Color Palettes

A color palette is a curated set of colors that work together to create a cohesive look across a design. Most palettes contain 3–6 colors, each with a defined purpose, like a primary, secondary, accent, and neutral. Designers use palettes to keep visual identity consistent across websites, apps, branding, and other assets.

Start with the mood or message you want your design to communicate. Warm palettes can feel energetic or inviting. Cool palettes often read as calm or professional. From there, look for combinations that include enough contrast to keep text readable and important elements visible. Browsing premade palettes — or experimenting with a Color Wheel — can also be a great way to find a starting point than building one from scratch.

Most color palettes contain between 3 and 6 colors, though some designs work with as few as 2 or as many as 10. A common structure includes one or two dominant colors, an accent color, and one or two neutrals. The right number depends on the complexity of your project and how much visual variety you need.

Color palettes are usually grouped by the color theory they're built on. Common types include monochromatic (different shades of one color), analogous (colors next to each other on the color wheel), complementary (colors opposite each other), and triadic (three evenly spaced colors). Browse the palette categories above to explore each style.

Once you find a palette you like, copy any hex code with one click and paste it directly into your Figma file. You can also save palette colors as styles or variables in Figma Design to reuse them across components, files, and projects.

Yes, every color palette in this library is free to browse and use in your projects — personal or commercial. Copy the hex codes you need or open them directly in Figma to start designing.

The terms are often used interchangeably, but there's a subtle distinction. A color scheme typically refers to the relationship between colors based on color theory (like complementary or analogous). A color palette is the actual set of specific colors you choose to use in a design, often built on top of a color scheme.

You can build a custom palette by choosing a base color and using color theory to find combinations that work — say, complementary or analogous pairings. Tools the Color Palette Generator from Figma can speed this up by automatically suggesting harmonious colors. From there, refine by adjusting hue, saturation, and brightness until the palette feels balanced.