Six ways to pick more than one color.
A harmony is just a fixed geometric pattern traced on the wheel — pick one color, and the pattern tells you where to find the others. Every option in the tool above is one of these six.
Complementary
Two colors directly opposite each other on the wheel (180° apart).
The highest possible contrast between two hues — good for making one element pop against another, like a call-to-action button, but can feel visually loud used across a whole composition. Often one color is used as a small accent against the other.
Analogous
Three colors sitting next to each other on the wheel, within about 30° of each other.
Naturally harmonious because the hues are close — this is how most things in nature are colored (the greens and yellows of a forest floor). Good for a calm, cohesive palette, but low-contrast, so pair with a strong lightness range if you need visual hierarchy.
Triadic
Three colors evenly spaced around the wheel, 120° apart.
Vibrant and balanced even at full saturation — the classic three-primary or three-secondary palette. Works well when you want energy without the harshness of a straight complementary pair; let one color dominate and use the other two as accents.
Split-complementary
A base color plus the two colors adjacent to its direct complement.
Almost as much contrast as a complementary pair, but softer and more forgiving to work with — a common choice for beginners for exactly that reason. Good middle ground between analogous calm and complementary punch.
Tetradic (double complementary)
Two complementary pairs — four colors forming a rectangle on the wheel.
The richest palette here, and the hardest to balance — four strong hues competing for attention. Works best when one color is dominant and the other three are used in unequal amounts, rather than treating all four as equals.
Monochromatic
One hue, varied only in saturation and lightness.
The safest possible palette — impossible to clash, since there's only one hue. Relies entirely on lightness contrast for hierarchy and depth. Common in minimalist design and anywhere the goal is to keep attention on content, not color.