Pull a color palette from a picture
Add a pin or photo and get its main colors as hex codes you can paste into Canva or any design tool.
Nothing is uploaded. The colors are read in your browser.
Why a palette matters on Pinterest
Pinterest is a wall of images, and the feed scrolls fast. Pins from one account that share the same few colors are recognized before they are read, which is how people come to follow a creator rather than a single pin. A consistent palette also keeps text readable: if the background is always one of three known colors, the text color is always a known contrast.
Using the colors in Canva or the resizer
- Canva: open any color picker, click the plus sign under Document colors, and paste a hex code. Add all of them to your Brand Kit if you have Canva Pro so they appear on every design.
- Our pin resizer: choose “Keep it all, add a border” and pick the custom color swatch, then paste the hex code, to pad a photo with a color from its own palette.
- Templates: swap the template's background and accent colors for two from your palette and leave the rest alone. Small changes keep the layout working.
The 60-30-10 rule
Use the dominant color for about 60 percent of the pin (usually the background or the photo), a second color for 30 percent (a panel or text block), and an accent for the last 10 percent (a button, a highlight, the site name). The preview strip above follows this rule with the first three colors from your picture.
Frequently asked questions
- How does the palette extractor work?
- Your picture is shrunk to a small canvas in your browser and its pixels are grouped into the five or six colors that cover the most area, using a method called median cut. The picture never leaves your computer.
- Why are the colors slightly different from what I see in the picture?
- Each swatch is the average of a group of similar pixels, so a textured area comes out as one flat color. That is usually what you want for a design palette. Pick a slightly brighter or darker version in Canva if you need more punch.
- What does 'Use white text' mean?
- It is the text color that gives the most contrast on that swatch. 'Passes contrast' means the combination meets the WCAG 4.5:1 guideline for normal text, so it stays readable at pin size on a phone.
- Can I use a brand's colors from their pins?
- Use palettes from your own photos and pins, or from stock images you have the rights to. Pulling colors from someone else's branded pin to copy their look is a fast way to blend in rather than stand out.
- How many colors should a pin use?
- Three is plenty: a background, a text color and one accent. The 60-30-10 rule below gives the proportions.