Colours that go with black

Chapter 2 · Five plates with black

Chapter 2 · From the bookHaishoku Sōkan · 1933

From the book

The two Wada combinations that contain the book colours closest to black, measured in Lab. They have been in use for almost a century: the harmony is already proven.

144

Rosolanc Purple, Orange, Black

#b9366c · #ed6b05 · #141715

Dark · button 3.1:1All warmIts page →Open →

190

Ivory Buff, English Red, Black

#efd8a8 · #d65d15 · #141715

Light · button 4.9:1All warmIts page →Open →

Chapter 2 · By ruleNamed harmonies

By rule

Three plates built from black with a rule that can be explained: the opposite, the neighbours or a single hue with an accent. None of them comes from a roll of the dice.

R·01

Complementary

#1c1c1a · #545456 · #f4f4eb · #26252e

The starting black and the one opposite it on the wheel, plus a light neutral and a dark version for background and text.

Dark · button 3.2:1All neutralOpen →

R·02

Analogous

#3a3938 · #1c1c1a · #2d2e2c · #f4f4eb

The starting black and its two neighbours on the wheel, plus a neutral that lets them breathe.

Dark · button 3.1:1All neutralOpen →

R·03

Monochrome with accent

#12120d · #1c1c1a · #e8e8e2 · #545456

One hue in three lights and a small accent opposite it.

Dark · button 3.1:1All neutralOpen →

Strip: the colours in equal parts, as in kimono sample books. It is the quickest reading for comparing.

Plate 01 of 05 · Wada combination 144

All five ↑

The plate, as printedHaishoku Sōkan · 1933

Wada combination 144

Rosolanc Purple#b9366c
Orange#ed6b05
Black#141715

It contains a colour very close to the starting black (Black) and has been in use for almost a century. The original colours are called Rosolanc Purple · Orange · Black.

3 colours in equal parts, as in the book. It is the inspiration, not the interface. Click one to copy it.

See this combination →

Plate · MixesThree parts to one

The three colours, mixed two by two

3 parts rosolanc purple1 part orange
3 parts orange1 part black
3 parts black1 part rosolanc purple
3 parts rosolanc purple1 part black
3 parts orange1 part rosolanc purple
3 parts black1 part orange

This is where the in-betweens the plate doesn’t carry come from: borders, card backgrounds, disabled states. The mix is done in OKLab, which is closer to mixing paint than to averaging numbers. Click the result to copy it.

On screen · the split60 · 30 · 10

Adapted for screen

The same hue as the plate with the lightness moved to where an interface needs it: the background rests, the surface keeps the colour from the book and the accent earns the button. Each role says which colour it comes from and what was done to it. Click any to copy.

60% BackgroundWhere the eye rests: most of the screen. The plate's #141715, lightened.
30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. From the plate, as is (#141715).
10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. The plate's #b9366c, lightened.

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 5.7:1: AA, it reads.Passes
On screen, the text #f7ece6 on the background #212221 gives 13.7:1: AAA, reads with room to spare. APCA gives Lc 94: good for small text, the kind you read a paragraph of.Passes
The accent #bf3c71 stands 3.1:1 from the background (a button needs 3:1) and as a link reaches 4.7:1 (a word needs 4.5:1).Passes
Under protanopia, your accent and your background drop to 2.4:1. The button stops standing out: give it a border, change the lightness, or don't rely on colour alone to mark it.Falls short

Out in the worldAdapted

This is the plate with a whole screen to fill.

This paragraph is here so you can see real text on a real background, which is where half of the pretty palettes fall over. If it's hard to read, now you know. And this is a link.

A card

Secondary surfaces use the support colour. If it doesn't separate from the background, the hierarchy is gone.

Adapted: the background rests, the surface keeps the plate’s colour and the accent earns the button.

How to use it

ProportionDistribute, don't equalise: #212221 on 60% of the screen, #141715 on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #bf3c71 on 10%, only on buttons and links. A colour loses force the more surface it covers; what looks intense on the plate softens at full screen.
TextBody text goes in #f7ece6, a near-neutral ink tinted with the palette's hue, even though the plate had a pair that read: a saturated colour as text tires by the third line. The book's colour enters through the heading, in #ed6b05, where size forgives.
The buttonThe accent #bf3c71 stands 3.1:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #f6f7f6.
TemperatureAll warm: close and unified, but to make something stand out don't rely on colour, rely on light: the important thing darker or lighter than its surroundings.
How manyThree colours is the comfortable measure: background, text and one accent. Don't add a fourth unless it earns its place by contrast or by hue.
In the dictionaryIn the dictionary it sits among the tone-on-tone sets: colours from one family. Hierarchy comes from light, not hue, so order elements from lightest to darkest. It is one of the mixed-light ones: it already brings hierarchy. Keep it on screen: lightest at the back, darkest in front.

