Click the wheel or press Space Tap the wheel to spin
Random Color Picker
Hand the color choice to the wheel. Useful when every option would work and picking one is the only thing left.
When any color would work
Designers do not usually get stuck because they cannot think of a color. They get stuck because six of them would work and there is no principled reason to prefer one - which is a choice a spin makes faster than deliberation does.
It is also a way out of a rut. Everyone has a palette they reach for by habit, and a random pick is one of the few reliable ways to end up somewhere you would not have gone.
Building a palette wheel
The default list is the basic color names. What makes the tool genuinely useful is loading your own - a brand palette, a set of hex codes, or the twelve paint tins actually in the cupboard.
Wheels worth building
- Your brand palette. The six approved colors, so a random pick is still on-brand. Rules out the wrong answers before spinning rather than after.
- Hex codes. Entries are just text, so #FF3D7F works as a slice exactly like 'Pink' does - and it is the version you can paste straight into a design tool.
- What you actually own. The yarn, paint or card stock in the drawer. Constrained to reality, which is the version that gets used.
- Team or house colors. For assigning groups, classroom teams, or who gets which token.
Teaching and games
In a classroom a color wheel assigns groups without anyone claiming they were put with the wrong people. Spin per child and the room sorts itself into red, blue, green and yellow in under a minute.
It also works as a drawing prompt. Spin a color, spin again for a subject, and the constraint does more for a stuck artist than an open brief does. Restriction is usually more generative than freedom.
Where a random color goes wrong
Accessibility. A randomly chosen pair of colors has no reason to meet contrast requirements, and text on an unchecked background is the most common way a design fails people with low vision.
Use the wheel to pick a direction, then check the result against a contrast ratio before shipping it. WCAG asks for 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text - a spin has no opinion on either.
What is on the Random Color Wheel
- Red
- Orange
- Yellow
- Green
- Blue
- Purple
- Pink
- Brown
- Black
- White
- Teal
- Gray
Questions
Random Color Wheel FAQ
Can I use hex codes instead of color names?
Yes. An entry is just text, so #FF3D7F sits on the wheel exactly like 'Pink' - and it is the version you can paste straight into a design tool afterwards.
Can I load my own brand palette?
Yes, and it is the most useful way to run this wheel. Paste your approved colors and every spin is on-brand by construction.
Can I pick several colors without repeats?
Yes. Turn on Remove mode and each color comes off after it is drawn, which is how you build a palette of three or four in successive spins.
Will a random color pair be accessible?
Not reliably. Random colors have no reason to meet contrast requirements, so check any text pairing against WCAG's 4.5:1 for body text before using it. The wheel picks a direction, not a verdict.
Does the wheel show the actual colors?
The wheel's own slice colors come from the theme you have selected rather than from the entry names. Use the Themes tab to change how the wheel itself looks.
More wheels