swatch to replace it from the catalog or sample a color. Preview appears beside the generator. Undo and Redo are in the Edit menu.

iPhone and iPad

• Tap Generate to redraw unlocked colors. Touch and hold a swatch for its context menu. On iPhone in portrait, open Preview from the toolbar; in landscape it appears beside the strip. On iPad, the layout adapts to the available window space.

Adjust updates the whole palette live:

• Hue rotates colors around the color wheel.
• Brightness shifts lightness.
• Vibrancy lifts muted colors and adds warmth.
• Saturation changes how vivid the colors are.
• Contrast spreads or narrows differences in lightness.

Use Reset to return all adjustment sliders to neutral.

Keep enough contrast asks generation and Fix to reach a 4.5:1 ratio between the darkest and lightest colors. Changing this switch does not change the current palette by itself. Locked colors can prevent the target from being reached.

The contrast status reports palette quality even when that switch is off. It also shows the lowest WCAG ratio among distinct color pairs, which can be below 4.5:1 even when the darkest-to-lightest target passes. With two colors or fewer, the generator skips its contrast quality check.

Preview compares your palette across web, mobile, poster, and illustration designs. When you are happy with the result, Save stores the palette and Export creates a file you can use in another app.

Editing a saved palette works differently: its existing colors are protected, and generation, harmony selection, and lock changes are disabled. You can still adjust, replace, add, or remove colors. Save offers Overwrite or Save as New; Cancel Editing restores your previous generator draft.