40 palettes

80s Color Palette

Press the button for one 80s palette: five or six swatches with hex codes to copy.

80s Color Palette

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Neon sign: hot pink on blackBlack background, hot pink, cyan, lemon yellow, white accent.#0B0A10 · #FF2D95 · #12E0F0 · #FFE83A · #FBFBFF

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All 40 palettes

Neon on black 10

Boom box: silver on black Black background, silver, red, lemon yellow, electric blue accent.
Dance lights: violet on midnight blue Midnight blue background, violet, lime, hot pink, orange, white accent.
Glow bracelets: lime on black Black background, lime, hot pink, orange, cyan accent.
Laser beams: red on black Black background, red, neon green, electric blue, white accent.
Leg warmers: hot pink on black Black background, hot pink, violet, neon green, white accent.
Mall at midnight: cyan on deep violet Deep violet background, cyan, violet, magenta, silver accent.
Neon sign: hot pink on black Black background, hot pink, cyan, lemon yellow, white accent.
Neon tubes: cyan on charcoal Charcoal background, cyan, magenta, neon green, lemon yellow accent.
Night drive: magenta on midnight blue Midnight blue background, magenta, electric blue, violet, white accent.
Roller rink: hot pink on midnight blue Midnight blue background, hot pink, lime, lemon yellow, cyan accent.

Show all 40 palettes (30 more)

Pastel and teal 10

Beach hotel: pale pink on turquoise Turquoise background, pale pink, sand, coral, white accent.
Diving board: white on sky blue Sky blue background, white, turquoise, coral, dark teal accent.
Patio umbrella: teal on white White background, teal, coral, butter yellow, sky blue accent.
Plastic flamingo: pink on dark teal Dark teal background, pink, mint, sand, coral accent.
Poolside: pink on teal Teal background, pink, peach, butter yellow, white accent.
Shell shop: aqua on sand Sand background, aqua, pale pink, lavender, teal accent.
Sherbet cup: mint on peach Peach background, mint, lavender, pale pink, dark teal accent.
Snack kiosk: pale pink on mint Mint background, pale pink, butter yellow, teal, coral accent.
Sun lounger: peach on aqua Aqua background, peach, white, turquoise, pink accent.
Windbreaker: lavender on dark teal Dark teal background, lavender, pink, aqua, white accent.

Sunset grid 10

Chrome city: magenta under indigo Indigo sky, magenta glow, silver towers, orange windows, black ground.
Coast road: hot pink under deep violet Deep violet sky, hot pink clouds, coral glow, lemon yellow sun, midnight blue road.
Grid horizon: magenta under deep violet Deep violet sky, magenta glow, orange horizon, lemon yellow sun, cyan grid.
Laser horizon: cyan under black Black sky, electric blue haze, cyan horizon, hot pink sun, midnight blue ground.
Night grid: electric blue under black Black sky, white stars, purple glow, magenta horizon, electric blue grid.
Palm trees: hot pink under indigo Indigo sky, violet clouds, hot pink glow, orange horizon, black palms.
Red horizon: red under deep violet Deep violet sky, red glow, orange band, lemon yellow sun, electric blue grid.
Striped sun: hot pink under midnight blue Midnight blue sky, purple haze, hot pink sun, orange stripes, black ground.
Violet dusk: peach under purple Purple sky, violet haze, pink clouds, peach horizon, deep violet ground.
Wireframe hills: magenta under black Black sky, white stars, indigo hills, magenta ridge lines, cyan grid.

Arcade 10

Bonus round: lemon yellow on deep violet Deep violet screen, lemon yellow, neon green, pink, white text.
Coin slot: orange on charcoal Charcoal screen, orange, red, silver, lemon yellow text.
Game over: red on charcoal Charcoal screen, red, magenta, cyan, silver text.
High score: lemon yellow on black Black screen, lemon yellow, cyan, magenta, silver text.
Joystick: red on charcoal Charcoal screen, red, electric blue, lime, white text.
Maze walls: electric blue on black Black screen, electric blue, lemon yellow, violet, orange, white text.
Pixel fruit: red on black Black screen, red, lime, orange, magenta, white text.
Race screen: red on midnight blue Midnight blue screen, red, silver, lime, lemon yellow text.
Space shooter: neon green on black Black screen, neon green, red, violet, silver text.
Start screen: orange on deep violet Deep violet screen, orange, cyan, lime, white text.

How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-08: palettes of five or six colors in four looks that go by the name 80s (neon on black, pastel and teal, a sunset over a grid, an arcade screen). Every palette, name, color word, hex code and line is our own; no palette is taken from a film, a show, a game, a record sleeve or a published palette, and the page states nothing about the decade beyond the names of its four groups. How a strip is ordered: in Neon on black and Pastel and teal the background comes first and the accent last; in Sunset grid the strip runs from the top of the sky down to the grid or the ground; in Arcade the screen comes first and the text color last. Our own tests, not a standard: on a neon or arcade strip the first color is dark and every other color reaches a contrast of 3 to 1 against it (the WCAG contrast ratio formula, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html, used as our own threshold); in the first, second and fourth groups the second color and the last are each 20 or more from the first in CIE Lab; no two colors of a palette are closer than 10 in CIE Lab; no two palettes share four codes. Color names are plain English words with no paint maker, pencil brand or color-matching system, and one word is one code everywhere on this list. Checked on 2026-10-08: every code is #RRGGBB, each color word fits the hue and lightness of its code, no palette, name or line repeats, and no palette is on another palette list of this site or of its sister sites. The hex codes are for a screen; with paint or pencils, take the nearest color. Licence: own work

How it works

An 80s color palette here comes in one of four looks: neon on black, pastel and teal, a sunset over a grid, or an arcade screen. First comes the background, sky or screen.

Read the full guide

Four looks, one menu

The 80s color palettes are sorted, and the menu under the button keeps to one look. Neon on black sets three or four neons on black, charcoal, midnight blue or deep violet. Pastel and teal puts pink, peach, mint and lavender beside a teal or a turquoise. Arcade puts flat brights on a dark screen, with the text color last.

Retrowave color palette, synthwave color scheme

For either, choose Sunset grid. Each strip runs from the top of the sky down. Most set a dark violet, indigo or black sky over a band of magenta or hot pink, many add an orange or yellow sun, and the last color is a cyan or blue grid or a dark ground.

Questions and answers

What colors are in an 80s color scheme?

After black and white, the colors used most on this list are lemon yellow #FFE83A, cyan #12E0F0, orange #FF7F1F and magenta #E01FB0, then red and hot pink. Calling them 80s colors is our choice.

Which 1980s color palette is a good first one?

Neon sign: a black background, hot pink, cyan and lemon yellow, with white as the accent. Lay the black down first, draw with the three neons, and keep the white for small highlights.

Are these the real colors of the 1980s?

No. Every palette is our own, made to give a look that goes by the name 80s; none is measured from a poster, a film or a product.