If you work as a web designer you probably had to use duotone images in your designs. Duotone graphics only use two colors. One of the most common uses of duotone images is for colorful backgrounds. Another common usage of duotones graphics is on homepage sliders where it’s important to create a contrast between background and text.
One recent trend that has been taken off is to use duotone photos or photos that use minimal color gradients not only for backgrounds but also as regular images throughout the site. (
How To Create Duotone Images Online
If you looking to quickly create duotone images, there is a great tool created by ShapeFactory. It’s super easy and simple to use. The only thing you need to do is upload your image and select two colors you want. Once you preview and are satisfied with your final result you can download the image in PNG format. (Note: Don’t forget to optimize it before using it on your website, PNG files tend to have large file size).
Duotone Tool by ShapeFactory
Bonus.
If you’re looking to gain more control of your duotone images there’s another great tool that gives you more options when converting your color photos into a duotone graphic. It’s part of a suite of free tools called PineTools. With this tool, you can upload your photo, pick two colors, change contrast and brightness, invert the colors and save the final image in jpg, png, or webp formats. Both of these tools are free to use.
Duotone Effect Tool by PineTools
With these two tools, you no longer have to use photoshop or waste time tweaking your photos and instead quickly upload your images and turn them into duotone works of art that can be used in your designs.
Additional Resources:
- Design trends: Duotone effects and gradient designs
- 23 examples of duotones and colour filters in web design
