What is a square color scheme?

A square (or tetradic) color scheme places four colors evenly around the color wheel at 90-degree increments. It offers rich contrast and is best balanced by letting one color dominate and using the others as accents.

How is this different from a complementary or analogous scheme?

Complementary schemes use two opposite colors (180° apart), analogous schemes use neighboring hues, and triadic schemes use three colors 120° apart. The square scheme uses four colors at 90° intervals for maximum variety.

Why does the rotation happen in HSL and not RGB?

HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness) maps directly to the perceptual color wheel. Rotating the H value by a fixed number of degrees produces harmonious results. RGB values do not have a simple angular relationship.

Can I use these colors for print design?

Yes, but for accurate print reproduction you should convert to CMYK in a dedicated color management tool. This generator works in the RGB/HEX color space intended for screens.

Will the saturation and lightness change?

No. Only the hue rotates. Saturation and lightness are held constant from your base color, keeping the four swatches visually balanced.

Square Color Scheme Generator

Name: Square Color Scheme Generator
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Enter a base hex color and instantly get a four-color square palette by rotating 90 degrees around the HSL color wheel.

Base Color

Color Wheel Rotation

Color 1 — Base (0°)
Color 2 — +90°
Color 3 — +180°
Color 4 — +270°

Enter a hex color to generate the palette

Try #3498db to get started

Copied!

Summary

Enter a base hex color and instantly get a four-color square palette by rotating 90 degrees around the HSL color wheel.

How it works

Enter any valid hex color (e.g. #3498db) in the input field.
The tool converts the hex value to the HSL color model.
Three additional hues are computed by adding 90°, 180°, and 270° to the base hue.
All four colors are converted back to hex and RGB and displayed as color swatches.
Click any "Copy HEX" or "Copy RGB" button to copy that value to your clipboard.
Use the color picker to choose a base color visually.

Use cases

Generate a four-color UI palette for web and app designs.
Create tetradic color harmonies for brand identity work.
Explore bold, high-contrast color combinations for marketing materials.
Pick complementary accent colors for data visualizations and charts.
Speed up palette creation in Figma, Sketch, or CSS stylesheets.
Learn how the square color harmony works interactively.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-06-10 · Reviewed by Nham Vu