Shademix

Get Pro€4.99 lifetime

About

What's inside Shademix

Six tools, every one solving a real problem designers, decorators, photographers and brand teams hit every day. Tap any to read what it does and when to reach for it.

🎯Pick - sample any color from any image

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  • Press-and-hold drag with magnifier loupe for pixel-precise sampling
  • Live camera capture - sample colors from the world in real time
  • Dominant color extraction - top 6 colors automatically detected from any image

🔍Lookup - enter a code, get every equivalent

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  • Same-hue family browser - see all shades within one system that share the chosen tone
  • Auto-detection of code format - type freely, no syntax rules

🎨Palettes - browse every color system

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  • Mood tag search - type "ocean" or "ghibli" and matching palettes appear
  • One-tap save into your library

🎵Harmonies - generate matching colors

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  • Saved as a palette with one tap
  • Free tier covers complementary + analogous + monochromatic Pro unlocks the other 4

⚙️Tools - accessibility, lighting, gamut, gradients Pro

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  • WCAG contrast checker - full pairwise table with AA/AAA badges for normal and large text. Catch unreadable color combinations before they ship.
  • Color blindness simulator - render your palette as a person with protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia or achromatopsia would see it. ~8% of men have one of these.
  • Lighting / metamerism preview - apply Bradford chromatic adaptation across 6 illuminants (D65 daylight, D50 print, A tungsten, F2 cool fluorescent, F11 tri-band, D75 north sky). Critical for interior + product design.
  • CMYK gamut warning - flags saturated screen colors that won't survive offset print, with an in-gamut approximation suggested.
  • OKLCH gradient generator - perceptually uniform gradients with copyable CSS. No more muddy mid-tones.

📚Library - your saved palettes

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  • Free: JSON + CSS exports, up to 5 saved palettes
  • Pro: unlimited palettes, plus Adobe ASE, GIMP GPL, Tailwind config, SVG swatch sheet exports

The philosophy

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Credits & trademarks

RAL®, NCS®, HKS®, Munsell®, Sherwin-Williams®, Benjamin Moore®, Farrow & Ball®, Dulux® and Federal Standard 595 are trademarks of their respective owners. Codes are listed for cross-reference only - we are not affiliated with or endorsed by these companies. PANTONE® is a trademark of Pantone LLC; Shademix's "PE-" entries are visual approximations for design exploration only, not official Pantone matches.

Support

We answer every email. Usually within 24 hours.

✉️

Email us anytime

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Average reply time: 12 hours · Monday-Friday

Frequently asked questions

How do I sample a color from a photo?

Open the Pick tab, drop or upload your image (or tap Use camera for a live frame), then tap any pixel. Shademix samples a 5×5 pixel average for stability and shows the exact code in every supported color system. On phones, press-and-hold for the magnifier loupe.

Which color systems does Shademix cover?

Ten catalogued systems: RAL Classic, NCS, Pantone-equivalent, Munsell, HKS, Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Farrow & Ball, Dulux, and Federal Standard 595. The closest match in each system is ranked by ΔE2000 perceptual distance.

Is Shademix really free? What does Pro unlock?

The web app is free with all six tools accessible. Shademix Pro is a one-time €4.99 lifetime purchase (no subscription) that unlocks: every color system, every format (CMYK, OKLCH, OKLab), all 7 harmonies, all pro tools (lighting, gamut, gradient generator), unlimited saved palettes, and pro export formats (Adobe ASE, GIMP GPL, Tailwind config, SVG).

Does the app work offline?

Yes. On first visit the service worker caches the entire app plus all color databases. The iOS and Android apps work fully offline - the eyedropper, lookup, harmonies and tools never require an internet connection.

Are my photos uploaded to a server?

Never. Every pixel of every photo you load is processed on your device, in the browser canvas or Capacitor webview. Shademix has no backend, no analytics, and no telemetry. See the full Privacy Policy.

How do I export a palette to Adobe / Figma / Procreate?

Open the Library tab, tap a palette, then choose Export. Free tier supports JSON and CSS. Pro adds Adobe ASE (loads into Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), GIMP GPL, Tailwind config, and an SVG swatch sheet. Procreate users can import the SVG directly.

How accurate are the Pantone matches?

Our Pantone-equivalent (PE-) entries are visual approximations for design exploration only - we are not licensed by Pantone LLC. For production print work where exact Pantone is required, always cross-reference using an official Pantone color guide. Other systems (RAL, NCS, Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore etc.) use published spectral data and match to ΔE2000 perceptual distance.

How does the WCAG contrast checker work?

Open the Tools tab and pick Accessibility. Shademix builds a full pairwise contrast table for your active palette, badging every pair against WCAG 2.1 AA (4.5:1) and AAA (7:1) for normal text and the relaxed thresholds (3:1 / 4.5:1) for large text. Use this to catch unreadable color combinations before they ship.

Can I see how my palette looks for color-blind viewers?

Yes - the Color Blindness Simulator in the Tools tab uses the Brettel-Viénot-Mollon transform to render your palette as a person with protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia or achromatopsia would see it. About 8% of men and 0.5% of women have one of these forms of color vision deficiency, so this is essential for inclusive design.

How do I restore my Pro purchase on a new device?

On iOS / Android: open the FAB menu in the bottom-right and tap Restore. Apple / Google will reissue the receipt for the same Apple ID / Google account. Pro is shareable via Apple Family Sharing and Google Play Family Library at no extra charge. On the web there is no Pro subscription - the web app is free with the core tools.