Triadic Color Generator

Choose a base color to instantly generate a triadic palette — three hues evenly spaced 120° apart on the color wheel. Triadic schemes are vibrant and high-energy while remaining visually balanced.

What Is a Triadic Color Scheme?

A triadic scheme uses three colors equally spaced around the color wheel — each exactly 120° apart, forming an equilateral triangle when drawn on the wheel. Classic examples include primary red, yellow, and blue; or the secondary green, orange, and violet.

Because all three hues are maximally spread across the spectrum, triadic palettes feel lively and energetic. They're popular in children's media, sports branding, and designs that need immediate visual impact without feeling out of balance.

For the cleanest results, let one color dominate (about 60%), assign a supporting role to the second (30%), and use the third purely as an accent (10%). The 60-30-10 rule keeps vibrancy from tipping into chaos.

Generate Your Triadic Palette

Base Color

Saturation 80%

Lightness 50%

Using the 60-30-10 Rule

With three equally strong hues, triadic palettes need careful weighting to avoid visual clutter. The 60-30-10 rule is the traditional guide:

60%

Dominant — backgrounds, large surfaces, primary UI elements

30%

Secondary — secondary panels, headers, supporting components

10%

Accent — buttons, highlights, call-to-action elements

If a three-color scheme feels too busy, consider scaling back to a complementary two-color scheme. If you want a fourth color with similar balance, try the tetradic generator.