Online Color Picker Guide: Screen Color Picking and Palette Tips
A color picker captures colors from your screen and converts them between HEX, RGB, and other models. It's a staple for designers, developers, and marketers.
Picking from Your Screen
The eyedropper samples any pixel on screen. Pick a color from a reference image, a competitor's site, or a brand asset and copy the exact value instantly.
Understanding Color Codes
HEX codes like #4A90D9 combine red, green, and blue values; RGB and HSL describe colors differently. Convert between them to match your design system's format.
Building a Palette
Start from one brand color and generate complementary shades. Consistent palettes make interfaces cohesive and marketing materials recognizable.
Accessibility Check
Before finalizing, check contrast between text and background. Tools that show contrast ratios help you meet accessibility standards for readability.
Working with Color Names
Beyond codes, colors have standard names and named palettes used in CSS and design tools. A color picker that shows the closest name helps you communicate with teammates who think in names rather than hex codes.
When a brand's official color is defined in a different format than your project, convert it once and store the value in your design system so everyone uses the same token.
How to Pick a Color
- Use the eyedropper to sample any pixel on your screen.
- Copy the value in the format your project needs—HEX, RGB, or HSL.
- Generate complementary shades for the full palette.
Before finalizing, check the contrast against your text color to keep the design readable and accessible.
Quick tip: lock your brand palette in a design token file. When you sample a color, store it as a named token so every page uses the same value instead of scattered hex codes. Named tokens keep the whole site in sync and make future edits trivial.