Brown
Citron Yellow
Dull Violet Black

No. 145

3-color combination

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Colors

Brown

HEX
RGB
CMYK

Combination No. 145 in use

The palette applied to simple layouts. Colors are assigned to roles automatically; try other arrangements.

Color study

A dictionary of color

Background, surface, text and accent, taken from one of Wada’s combinations.

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Combination No. 145 as a living room

Painted following the 60-30-10 rule: about 60% wall color, 30% for the sofa, 10% for cushions, throw and vase. A fourth color goes to the rug and curtains; otherwise they stay undyed. Floor and ceiling stay neutral; the print shows the whole palette.

Readable text pairs

Harmony in contrastCitron Yellow · 3.7:1

Harmony in contrastDull Violet Black · 8.2:1

Harmony in contrastBrown · 3.7:1

Harmony in contrastCitron Yellow · 8.2:1

Analysis

Character

Dark & moderate

Lightness 47 (range 22–75)
Colorfulness 0.106

Average OKLCH lightness (0–100) and chroma (colorfulness).

Harmony

Color wheel with the combination’s hues; distance from the center shows colorfulnessBrownCitron YellowDull Violet Black

Free

No classic color-wheel relationship.

A heuristic based on the painter’s color wheel. Wada’s combinations often ignore textbook rules, which is part of their appeal.

Temperature

Warm & cool

  • BrownWarm
  • Citron YellowWarm
  • Dull Violet BlackCool

Reds, oranges and yellows count as warm; greens, blues and violets as cool.

Distinctness

ΔE 37

Closest pair ΔE 37.4 · average ΔE 55.3

CIEDE2000 color difference. Below about 10 colors look related; above 30 they are clearly distinct.

Contrast

AaBest text pair: Dull Violet Black on Citron Yellow (8.2:1)

ContrastWCAGAPCA Lc
AaAaBrown · Citron Yellow3.7:1AA large43 / 44
AaAaBrown · Dull Violet Black2.2:1Low14 / 15
AaAaCitron Yellow · Dull Violet Black8.2:1AAA59 / 60

WCAG 2 contrast ratio for text, and APCA lightness contrast (Lc) for each text/background direction.

Similar combinations

The closest palettes in perceptual color space (OKLab).

Export

Copy the palette as code or download it as an image.

/* Sanzo Wada, combination No. 145 */
:root {
  --brown: #7c4226; /* Brown */
  --citron-yellow: #b2b73e; /* Citron Yellow */
  --dull-violet-black: #1e0e3f; /* Dull Violet Black */
}

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