Embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems, methods, and computer storage media for implementing a nuanced-color search and recommendation system. Employing various techniques described herein, an improved search engine for categorizable items is provided to generate accurate color-based search results and recommendations that are relevant to a nuanced color provided as a search parameter. In various implementations, digital assets that depict categorizable items can be analyzed to characterize the depicted items with, among other things, a particular shade of a determined dominant color. In this way, categorizable items can be searched based at least in part on a selected shade of a particular dominant color to generate a primary search result. In further embodiments, other categorizable items can be generated as recommendations based on characteristics of the primary search result. That is, other items not necessarily subject of the search, can be provided as recommended items if predefined rules dictate that such items may complement the categorizable items included in the primary search result.