Yellow Orange
Dusky Madder Violet

No. 53

2-color combination

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Colors

Combination No. 53 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. 53 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 contrastDusky Madder Violet · 6.2:1

Harmony in contrastYellow Orange · 6.2:1

Analysis

Character

Medium & vivid

Lightness 55 (range 32–77)
Colorfulness 0.132

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

Harmony

Color wheel with the combination’s hues; distance from the center shows colorfulnessYellow OrangeDusky Madder 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

  • Yellow OrangeWarm
  • Dusky Madder VioletCool

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

Distinctness

ΔE 69

Closest pair ΔE 68.5 · average ΔE 68.5

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

Contrast

AaBest text pair: Dusky Madder Violet on Yellow Orange (6.2:1)

ContrastWCAGAPCA Lc
AaAaYellow Orange · Dusky Madder Violet6.2:1AA55 / 56

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. 53 */
:root {
  --yellow-orange: #f99d1b; /* Yellow Orange */
  --dusky-madder-violet: #4e1d4c; /* Dusky Madder Violet */
}

More combinations with Yellow Orange

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