Photoshop Auto Color Palette Script

Working on a TV or streaming brand system means constantly swapping color themes across campaigns, IPs, and titles — and doing that manually in a deep Photoshop file is exactly the kind of work that kills momentum. This script eliminates that friction entirely. Drop in a single hex value, run the script, and it builds out the full color palette and assigns every variation to the correct layer automatically.

How it works

The script takes one input: a base hex color — typically the primary color pulled from the IP, campaign, or brand. From there it calculates complementary and supporting colors, generates a nine-variation grid covering light, mid, and dark tones across multiple hues, and maps each variation to its corresponding named layer in the Photoshop file. The layer naming convention does the heavy lifting — as long as layers follow the system (light, dark, mid, etc.), the script knows exactly where each color value belongs.

The workflow is designed to fit into an existing pipeline. You can run it via Scripts > Browse or drop it into Photoshop’s scripts folder for instant access from the menu. Two inputs, one click, done.

The build

The core logic handles two things: color math (deriving complementary and tonal variations from the base hex) and layer mapping (traversing the Photoshop document and updating the correct fill values by name). The script validates the hex input before doing anything, which prevents silent failures on malformed values — a small thing that matters a lot when you’re handing this off to a team.

The gradient template itself is structured as a system — named layers act as slots, and the script treats them as a predictable API. That separation between template structure and color logic means the script works across multiple project files as long as the naming convention holds.

Why it matters

This kind of tooling is where design systems get real leverage. A brand system for a TV network or streaming platform might cover dozens of titles per year — each with its own palette, each needing gradient assets across multiple formats. Doing that by hand is hours of work and introduces inconsistency. A script like this turns a color decision into a one-second update.

The same pattern applies well beyond gradients: title card generation, thumbnail template automation, seasonal rebrand rollouts — any workflow where a single color token needs to propagate across a structured layered file is a candidate for this approach. The script is the proof of concept; the real value is the system thinking behind it.