Lemon Yellow
Vanderpoel's Blue
Vernonia Purple

No. 168

3-color combination

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Colors

Combination No. 168 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. 168 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 contrastVanderpoel's Blue · 7.3:1

Harmony in contrastVernonia Purple · 5.2:1

Harmony in contrastLemon Yellow · 7.3:1

Harmony in contrastLemon Yellow · 5.2:1

Analysis

Character

Medium & moderate

Lightness 61 (range 40–93)
Colorfulness 0.117

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

Harmony

Color wheel with the combination’s hues; distance from the center shows colorfulnessLemon YellowVanderpoel's BlueVernonia Purple

Triadic

Three hues evenly spaced around the 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

  • Lemon YellowWarm
  • Vanderpoel's BlueCool
  • Vernonia PurpleWarm

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

Distinctness

ΔE 38

Closest pair ΔE 38.1 · average ΔE 58.9

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

Contrast

AaBest text pair: Lemon Yellow on Vanderpoel's Blue (7.3:1)

ContrastWCAGAPCA Lc
AaAaLemon Yellow · Vanderpoel's Blue7.3:1AAA80 / 77
AaAaLemon Yellow · Vernonia Purple5.2:1AA72 / 68
AaAaVanderpoel's Blue · Vernonia Purple1.4:1Low0 / 7

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. 168 */
:root {
  --lemon-yellow: #f8ed43; /* Lemon Yellow */
  --vanderpoels-blue: #064f6e; /* Vanderpoel's Blue */
  --vernonia-purple: #8c4c62; /* Vernonia Purple */
}

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