How to Create a Brand Palette From a Logo (Step-by-Step)
Your Logo: The Seed of Your Brand’s Visual Identity
A strong brand is a consistent brand, and color is one of the most powerful tools for building consistency. Your logo is the perfect starting point for developing a complete brand color palette. It already contains the core colors that represent your brand.
This guide will walk you through a simple, step-by-step process to extract those colors and build a versatile palette around them.
Step 1: Extract the Primary Colors from Your Logo
First, you need to identify the exact HEX codes of the main colors used in your logo.
- Upload Your Logo: Go to our Online Color Picker tool.
- Select Your Logo File: Upload a high-quality version of your logo (a PNG or SVG is ideal).
- Pick the Main Colors: Click on each distinct color in your logo. The tool will capture the color and add it to your “Picked Colors History.” Typically, a logo will have 1 to 3 primary colors.
- Copy the HEX Codes: Note down the HEX codes for these core colors. These are your Primary Brand Colors.
For example, if your logo is blue and yellow, you might end up with:
#0A4DAA(A deep blue)#FFC107(A vibrant yellow)
Step 2: Build Out Your Palette with Tints, Tones, and Shades
A good brand palette needs more than just two colors. It needs lighter and darker variations for different UI elements like backgrounds, borders, and hover states.
- Tints (Lighter): Tints are created by adding white to a color. They are great for backgrounds or highlighted states.
- Shades (Darker): Shades are created by adding black. They are perfect for text, headlines, and dark-themed UI elements.
- Tones (Muted): Tones are created by adding gray. They can create a more subtle, sophisticated feel.
You can use an online color shade generator to easily find these variations. Input your primary HEX code, and it will give you a range of lighter and darker options.
From our blue (#0A4DAA), we might derive:
- Tint:
#E6F0FF(A very light blue for backgrounds) - Shade:
#052755(A dark navy for headlines)
Step 3: Choose Your Neutral Colors
Every palette needs a set of neutrals to handle body text, backgrounds, and containers. Don’t just default to pure black (#000000) and white (#FFFFFF).
- White: A pure white (
#FFFFFF) or a slightly off-white (#F8F9FA) works well for clean backgrounds. - Grays: Instead of neutral grays, choose grays that have a subtle hint of your primary brand color. A cool gray (with a hint of blue) will feel more cohesive with a blue primary color than a warm gray.
- Black/Dark Text: For body text, a very dark gray (like
#212529) is often easier on the eyes than pure black.
A good set of neutrals might be:
#FFFFFF(White)#F8F9FA(Light Gray Background)#6C757D(Medium Gray for secondary text/borders)#212529(Dark Gray for body text)
Step 4: Add an Accent Color (Optional but Recommended)
An accent color is a contrasting, vibrant color used sparingly to draw attention to important elements like buttons, links, or special callouts.
- If your logo already has a vibrant secondary color (like our yellow,
#FFC107), that’s your perfect accent color. - If your logo is monochromatic, you can find a complementary color (one that’s on the opposite side of the color wheel) to your primary color. For our blue logo, an orange or yellow would be a great complementary accent.
You can use our Palette Generator tool to get inspiration. Lock your primary color and hit the spacebar to see different combinations.
Your Final Brand Palette
By assembling these elements, you now have a comprehensive and versatile brand palette.
- Primary Colors (1-2): For logos, primary buttons, and major headings.
#0A4DAA(Brand Blue)
- Accent Color (1): For calls-to-action and highlights.
#FFC107(Brand Yellow)
- Neutrals (3-5): For text, backgrounds, and UI chrome.
#FFFFFF(White)#F8F9FA(Light Gray)#212529(Dark Gray)
- Tints & Shades (2+): For hover states, borders, and background variations.
#E6F0FF(Light Blue Tint)#052755(Dark Blue Shade)
This structured palette provides the consistency and flexibility needed to build a beautiful and recognizable brand identity across all your platforms.