The kit · ramps and statesFor the design system

The kit

A brand needs four colours; an interface needs a good deal more. This is what you'd otherwise invent by hand once you take four hex codes into the editor.

Click any swatch to copy it.

The accent’s tints

The neutrals, tinted with the accent

Button states and alerts

The kit · night and code144

The same plate, by day

The same colour, by day.

The palette is born dark; this is its light version. The background is not pure white: it carries a little of its hue, just as the dark one was not black.

A button

Take it with you

/* Wada combination 144 — bluenze.com/paletas */
:root {
  --fondo: #212221;
  --superficie: #141715;
  --texto: #f7ece6;
  --tinta: #f7ece6;
  --texto-suave: #beada5;
  --titular: #ed6b05;
  --acento: #bf3c71;
  --acento-texto: #f6f7f6;
  --enlace: #e35e90;
  --borde: #464746;

  /* la lámina de Wada, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #b9366c;
  --lamina-2: #ed6b05;
  --lamina-3: #141715;

  --acento-50: #f6f6f6;
  --acento-100: #ffe4eb;
  --acento-200: #fec9d8;
  --acento-300: #ffa4c0;
  --acento-400: #f27ea6;
  --acento-500: #df5a8c;
  --acento-600: #bf3c71;
  --acento-700: #9b2c5a;
  --acento-800: #761c42;
  --acento-900: #530d2c;
  --neutro-50: #f8f6f6;
  --neutro-100: #eeeaeb;
  --neutro-200: #dcd6d7;
  --neutro-300: #c4bcbe;
  --neutro-400: #aba1a3;
  --neutro-500: #928689;
  --neutro-600: #786d70;
  --neutro-700: #5e5557;
  --neutro-800: #463e40;
  --neutro-900: #2e282a;

  --boton: #bf3c71;
  --boton-encima: #d45083;
  --boton-pulsado: #e36895;
  --boton-apagado: #47353a;
  --foco: #d50372;

  --exito: #6abe66;
  --aviso: #d0b44a;
  --error: #fd8b74;
  --info: #6eaefd;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: light) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #fff2f5;
    --superficie: #fce2e9;
    --borde: #e8cad2;
    --texto: #2e2024;
    --tinta: #2e2024;
    --texto-suave: #725e64;
    --acento: #bf3c71;
    --acento-texto: #fef4f7;
  }
}

Open the card →Post on LinkedIn →

Goethe’s readingWhat it conveys

What this combination conveys, and why.

Wada tells you which colours go together. Goethe, a century earlier, explains why a combination means something or means nothing, and what each colour does depending on how much of the screen it takes. His circle has six colours and three oppositions, and every verdict below carries the paragraph it comes from.

What it conveys, by where each colour landed

The whole palette sits on the active side of the circle: the colours that advance, warm and push outward.

Accent · red
Red is the high point of the active side. In a small patch it does exactly what an accent is for: stopping the eye once. § 793
Heading · orange
Orange in a small patch is the accent that needs no explaining: it advances, it is seen, and it does not need size to do it. § 775

How each pair readsZur Farbenlehre · 1810

How each pair reads on the circle

Adjacent #b9366c · #ed6b05
Adjacent on the circle, with no colour between them to keep them apart. They are saved by proportion: one has to lead and the other to follow. § 828
With a neutral #b9366c · #141715
Next to black, a colour from the active side gains energy. § 831
With a neutral #ed6b05 · #141715
Next to black, a colour from the active side gains energy. § 831

Criteria taken from Zur Farbenlehre (1810), in Eastlake's 1840 translation, which is public domain. The explanations are ours: from a book you take the substance, not the wording. The light values usually credited to Goethe for working out surface proportions are not in the Farbenlehre — they are Itten's, 1961, and that is how they are credited in the adaptation rules.

Plate 02 of 05 · Wada combination 190

All five ↑

The plate, as printedHaishoku Sōkan · 1933

Wada combination 190

Ivory Buff#efd8a8
English Red#d65d15
Black#141715

It contains a colour very close to the starting black (Black) and has been in use for almost a century. The original colours are called Ivory Buff · English Red · Black.

