RampenSau is a color palette generation function that utilizes hue cycling and easing functions to generate color ramps. It can generate a sequence of hues, or use a list of hues to generate a color ramp.

Perfect for generating color palettes for data visualizations, visual design, generative art, or just for fun.

• Official Docs & Demo Interactive Documentation with example function calls
• Two Random Color Ramps Simple set of ramps with random easing
• Color Ratios Simple generative rectangles
• Mini HDR Posters Generative posters using lCH (p3+ gamut)
• 1000 Generative Samples Simple example generating a 1000 palettes using similar settings in with lch
• Farbvelo Color Generator. Project this code is based on

Rampensau is bundled as both UMD and ES on npm. Install it using your package manager of choice:

npm install rampensau

You can then import RampenSau into your project:

// ES style: import individual methods
import { generateRandomColorRamp } from "rampensau";

// Depending on your setup, you might need to import the MJS version directly
import { generateRandomColorRamp } from "rampensau/dist/index.mjs";

// CJS style
let generateRandomColorRamp = require("rampensau");

Or include it directly in your HTML:

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/rampensau/dist/index.js"></script>
<!-- or -->
<script type="module">
  import { generateColorRamp } from "https://esm.sh/rampensau/";
</script>

import { generateColorRamp } from 'rampensau';

function generateColorRamp  ({
  // hue generation options
  total   : 9,                           // number of colors in the ramp
  hStart  : Math.random() * 360,         // hue at the start of the ramp
  hCycles : 1,                           // number of full hue cycles 
                                         // (.5 = 180°, 1 = 360°, 2 = 720°, etc.)
  hStartCenter : 0.5,                    // where in the ramp the hue should be centered
  hEasing : (x, fr) => x,                // hue easing function x is a value between 0 and 1 
                                         // fr is the size of each fraction of the ramp: (1 / total)

  // if you want to use a specific list of hues, you can pass an array of hues to the hueList option
  // all other hue options will be ignored

  // hueList : […],                      // list of hues to use

  // saturation
  sRange  : [0.4, 0.35],                 // saturation range
  sEasing : (x, fr) => Math.pow(x, 2),   // saturation easing function

  // lightness
  lRange  : [Math.random() * 0.1, 0.9],  // lightness range
  lEasing : (x, fr) => Math.pow(x, 1.5), // lightness easing function
});

generateColorRamp is the core function of RampenSau*, it returns an array of colors in HSL format ([0…360, 0…1, 0…1]). To get a better understanding of the options, it might be helpful to familiarize yourself with the HSL color model or to play with the interactive Demo / Documentation.

The function returns an array of colors in HXX format ([0…360,0…1,0…1]). (HXX because you can use HSL, HSV, LCH, OKLCH et...) The first value is the hue, the second the saturation and the third the lightness. The hue is a value between 0 and 360, the saturation and lightness are values between 0 and 1. Typically you would convert the values to a polar color model like HSL, lCH or okLCh before using them. hsl(${color[0]} ${color[1] * 100}% ${color[2]*100}%) / oklch(${color[2]*100}% ${color[1]*100}% color[0]) is a good choice for CSS. (See colorToCSS helper function).

Every single option has a default value, so you can just call the function without any arguments. It will generate a color ramp with 9 colors, starting at a random hue, with a single hue cycle.

While the function always generates some sort of color ramp, there are two main ways to generate hues independently of saturation and lightness: Let the function generate a sequence of hues, or pass a list of hues to use.

If you want to generate a sequence of hues, you can use the following options:

• total int 3…∞ → Amount of colors the function will generate.
• hStart float 0…360 → Starting point of the hue ramp. 0 Red, 180 Teal etc..
• hStartCenter: float 0…1 → Center the hue in the color ramp. 0 = start, 0.5 = middle, 1 = end.
• hCycles float -∞…0…+∞ → Number of hue cycles. (.5 = 180°, 1 = 360°, 2 = 720°, etc.)
• hEasing function(x) → Hue easing function

The hStart sets the starting point of the hue ramp. The hStartCenter sets where in the hue in the ramp the should be centered. If your ramp starts with a high or low lightness, you might want to center the hue in the middle of the ramp. Thats is way the default value for hStartCenter is 0.5. (In the center of a given ramp).

