Complementary colors are directly opposite each other on the color wheel (180° apart), such as blue and orange, or red and green. They create high contrast and visual vibrance when used together. Complementary schemes are bold and attention-grabbing, making them effective for calls-to-action and focal points in design.

Analogous colors are adjacent on the color wheel (typically within 30–60° of each other), such as blue, blue-violet, and violet. They create harmonious, serene palettes that feel cohesive. Analogous schemes are commonly used in nature-inspired designs and are comfortable for the eye because they avoid high contrast.

A triadic scheme uses three colors evenly spaced 120° apart on the color wheel, such as red, yellow, and blue (the primary colors). Triadic palettes are vibrant and balanced but more complex than complementary schemes. They work best when one color dominates and the other two serve as accents.

A monochromatic scheme uses a single hue in different tints (hue + white), shades (hue + black), and tones (hue + grey). It creates a sophisticated, unified look with subtle contrast. Monochromatic palettes are very easy to apply consistently and often result in elegant, professional designs.

Copy the HEX or HSL values of each palette color and assign them as CSS custom properties (variables): --color-primary: #3B82F6. Then use var(--color-primary) throughout your stylesheet. This makes it easy to update the entire palette by changing a few variable values. Tailwind CSS users can add custom colors to the theme in tailwind.config.js.