3 colours in equal parts, as in the book. It is the inspiration, not the interface. Click one to copy it.

See this combination →

Plate · MixesThree parts to one

The three colours, mixed two by two

3 parts ivory buff1 part english red
3 parts english red1 part black
3 parts black1 part ivory buff
3 parts ivory buff1 part black
3 parts english red1 part ivory buff
3 parts black1 part english red

This is where the in-betweens the plate doesn’t carry come from: borders, card backgrounds, disabled states. The mix is done in OKLab, which is closer to mixing paint than to averaging numbers. Click the result to copy it.

On screen · the split60 · 30 · 10

Adapted for screen

The same hue as the plate with the lightness moved to where an interface needs it: the background rests, the surface keeps the colour from the book and the accent earns the button. Each role says which colour it comes from and what was done to it. Click any to copy.

60% BackgroundWhere the eye rests: most of the screen. The plate's #efd8a8, lightened.
30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. From the plate, as is (#efd8a8).
10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. The plate's #d65d15, darkened.

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 12.9:1: AAA, reads with room to spare.Passes
On screen, the text #232423 on the background #fdf4e4 gives 14.2:1: AAA, reads with room to spare. APCA gives Lc 97: good for small text, the kind you read a paragraph of.Passes
The accent #b54906 stands 4.9:1 from the background (a button needs 3:1) and as a link reaches 4.7:1 (a word needs 4.5:1).Passes

Out in the worldAdapted

This is the plate with a whole screen to fill.

This paragraph is here so you can see real text on a real background, which is where half of the pretty palettes fall over. If it's hard to read, now you know. And this is a link.

A card

Secondary surfaces use the support colour. If it doesn't separate from the background, the hierarchy is gone.

Adapted: the background rests, the surface keeps the plate’s colour and the accent earns the button.

How to use it

ProportionDistribute, don't equalise: #fdf4e4 on 60% of the screen, #efd8a8 on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #b54906 on 10%, only on buttons and links. A colour loses force the more surface it covers; what looks intense on the plate softens at full screen.
TextBody text goes in #232423, a near-neutral ink tinted with the palette's hue, even though the plate had a pair that read: a saturated colour as text tires by the third line. The book's colour enters through the heading, in #141715, where size forgives.
The buttonThe accent #b54906 stands 4.9:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #faf6ef.
TemperatureAll warm: close and unified, but to make something stand out don't rely on colour, rely on light: the important thing darker or lighter than its surroundings.
How manyThree colours is the comfortable measure: background, text and one accent. Don't add a fourth unless it earns its place by contrast or by hue.
In the dictionaryIn the dictionary it sits among the tone-on-tone sets: colours from one family. Hierarchy comes from light, not hue, so order elements from lightest to darkest. It is one of the mixed-light ones: it already brings hierarchy. Keep it on screen: lightest at the back, darkest in front.

The kit · ramps and statesFor the design system

The kit

A brand needs four colours; an interface needs a good deal more. This is what you'd otherwise invent by hand once you take four hex codes into the editor.

Click any swatch to copy it.

The accent’s tints

The neutrals, tinted with the accent

Button states and alerts

The kit · night and code190

The same plate, at night

The same colour, at night.

The background isn’t pure black: it carries a little of the accent’s hue. That’s what separates a designed dark mode from one that looks like a fault.

A button

Take it with you

/* Wada combination 190 — bluenze.com/paletas */
:root {
  --fondo: #fdf4e4;
  --superficie: #efd8a8;
  --texto: #232423;
  --tinta: #232423;
  --texto-suave: #636363;
  --titular: #141715;
  --acento: #b54906;
  --acento-texto: #faf6ef;
  --enlace: #ba4a01;
  --borde: #dcd0bb;

  /* la lámina de Wada, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #efd8a8;
  --lamina-2: #d65d15;
  --lamina-3: #141715;

  --acento-50: #f6f6f6;
  --acento-100: #fee6db;
  --acento-200: #ffcdb4;
  --acento-300: #feaa80;
  --acento-400: #f08851;
  --acento-500: #da6829;
  --acento-600: #b54906;
  --acento-700: #963a02;
  --acento-800: #702a00;
  --acento-900: #491d02;
  --neutro-50: #f8f6f5;
  --neutro-100: #eeeae9;
  --neutro-200: #dbd6d4;
  --neutro-300: #c4bdb9;
  --neutro-400: #aba19d;
  --neutro-500: #918782;
  --neutro-600: #776e69;
  --neutro-700: #5e5552;
  --neutro-800: #453f3b;
  --neutro-900: #2e2927;

