Golden Yellow
Apricot Orange
Violet Blue
Vanderpoel's Blue

No. 309

4-color combination

Use ← and → to browse

Colors

Violet Blue

HEX
RGB
CMYK

Combination No. 309 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. 309 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 contrastViolet Blue · 4.4:1

Harmony in contrastVanderpoel's Blue · 4.3:1

Harmony in contrastViolet Blue · 3.9:1

Harmony in contrastVanderpoel's Blue · 3.7:1

Harmony in contrastGolden Yellow · 4.4:1

Harmony in contrastApricot Orange · 3.9:1

Harmony in contrastGolden Yellow · 4.3:1

Harmony in contrastApricot Orange · 3.7:1

Analysis

Character

Medium & moderate

Lightness 58 (range 40–78)
Colorfulness 0.107

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

Harmony

Color wheel with the combination’s hues; distance from the center shows colorfulnessGolden YellowApricot OrangeViolet BlueVanderpoel's Blue

Tetradic

Two pairs of complementary hues.

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

  • Golden YellowWarm
  • Apricot OrangeWarm
  • Violet BlueCool
  • Vanderpoel's BlueCool

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

Distinctness

ΔE 8

Closest pair ΔE 8.3 · average ΔE 41.8

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

Contrast

AaBest text pair: Golden Yellow on Violet Blue (4.4:1)

ContrastWCAGAPCA Lc
AaAaGolden Yellow · Apricot Orange1.2:1Low0 / 0
AaAaGolden Yellow · Violet Blue4.4:1AA large50 / 49
AaAaGolden Yellow · Vanderpoel's Blue4.3:1AA large49 / 48
AaAaApricot Orange · Violet Blue3.9:1AA large43 / 43
AaAaApricot Orange · Vanderpoel's Blue3.7:1AA large42 / 41
AaAaViolet Blue · Vanderpoel's Blue1.0:1Low0 / 0

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. 309 */
:root {
  --golden-yellow: #f3a257; /* Golden Yellow */
  --apricot-orange: #f68c50; /* Apricot Orange */
  --violet-blue: #40456a; /* Violet Blue */
  --vanderpoels-blue: #064f6e; /* Vanderpoel's Blue */
}

More combinations with Golden Yellow

More combinations with Apricot Orange

More combinations with Violet Blue

More combinations with Vanderpoel's Blue