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iWantHue review

Free#16 of 34 in Color Palette Generators

A focused open-source tool for programmatic, perceptually separated color palettes.

6.6/10Editor score
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iWantHue6.6 Visit iWantHue

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

iWantHue is a browser-based color palette generator for data scientists and visualization practitioners. It creates palettes with configurable color counts and controls for hue, chroma, and lightness. Its focus is distinct, structured color sets rather than general-purpose design exploration, making it a good fit for charts, maps, dashboards, and other data-visualization work. The project is open source and available through both a web tool and a JavaScript package for browser or Node.js applications.

The standout feature is its emphasis on perceptual separation. iWantHue can use k-means or force-vector algorithms, optimize color spacing through CIE Lab, and apply colorblind-oriented distance functions. Palettes can also be refined and sorted by color properties, giving technical users more control over how the final colors are arranged. Outputs include HEX, RGB, HCL, LAB, CSS, and JavaScript, which suits workflows that move between visualization tools and application code.

This narrow focus is also the main boundary. iWantHue does not provide image extraction, saved palettes, brand libraries, or an accessibility-checking workflow. It is therefore better suited to users who want to generate palettes programmatically or tune them through perceptual color controls than to designers seeking a broader brand or reference-image system. Choose iWantHue when algorithmic generation, color-space control, and JavaScript access matter most; choose another tool when palette management, image-based inspiration, or built-in accessibility review is central.

iWantHue pros and cons

  • Where it wins
    • Configurable palette sizes with hue, chroma, and lightness controls
    • CIE Lab separation and colorblind-oriented distance functions
    • Exports to HEX, RGB, HCL, LAB, CSS, and JavaScript
  • Where it doesn't
    • No image extraction for building palettes from visual references
    • No accessibility checking workflow for palette validation
    • No saved palettes or brand-library features

iWantHue fact sheet, pricing and score →

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