  --boton: #b54906;
  --boton-encima: #993d05;
  --boton-pulsado: #803000;
  --boton-apagado: #c1a99f;
  --foco: #b64804;

  --exito: #117e22;
  --aviso: #a38a02;
  --error: #c53c29;
  --info: #0470ba;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #2c1f18;
    --superficie: #3c2a22;
    --borde: #574238;
    --texto: #f7ece6;
    --tinta: #f7ece6;
    --texto-suave: #bbaea8;
    --acento: #ea7536;
    --acento-texto: #2d211b;
  }
}

Open the card →Post on LinkedIn →

Goethe’s readingWhat it conveys

What this combination conveys, and why.

Wada tells you which colours go together. Goethe, a century earlier, explains why a combination means something or means nothing, and what each colour does depending on how much of the screen it takes. His circle has six colours and three oppositions, and every verdict below carries the paragraph it comes from.

What it conveys, by where each colour landed

The whole palette sits on the active side of the circle: the colours that advance, warm and push outward.

Surface · yellow
Yellow across a large surface is a gamble. It is the least forgiving colour: the slightest drift towards green turns gold into dirt, and on screen that drift is supplied by compression or a gradient. § 770
Accent · orange
Orange in a small patch is the accent that needs no explaining: it advances, it is seen, and it does not need size to do it. § 775

How each pair readsZur Farbenlehre · 1810

How each pair reads on the circle

Adjacent #efd8a8 · #d65d15
Adjacent on the circle, with no colour between them to keep them apart. They are saved by proportion: one has to lead and the other to follow. § 828
With a neutral #efd8a8 · #141715
Next to black, a colour from the active side gains energy. § 831
With a neutral #d65d15 · #141715
Next to black, a colour from the active side gains energy. § 831

Criteria taken from Zur Farbenlehre (1810), in Eastlake's 1840 translation, which is public domain. The explanations are ours: from a book you take the substance, not the wording. The light values usually credited to Goethe for working out surface proportions are not in the Farbenlehre — they are Itten's, 1961, and that is how they are credited in the adaptation rules.

Plate 03 of 05 · Complementary

All five ↑

The plate, as printedRule of harmony · not in the book

Complementary

Background#1c1c1a
Support#545456
Text#f4f4eb
Accent#26252e

The starting black and the one opposite it on the wheel, plus a light neutral and a dark version for background and text. For brands that want attention: the accent jumps out because the eye reads it as the opposite of everything else.

The colours the rule gives, raw and in equal parts. It is the starting point, not the interface. Click one to copy it.

Plate · MixesThree parts to one

The four colours, mixed two by two

3 parts #1c1c1a1 part #545456
3 parts #5454561 part #f4f4eb
3 parts #f4f4eb1 part #26252e
3 parts #26252e1 part #1c1c1a
3 parts #1c1c1a1 part #f4f4eb
3 parts #5454561 part #26252e
3 parts #f4f4eb1 part #1c1c1a
3 parts #26252e1 part #545456
3 parts #1c1c1a1 part #26252e
3 parts #5454561 part #1c1c1a
3 parts #f4f4eb1 part #545456
3 parts #26252e1 part #f4f4eb

This is where the in-betweens the plate doesn’t carry come from: borders, card backgrounds, disabled states. The mix is done in OKLab, which is closer to mixing paint than to averaging numbers. Click the result to copy it.

On screen · the split60 · 30 · 10

Adapted for screen

60% BackgroundWhere the eye rests: most of the screen. The plate's #1c1c1a, lightened.
30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. The plate's #1c1c1a, lightened.
10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. The plate's #26252e, lightened.

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 15.4:1: AAA, reads with room to spare.Passes
On screen, the text #eeeeed on the background #222221 gives 13.7:1: AAA, reads with room to spare. APCA gives Lc 94: good for small text, the kind you read a paragraph of.Passes
The accent #706f79 stands 3.2:1 from the background (a button needs 3:1) and as a link reaches 4.5:1 (a word needs 4.5:1).Passes

Out in the worldAdapted

This is the plate with a whole screen to fill.

This paragraph is here so you can see real text on a real background, which is where half of the pretty palettes fall over. If it's hard to read, now you know. And this is a link.

