Light Brown Drab
Sulphur Yellow
Deep Slate Olive
Salvia Blue

No. 321

4-color combination

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Colors

Salvia Blue

HEX
RGB
CMYK

Combination No. 321 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. 321 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 contrastDeep Slate Olive · 4.9:1

Harmony in contrastDeep Slate Olive · 11.5:1

Harmony in contrastSulphur Yellow · 11.5:1

Harmony in contrastSalvia Blue · 5.9:1

Harmony in contrastLight Brown Drab · 4.9:1

Harmony in contrastDeep Slate Olive · 5.9:1

Analysis

Character

Medium & muted

Lightness 67 (range 30–94)
Colorfulness 0.044

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

Harmony

Color wheel with the combination’s hues; distance from the center shows colorfulnessLight Brown DrabSulphur YellowDeep Slate OliveSalvia Blue

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

  • Light Brown DrabWarm
  • Sulphur YellowWarm
  • Deep Slate OliveNeutral
  • Salvia BlueCool

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

Distinctness

ΔE 23

Closest pair ΔE 23.4 · average ΔE 43.1

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

Contrast

AaBest text pair: Sulphur Yellow on Deep Slate Olive (11.5:1)

ContrastWCAGAPCA Lc
AaAaLight Brown Drab · Sulphur Yellow2.3:1Low42 / 46
AaAaLight Brown Drab · Deep Slate Olive4.9:1AA44 / 45
AaAaLight Brown Drab · Salvia Blue1.2:1Low0 / 0
AaAaSulphur Yellow · Deep Slate Olive11.5:1AAA90 / 89
AaAaSulphur Yellow · Salvia Blue2.0:1Low38 / 34
AaAaDeep Slate Olive · Salvia Blue5.9:1AA52 / 52

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. 321 */
:root {
  --light-brown-drab: #b59392; /* Light Brown Drab */
  --sulphur-yellow: #f5ecc2; /* Sulphur Yellow */
  --deep-slate-olive: #253122; /* Deep Slate Olive */
  --salvia-blue: #97acc8; /* Salvia Blue */
}

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