Lemon Yellow
Madder Brown
Turquoise Green

No. 173

3-color combination

Use ← and → to browse

Colors

Madder Brown

HEX
RGB
CMYK

Combination No. 173 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. 173 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 contrastMadder Brown · 8.0:1

Harmony in contrastLemon Yellow · 8.0:1

Harmony in contrastTurquoise Green · 6.7:1

Harmony in contrastMadder Brown · 6.7:1

Analysis

Character

Light & moderate

Lightness 73 (range 40–93)
Colorfulness 0.112

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

Harmony

Color wheel with the combination’s hues; distance from the center shows colorfulnessLemon YellowMadder BrownTurquoise Green

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

  • Lemon YellowWarm
  • Madder BrownWarm
  • Turquoise GreenCool

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

Distinctness

ΔE 29

Closest pair ΔE 28.6 · average ΔE 53.5

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

Contrast

AaBest text pair: Lemon Yellow on Madder Brown (8.0:1)

ContrastWCAGAPCA Lc
AaAaLemon Yellow · Madder Brown8.0:1AAA82 / 79
AaAaLemon Yellow · Turquoise Green1.2:1Low11 / 9
AaAaMadder Brown · Turquoise Green6.7:1AA68 / 69

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. 173 */
:root {
  --lemon-yellow: #f8ed43; /* Lemon Yellow */
  --madder-brown: #762c19; /* Madder Brown */
  --turquoise-green: #b5decc; /* Turquoise Green */
}

More combinations with Lemon Yellow

More combinations with Madder Brown

More combinations with Turquoise Green