Spectrum Red
Orange Yellow
Blue
Aconite Violet

No. 257

4-color combination

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Colors

Spectrum Red

HEX
RGB
CMYK

Blue

HEX
RGB
CMYK

Combination No. 257 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. 257 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

No pair of colors in this combination reaches a contrast of 3:1, so it is best used without text.

Analysis

Character

Medium & vivid

Lightness 63 (range 53–81)
Colorfulness 0.161

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

Harmony

Color wheel with the combination’s hues; distance from the center shows colorfulnessSpectrum RedOrange YellowBlueAconite Violet

Free

No classic color-wheel relationship.

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

  • Spectrum RedWarm
  • Orange YellowWarm
  • BlueCool
  • Aconite VioletCool

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

Distinctness

ΔE 32

Closest pair ΔE 31.7 · average ΔE 45.2

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

Contrast

AaBest text pair: Orange Yellow on Blue (3.0:1)

ContrastWCAGAPCA Lc
AaAaSpectrum Red · Orange Yellow2.6:1Low35 / 37
AaAaSpectrum Red · Blue1.1:1Low0 / 0
AaAaSpectrum Red · Aconite Violet1.2:1Low0 / 0
AaAaOrange Yellow · Blue3.0:1Low43 / 40
AaAaOrange Yellow · Aconite Violet2.3:1Low35 / 32
AaAaBlue · Aconite Violet1.3:1Low0 / 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. 257 */
:root {
  --spectrum-red: #e31f26; /* Spectrum Red */
  --orange-yellow: #fcb315; /* Orange Yellow */
  --blue: #006eb8; /* Blue */
  --aconite-violet: #a36aa5; /* Aconite Violet */
}

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