tool · beta · on-device
Map photo luminance to a two-color gradient. Eight presets — Spotify, sunset, sea & sky, mono, moss, punk, riso, editorial — or pick your own shadow and highlight. Tune contrast. Nothing uploads. For brand systems, grab a proper app.
Mixing the inks…
Mixing the inks…
where two colors earn their keep
for spotify-vibe
The Spotify playlist cover aesthetic is a duotone — usually a deep blue mapped to a hot pink. Pick the Spotify preset, drop a portrait, hit download. Drop straight into a playlist or a band's social. Recognizable on sight.
for posters
Show flyers don't need photo realism — they need contrast and identity. Punk preset (ink shadow, terracotta highlight) on a portrait gives you a flyer-ready hero. Print on cream stock, type the band name in big serif over the top.
for editorial
Editorial portraits often go duotone for a 'considered' feel — navy/cream or moss/butter. The original photo's tonal information stays; the colors get unified into the magazine's palette. Pair with a serif headline.
for branding
Team headshots from 14 different rooms with 14 different lights look like a unified team after duotone. Apply your brand's two colors as shadow/highlight; suddenly every face is part of the same visual system.
for moodboard
Mood-board pins with consistent duotone treatment get repinned more — they read as 'a curated set' instead of 'random photos'. Run all your reference shots through the same preset; suddenly your board feels like a designer's, not a hobbyist's.
for art
Risograph machines print one color at a time on absorbent paper, producing a textural two-color look. Riso preset (terracotta on cream) approximates that with fewer steps. Pair with the Halftone tool for the full risograph illusion.
in case you're wondering
No. The duotone mapping runs pixel-by-pixel in your browser. Your photo never touches our servers — we don't run an image pipeline at all.
B&W maps every pixel to a grey based on luminance. Duotone maps every pixel to a *colored* value based on luminance, where the darkest pixels become your shadow color and the lightest become your highlight color. Same tonal structure as B&W, but with chromatic identity.
It bends the gamma curve of the luminance-to-color mapping. Lower contrast pulls midtones toward the shadow color (image looks darker, more shadow-heavy). Higher contrast pulls midtones toward the highlight color (image looks brighter, more highlight-heavy). Use lower for 'moody', higher for 'punchy'.
Yes — the color pickers accept any hex code. For best duotone results, pick a dark-ish shadow color (under #555 luminance) and a light-ish highlight color (above #BBB luminance). Mid-tone shadow and mid-tone highlight will produce a flat, posterized result.
Faces have specific tonal expectations — skin should sit between shadow and highlight. If your highlight is super-saturated (hot pink, lime), faces can look alien. Try the Editorial or Mono presets first to see clean output, then nudge from there.
Same dimensions as your source photo. JPG at 92% quality. For social-ready sizes, run through Crop & Resize afterward.
now what?
next →
Layer halftone dots over the duotone for a riso-comic feel.
Opennext →
Dust the flat tones with Tri-X grain for analog texture.
Opennext →
Caption it in a colour from the duotone palette.
Opennext →
Use the duotone as the hero of a Pinterest pin.
Opennext →
Crop wide for a LinkedIn or X header.
Opennext →
Float the duotone over paper for a poster mockup.
OpenCut the background out of any photo in one click.
OpenDrop your subject onto paper, gradient, or your own backdrop photo.
OpenDrop a word behind your subject, magazine-cover style.
OpenNine presets, one photo — vintage to cinematic.
OpenTri-X, Kodak Gold, Lomo — pick a roll, see the grain.
OpenComic dots, risograph red, punk-zine textures.
OpenPhoto to graphite drawing in two clicks.
OpenMake real cities look like tabletop dioramas.
OpenSunset, lomo red, golden hour — bleed light into corners.
OpenVHS bands, anaglyph 3D, CRT scanlines, chromatic aberration.
OpenConvert any photo to typed characters.
OpenPure invert, cyanotype, blueprint, X-ray, darkroom, sepia negative.
OpenPhoto as tiles with grout-color gaps.
OpenBrightness, contrast, saturation, hue, blur — seven sliders.
OpenAny photo, wrapped in paper with a handwritten caption.
OpenFour photos, B&W mode, handwritten caption.
OpenTwo photos, side-by-side or stacked.
OpenPaper mat for prints, journals, framed walls.
OpenCircle, heart, star, arch — pick a cookie cutter.
OpenGreetings caption, faux stamp, postmark, paper texture.
OpenFloat a photo over paper for portfolios and mockups.
OpenDrop a photo, type a title, pick a layout. 1000×1500 native.
OpenX, LinkedIn, or YouTube cover with title overlay.
OpenHandwritten captions, magazine headers, or a quick scribble.
OpenStick paper-mood tape onto any photo.
OpenLED red, Kodak yellow, camcorder amber.
OpenCorner sign-off or full diagonal tile.
OpenHearts, stars, flowers, smileys, paper tags, HELLO labels.
OpenSquare for IG, 9:16 for stories, 2:3 for Pinterest.
OpenMirror a selfie, un-tilt a scan, turn a sideways shot upright.
OpeniPhone photos that open on everything.
OpenHide faces, plates, addresses — drag a patch over the spot.
OpenRemove GPS, camera info, timestamps before posting.
OpenSmaller JPG, WebP, or PNG — same look, less file.
OpenPull 5 hex codes out of any photo.
OpenPrint-ready QR for menus, invites, journals, vCards.
OpenEyedropper a color in your photo, swap it for another.
OpenFor a brand system →
One duotone photo is a piece. When you want a brand kit — duotone applied across 50 photos with consistent type, layout, and spacing — a real design app handles it cleanly.