Helvetia Blue
Grayish Lavender A
Deep Violet / Plumbeous

No. 218

3-color combination

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Colors

Combination No. 218 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. 218 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 contrastGrayish Lavender A · 3.6:1

Harmony in contrastHelvetia Blue · 3.6:1

Analysis

Character

Medium & muted

Lightness 59 (range 45–78)
Colorfulness 0.060

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

Harmony

Color wheel with the combination’s hues; distance from the center shows colorfulnessHelvetia BlueGrayish Lavender ADeep Violet / Plumbeous

Analogous

Neighboring hues on 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

Cool

  • Helvetia BlueCool
  • Grayish Lavender ACool
  • Deep Violet / PlumbeousNeutral

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

Distinctness

ΔE 20

Closest pair ΔE 20.3 · average ΔE 28.0

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

Contrast

AaBest text pair: Grayish Lavender A on Helvetia Blue (3.6:1)

ContrastWCAGAPCA Lc
AaAaHelvetia Blue · Grayish Lavender A3.6:1AA large43 / 44
AaAaHelvetia Blue · Deep Violet / Plumbeous1.5:1Low10 / 10
AaAaGrayish Lavender A · Deep Violet / Plumbeous2.3:1Low33 / 31

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. 218 */
:root {
  --helvetia-blue: #005b8d; /* Helvetia Blue */
  --grayish-lavender-a: #b5b1d8; /* Grayish Lavender A */
  --deep-violet-plumbeous: #70727c; /* Deep Violet / Plumbeous */
}

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