In the world of visual design, a cohesive color palette can shape the tone and mood of your images. But colors are more than just a stylistic choice: They impact how your brand is perceived, and a well-crafted palette can increase brand recognition by 80%.

Whether you're looking to refresh your brand’s aesthetic or create more consistent, recognizable content, getting a color palette from an existing image can make your designs more harmonious. Follow along as we guide you through generating a custom color palette from any image with Recraft to ensure cohesion across all your brand visuals.

The importance of color palettes in visual branding

It’s no secret that colors communicate your brand’s identity and even evoke strong emotions in an audience. We’ve all been swayed by branding at one point or another—which makes having a cohesive color palette integral to the success of your brand. 

Everything from the saturation to the brightness of a color can change the impact of your visuals. For instance, light blue usually invites feelings of calm and relaxation, while bright red is typically associated with energy and passion.

Whether you’re designing for a personal brand or a business, using consistent colors that work well together helps create a strong, recognizable identity. And an AI editing tool like Recraft makes it easy to extract custom palettes from existing images for total brand cohesion. 

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How to generate a color palette from an image with Recraft

Using Recraft, you can generate a color palette from any image in just a few steps — no need for expensive software or editing skills. Advanced AI tools can create a cohesive color scheme that you can apply seamlessly across your social media profiles, landing pages, and email visuals. Here’s how it works:

1. Upload your image: Start by uploading a high-resolution photo to Recraft. Make sure to use a clear, well-lit image, preferably in PNG format.
2. Extract a color palette: Recraft’s AI tool will extract a palette based on the dominant colors in the image. 
3. Generate an AI image based on the palette: Enter a prompt in the AI image generator specifying the new image you want to generate and how to apply the desired color palette.

Recraft gives you total control over the colors in your palette. For example, you can tell Recraft to generate a cityscape using yellow and blue as the primary colors, with deep blue (#1b027c) as the background and bright yellow (#f3e804) as the building accents. You can even modify the saturation, brightness, and opacity of any color to fit your brand’s color scheme.

Tips for creating effective color palettes

Learn how to get the most out of your color palettes for impactful branding:

• Play with combinations: Experiment with different shades and see how they pair with each other. Use the color wheel for guidance.
• Consider the perception: Colors can impact how others perceive your brand. Think about how you want your audience to feel when looking at your visuals. 
• Compare for cohesiveness: Check your palette against existing brand collateral. Does it fit with your brand’s color scheme?
• Refine as needed: Don’t be afraid to make adjustments. There’s no limit to how many edits you can make!

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Recraft’s AI Editor: A new way to generate color palettes

Recraft is redefining the way professionals and everyday users approach image editing, especially when it comes to creating cohesive, high-quality visuals. As the best-quality free AI image editor, Recraft seamlessly integrates advanced technology with intuitive tools for generating color palettes from images.

One of the major advancements is Recraft’s controlled AI generation, allowing users to dictate key elements of the design, such as composition, style, and colors. One of the key features is the ability to use your own HEX codes, giving you more control over color schemes. This is particularly useful for directly integrating your branded color palette into your designs, ensuring consistency across all visuals. 

Recraft isn’t just another AI tool—it’s a platform designed to simplify and enhance the editing process while providing enhanced artistic control. It offers:

• Precise color extraction: Recraft accurately extracts dominant and complementary colors from your images, ensuring your palette is true to the source.

• Style control: The improved style creation process allows for fine-grained experimentation. It is possible to select a set of images to represent the brand style, and experiment with the style candidate until it is tuned to the exact look and feel needed for the brand. 

• Brand cohesion: Easily replicate and maintain your brand’s color scheme with Recraft’s intuitive tools, including the ability to select precise shades from the color wheel.

• Advanced control: Fine-tune details like saturation, brightness, and contrast to achieve the exact look you want.

• AI-powered efficiency: Recraft uses advanced AI to simplify complex editing tasks, allowing you to create professional color palettes in seconds.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Why is using a color palette important for branding?
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There are a few advantages to having a consistent color palette for your brand. They include: 

• Evoking certain emotions or associations from an audience
• Strengthening your brand identity
• Increasing brand recall and recognition 
• Creating cohesive and professional-looking visuals

2. How does Recraft generate a color palette from an image?
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Through powerful AI technology, Recraft can analyze the colors in any image and extract a palette of dominant colors. Just make sure the image you upload is high quality and preferably in PNG format. Once Recraft generates your palette, you can apply it across all brand visuals, including your website, email marketing, social media images, and more.   

3. Can I customize the color palette generated by Recraft?
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Yes. Recraft allows you to adjust settings like saturation, brightness, and contrast to fine-tune your palette. If you’re open to unexpected combinations, experiment with Recraft’s randomly generated palettes. You’ll still have the ability to edit each color and modify different elements.

4. What are some tips for choosing the right colors for my brand?
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One way to get the right brand color is to explore different combinations using the color wheel. Since palettes are based off specific color schemes, you can play around with analogous, complementary, or monochromatic combos to find what works best for your brand. 

As you do this, keep in mind what message you want your color story to convey to your audience. Since different colors spark different emotions, you’ll want to ensure your colors fit your overall brand messaging.

5. Is Recraft free to use for generating color palettes?
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Recraft offers free AI editing tools for generating and customizing color palettes from any image. The tool offers also Basic, Advanced, and Pro plans — choose the one that best fits your needs. Recraft is also available via API. Sign up to get API key in the profile section.

6. Do I need design experience to use Recraft’s AI editing tools? 

Anyone, regardless of experience level, can use Recraft to generate and edit images. Recraft AI tools are both simple and sophisticated enough for casual users and professional designers.
Designers can access all features via the Recraft website or mobile app (available on iOS and Android), allowing them to generate high-quality images on the go.

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