How to Create a Color Palette from an Image in Illustrator

The short answer

Illustrator has no single button that turns a photo into a finished logo palette, but three built-in routes get you there. You can sample colors one at a time with the Eyedropper tool. You can let Image Trace reduce the image to a limited number of colors and then save those colors as a swatch group. In recent versions, you can also pick colors from the image inside the Recolor Artwork dialog. In each case, the result is a set of swatches: named, reusable color definitions stored in the Swatches panel. For logo work, treat the extracted swatches as a draft. Reduce them to the few colors the mark needs, convert them to global swatches, and set the correct color values for each delivery format.

A global swatch is a swatch linked to every object that uses it. If you edit the swatch, every object that uses it updates. This is the behavior you want for a logo palette, because a later color correction then changes the whole logo consistently.

Before you start: what an extracted palette can and cannot tell you

Colors sampled from an image only reflect the pixel values in that file. Lighting, screen display, JPEG compression and resizing all shift those values, and compressed images often contain many near-duplicate shades along edges. An extracted color is a starting point, not a confirmed brand specification. If the artwork belongs to an existing brand, the official values in its brand guidelines take priority over anything you sample. Extracting colors from someone else's logo also does not give you permission to reuse that logo or its identity.

Set the document color mode before you sample, using File > Document Color Mode. Choose RGB if the logo is primarily for screens and CMYK if it is primarily for print. Swatches are created in the document's color space, and converting later can shift colors.

Method 1: Sample colors with the Eyedropper

Use this method when you only need a handful of specific colors and want precise control over which pixels you sample.

Place the image with File > Place and lock its layer so it cannot be moved by accident.
Draw a small shape, such as a rectangle, on a separate unlocked layer.
With the shape selected, choose the Eyedropper tool (shortcut I) and click the area of the image you want. The shape's fill takes on the sampled color.
In the Swatches panel, click the New Swatch button. Name the swatch, check Global, and click OK.
Repeat for each color. Sample from a flat area of the image rather than from an edge or a gradient, where pixels blend together.

Method 2: Reduce the image with Image Trace

Use this method when you want Illustrator to find the dominant colors for you. Image Trace converts a raster image into vector shapes. Raster images are made of pixels, while vector shapes are defined by paths. In Color mode, Image Trace can limit how many colors it outputs.

Select the placed image and open Window > Image Trace.
Set Mode to Color and Palette to Limited, then lower the Colors setting until the trace keeps only the colors that matter.
Click Trace. Then click Expand in the Control or Properties panel to turn the result into editable vector shapes.
With the expanded artwork selected, click the New Color Group button in the Swatches panel. Choose Selected Artwork and enable the option to convert swatches to global.
Delete the traced artwork if you only wanted the colors. The swatch group stays in the Swatches panel.

Image Trace averages colors, so the swatches it creates may not exactly match any single pixel in the original. Use it to identify the palette's structure, and fine-tune individual values afterward.

Method 3: Pick colors in Recolor Artwork

Use this method when you already have vector logo artwork and want to apply colors from a reference image to it. Select the logo and open Edit > Edit Colors > Recolor Artwork. Recent versions include a color picking option in this dialog that samples colors from an image or other visible artwork and applies them to the selection. Older versions do not have this option, and the exact controls vary by release. If you do not see it, use Method 1 or 2 to build the swatches first. Then assign them in Recolor Artwork through its Advanced Options. Once you have applied the colors, save them as a color group from the dialog so the palette is stored in the Swatches panel.

Turning the extracted colors into a logo palette

Merge near-duplicates. If two swatches are visually indistinguishable at logo size, keep one.
Keep only the colors the mark needs. A logo palette is usually much smaller than an image palette. The right number of colors is a design decision, not a technical rule.
Name each swatch descriptively, for example by role or by its documented brand name, instead of leaving default value-based names.
If the logo will be printed with spot inks, replace sampled colors with the matching spot swatches from Illustrator's swatch libraries. Confirm those matches against a physical or official reference, not just on screen.
Record the final values for each format you deliver, such as RGB or HEX for screen and CMYK or spot for print. Sampled values are approximations until you check them this way.

How to verify the result

Edit one global swatch and confirm that every object using it updates. If an object does not change, it is filled with an unlinked color instead of the swatch.
Select an object and use Select > Same > Fill Color to find stray shades that should be replaced by a palette swatch.
Open the Swatches panel menu and choose Select All Unused, then delete those swatches to keep the file clean.
For print files, use Window > Separations Preview to check that only the intended process or spot plates appear.
Compare the final logo against the source image and, if available, the brand guidelines at actual delivery sizes, not only zoomed in.

Gaps to be aware of

This guide does not include official brand color values, specific spot ink references or version-by-version menu details. Menu names and dialog options in Illustrator can differ between releases. If a command described here is missing, check the help documentation for your installed version. Any color values that a client or printer will rely on should be confirmed from an authoritative source rather than taken from an image sample.