The hStartCenter option tells the function where the start hue should be in your ramp. A value of 0 will generate a ramp that starts with the hue at the beginning of the ramp. A value of 0.5 will generate a ramp that starts with the hue in the middle of the ramp. A value of 1 will generate a ramp that starts with the hue at the end of the ramp.

The hCycles option sets the number of hue cycles. A value of 1 will generate a ramp with a single hue cycle. A value of 0.5 will generate a ramp with 180° hue cycle (starting from hStart to its complementary hue). A value of 2 will rotate around the color wheel twice. A value of -1 will generate a ramp with a reversed hue cycle. A value of -0.5 will generate a ramp with a reversed 180° hue cycle. A value of -2 will generate a ramp with a reversed 720° hue cycle.

The hEasing option sets the easing function for the hue. The function takes an input value x and returns a value between 0 and 1. The default value is (x) => x which will generate a linear ramp.

If you want to use a specific list of hues, you can pass an array of hues to the hueList option. All other hue options will be ignored. For example, if you want to generate a ramp with 3 colors, but you want to use random unique hues, you can do this:

• hueList array [0…360] → List of hues to use. All other hue options will be ignored.

Example:

import {
  generateColorRamp,
  uniqueRandomHues,
} from "rampensau";

generateColorRamp({
  hueList: uniqueRandomHues({
    startHue: Math.random() * 360, 
    total: 5, 
    minDistance: 90,
  })
})

The uniqueRandomHues function will generate a list of unique hues with a minimum distance of 90° between each hue. This list is then passed to the hueList option of generateColorRamp. uniqueRandomHues is also exported by RampenSau, so you can use it directly.

• sRange array [0…1,0…1] → Saturation Range
• lRange array [0…1,0…1] → Lightness Range

Each of the color dimensions can be eased using a custom function. The takes an input value x and returns a value between 0 and 1.:

• hEasing function(x) → Hue easing function
• sEasing function(x) → Saturation easing function
• lEasing function(x) → Saturation easing function

Function returns an array of unique random hues. Mostly useful for generating a list of hues to use with hueList. Alternatively you can use (x) => Math.random() as the hEasing function in generateColorRamp but this will not guarantee unique hues.

• startHue float 0…360 → Starting point of the hue ramp. 0 Red, 180 Teal etc..
• total int 3…∞ → Amount of base colors.
• minHueDiffAngle float 0…360 → Minimum angle between hues.
• rndFn function() → Random function. Defaults to Math.random.

Function returns an array of colors in HSL format ([0…360,0…1,0…1]).

• colorHarmony string → Color harmony to use. One of complementary, analogous, triadic, tetradic, splitComplementary, square, rectangle, monochromatic.
• hStart float 0…360 → Starting point of the hue ramp. 0 Red, 180 Teal etc..

Example:

import {
  generateColorRamp,
  colorHarmonies,
} from "rampensau";

generateColorRamp({
  hueList: colorHarmonies.splitComplementary({
    hStart: Math.random() * 360,
  }),
  sRange: [0.4, 0.35],
  lRange: [Math.random() * 0.1, 0.9],
});

In order to use the colors generated by RampenSau in CSS or Canvas, you need to convert them to a CSS color format. This helper function does just that. It returns a CSS string from a color in color format generated from generateColorRamp ([0…360,0…1,0…1]) and scales the chroma value to the adequate range for the given color model.

• color array [0…360,0…1,0…1] → Color in color format generated from generateColorRamp ([0…360,0…1,0…1]).
• mode string → Color mode to use. One of hsl, lch or oklch. Defaults to oklch. (Note that hsl is clamped to the sRGB gamut, while lch and oklch will make use of the full gamut supported by the target monitor / device.)

Example:

import {
  generateColorRamp,
  colorToCSS,
} from "rampensau";

console.log( 
  generateColorRamp().map(color => colorToCSS(color, 'oklch')) 
); // ['oklch(0.0557 0.4 348.3975)', 'oklch(0.1459 0.3872 314.7438)', …]

If you are already using a color library like culori you can use its formatCSS function instead. Just don't forget to scale the chroma value to the adequate range.

culori.formatCss({ mode: 'oklch', {
  l: color[2],
  c: color[1] * 0.4,
  h: color[0],
})

culori.formatCss({ mode: 'lch', {
  l: color[2] * 100,
  c: color[1] * 150,
  h: color[0],
});

Rampensau is distributed under the MIT License.