Red Orange
Orange Yellow
Violet

No. 164

3-color combination

Use ← and → to browse

Colors

Red Orange

HEX
RGB
CMYK

Violet

HEX
RGB
CMYK

Combination No. 164 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.

ExploreLearn more

Combination No. 164 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 contrastViolet · 4.8:1

Harmony in contrastOrange Yellow · 4.8:1

Analysis

Character

Medium & vivid

Lightness 61 (range 42–81)
Colorfulness 0.159

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

Harmony

Color wheel with the combination’s hues; distance from the center shows colorfulnessRed OrangeOrange YellowViolet

Complementary

Includes hues from opposite sides of the color wheel.

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

  • Red OrangeWarm
  • Orange YellowWarm
  • VioletCool

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

Distinctness

ΔE 38

Closest pair ΔE 37.8 · average ΔE 50.1

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

Contrast

AaBest text pair: Orange Yellow on Violet (4.8:1)

ContrastWCAGAPCA Lc
AaAaRed Orange · Orange Yellow2.4:1Low33 / 36
AaAaRed Orange · Violet2.0:1Low19 / 19
AaAaOrange Yellow · Violet4.8:1AA56 / 54

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. 164 */
:root {
  --red-orange: #dd4027; /* Red Orange */
  --orange-yellow: #fcb315; /* Orange Yellow */
  --violet: #4f4086; /* Violet */
}

More combinations with Red Orange

More combinations with Orange Yellow

More combinations with Violet