A card

Secondary surfaces use the support colour. If it doesn't separate from the background, the hierarchy is gone.

Adapted: the background rests, the surface keeps the plate’s colour and the accent earns the button.

How to use it

ProportionDistribute, don't equalise: #222221 on 60% of the screen, #282826 on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #706f79 on 10%, only on buttons and links. A colour loses force the more surface it covers; what looks intense on the plate softens at full screen.
TextBody text goes in #eeeeed, a near-neutral ink tinted with the palette's hue, even though the plate had a pair that read: a saturated colour as text tires by the third line. The book's colour enters through the heading, in #f4f4eb, where size forgives.
The buttonThe accent #706f79 stands 3.2:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #f6f6f6.
TemperatureAll neutral: the brand will be recognised by its type and its spacing, not its colour. If you need a call-out, bring in a single accent from outside and don't scatter it.
How manyFour colours demand discipline: #282826 and #eeeeed are the base, the other two are detail. If in doubt, drop the support colour before the accent.

The kit · ramps and statesFor the design system

The kit

A brand needs four colours; an interface needs a good deal more. This is what you'd otherwise invent by hand once you take four hex codes into the editor.

Click any swatch to copy it.

The accent’s tints

The neutrals, tinted with the accent

Button states and alerts

The kit · night and codeR·01

The same plate, by day

The same colour, by day.

The palette is born dark; this is its light version. The background is not pure white: it carries a little of its hue, just as the dark one was not black.

A button

Take it with you

/* Complementary — bluenze.com/paletas */
:root {
  --fondo: #222221;
  --superficie: #282826;
  --texto: #eeeeed;
  --tinta: #eeeeed;
  --texto-suave: #b1b1af;
  --titular: #f4f4eb;
  --acento: #706f79;
  --acento-texto: #f6f6f6;
  --enlace: #898893;
  --borde: #474746;
  --apoyo-1: #545456;

  /* la lámina, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #1c1c1a;
  --lamina-2: #545456;
  --lamina-3: #f4f4eb;
  --lamina-4: #26252e;

  --acento-50: #f6f6f8;
  --acento-100: #ebebee;
  --acento-200: #d7d7dc;
  --acento-300: #bebdc5;
  --acento-400: #a3a2ab;
  --acento-500: #898892;
  --acento-600: #706f79;
  --acento-700: #57565f;
  --acento-800: #403f46;
  --acento-900: #2a292e;
  --neutro-50: #f6f6f8;
  --neutro-100: #ebebed;
  --neutro-200: #d7d7db;
  --neutro-300: #bebdc4;
  --neutro-400: #a3a2aa;
  --neutro-500: #898891;
  --neutro-600: #6f6f77;
  --neutro-700: #57565d;
  --neutro-800: #403f45;
  --neutro-900: #2a292e;

  --boton: #706f79;
  --boton-encima: #82818b;
  --boton-pulsado: #949397;
  --boton-apagado: #3c3c3d;
  --foco: #6e6c94;

  --exito: #83b87e;
  --aviso: #cbb570;
  --error: #ea9582;
  --info: #7daef0;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: light) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #f5f5f7;
    --superficie: #e8e8ea;
    --borde: #d2d1d4;
    --texto: #242325;
    --tinta: #242325;
    --texto-suave: #636365;
    --acento: #706f79;
    --acento-texto: #f6f6f7;
  }
}

Open the card →Post on LinkedIn →

Goethe’s readingWhat it conveys

What this combination conveys, and why.

Wada tells you which colours go together. Goethe, a century earlier, explains why a combination means something or means nothing, and what each colour does depending on how much of the screen it takes. His circle has six colours and three oppositions, and every verdict below carries the paragraph it comes from.

What it conveys, by where each colour landed

The palette stays at rest: it neither advances nor recedes. Restful, but it points at nothing on its own.

What is happening to this palette

Every colour below the point where a colour asserts itself. It is the opposite failure to motley, and Goethe puts it down to fear: for want of going too far, nothing gets said. § 894

How each pair readsZur Farbenlehre · 1810

How each pair reads on the circle

With a neutral #1c1c1a · #545456
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #1c1c1a · #f4f4eb
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #1c1c1a · #26252e
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #545456 · #f4f4eb
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #545456 · #26252e
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #f4f4eb · #26252e
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

Criteria taken from Zur Farbenlehre (1810), in Eastlake's 1840 translation, which is public domain. The explanations are ours: from a book you take the substance, not the wording. The light values usually credited to Goethe for working out surface proportions are not in the Farbenlehre — they are Itten's, 1961, and that is how they are credited in the adaptation rules.

