Helvetia Blue
- HEX
- RGB
- CMYK
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.
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.
Harmony in contrast
Harmony in contrast
Medium & muted
Lightness 59 (range 45–78)
Colorfulness 0.060
Average OKLCH lightness (0–100) and chroma (colorfulness).
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.
Cool
Reds, oranges and yellows count as warm; greens, blues and violets as cool.
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.
AaBest text pair: Grayish Lavender A on Helvetia Blue (3.6:1)
| Contrast | WCAG | APCA Lc |
|---|---|---|
| AaAaHelvetia Blue · Grayish Lavender A | 3.6:1AA large | 43 / 44 |
| AaAaHelvetia Blue · Deep Violet / Plumbeous | 1.5:1Low | 10 / 10 |
| AaAaGrayish Lavender A · Deep Violet / Plumbeous | 2.3:1Low | 33 / 31 |
WCAG 2 contrast ratio for text, and APCA lightness contrast (Lc) for each text/background direction.
The closest palettes in perceptual color space (OKLab).
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 */
}
/* Tailwind CSS v4 – Sanzo Wada, combination No. 218 */
@theme {
--color-helvetia-blue: #005b8d;
--color-grayish-lavender-a: #b5b1d8;
--color-deep-violet-plumbeous: #70727c;
}
{
"id": 218,
"source": "Sanzo Wada, A Dictionary of Color Combinations",
"colors": [
{
"name": "Helvetia Blue",
"hex": "#005b8d",
"rgb": [
0,
91,
141
],
"cmyk": [
100,
62,
19,
10
]
},
{
"name": "Grayish Lavender A",
"hex": "#b5b1d8",
"rgb": [
181,
177,
216
],
"cmyk": [
28,
28,
0,
0
]
},
{
"name": "Deep Violet / Plumbeous",
"hex": "#70727c",
"rgb": [
112,
114,
124
],
"cmyk": [
61,
52,
43,
7
]
}
]
}