Plate 04 of 05 · Analogous

All five ↑

The plate, as printedRule of harmony · not in the book

Analogous

Support#3a3938
Background#1c1c1a
Accent#2d2e2c
Text#f4f4eb

The starting black and its two neighbours on the wheel, plus a neutral that lets them breathe. For calm brands: everything looks like one family and nothing shouts.

The colours the rule gives, raw and in equal parts. It is the starting point, not the interface. Click one to copy it.

Plate · MixesThree parts to one

The four colours, mixed two by two

3 parts #3a39381 part #1c1c1a
3 parts #1c1c1a1 part #2d2e2c
3 parts #2d2e2c1 part #f4f4eb
3 parts #f4f4eb1 part #3a3938
3 parts #3a39381 part #2d2e2c
3 parts #1c1c1a1 part #f4f4eb
3 parts #2d2e2c1 part #3a3938
3 parts #f4f4eb1 part #1c1c1a
3 parts #3a39381 part #f4f4eb
3 parts #1c1c1a1 part #3a3938
3 parts #2d2e2c1 part #1c1c1a
3 parts #f4f4eb1 part #2d2e2c

This is where the in-betweens the plate doesn’t carry come from: borders, card backgrounds, disabled states. The mix is done in OKLab, which is closer to mixing paint than to averaging numbers. Click the result to copy it.

On screen · the split60 · 30 · 10

Adapted for screen

60% BackgroundWhere the eye rests: most of the screen. The plate's #1c1c1a, lightened.
30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. The plate's #1c1c1a, lightened.
10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. The plate's #2d2e2c, lightened.

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 15.4:1: AAA, reads with room to spare.Passes
On screen, the text #eeeeed on the background #222221 gives 13.7:1: AAA, reads with room to spare. APCA gives Lc 94: good for small text, the kind you read a paragraph of.Passes
The accent #6e6f6d stands 3.1:1 from the background (a button needs 3:1) and as a link reaches 4.5:1 (a word needs 4.5:1).Passes

Out in the worldAdapted

This is the plate with a whole screen to fill.

This paragraph is here so you can see real text on a real background, which is where half of the pretty palettes fall over. If it's hard to read, now you know. And this is a link.

A card

Secondary surfaces use the support colour. If it doesn't separate from the background, the hierarchy is gone.

Adapted: the background rests, the surface keeps the plate’s colour and the accent earns the button.

How to use it

ProportionDistribute, don't equalise: #222221 on 60% of the screen, #282826 on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #6e6f6d on 10%, only on buttons and links. A colour loses force the more surface it covers; what looks intense on the plate softens at full screen.
TextBody text goes in #eeeeed, a near-neutral ink tinted with the palette's hue, even though the plate had a pair that read: a saturated colour as text tires by the third line. The book's colour enters through the heading, in #f4f4eb, where size forgives.
The buttonThe accent #6e6f6d stands 3.1:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #f6f6f6.
TemperatureAll neutral: the brand will be recognised by its type and its spacing, not its colour. If you need a call-out, bring in a single accent from outside and don't scatter it.
How manyFour colours demand discipline: #282826 and #eeeeed are the base, the other two are detail. If in doubt, drop the support colour before the accent.

The kit · ramps and statesFor the design system

The kit

A brand needs four colours; an interface needs a good deal more. This is what you'd otherwise invent by hand once you take four hex codes into the editor.

Click any swatch to copy it.

The accent’s tints

The neutrals, tinted with the accent

Button states and alerts

The kit · night and codeR·02

The same plate, by day

The same colour, by day.

The palette is born dark; this is its light version. The background is not pure white: it carries a little of its hue, just as the dark one was not black.

A button

Take it with you

/* Analogous — bluenze.com/paletas */
:root {
  --fondo: #222221;
  --superficie: #282826;
  --texto: #eeeeed;
  --tinta: #eeeeed;
  --texto-suave: #b1b1af;
  --titular: #f4f4eb;
  --acento: #6e6f6d;
  --acento-texto: #f6f6f6;
  --enlace: #878986;
  --borde: #474746;
  --apoyo-1: #3a3938;

  /* la lámina, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #3a3938;
  --lamina-2: #1c1c1a;
  --lamina-3: #2d2e2c;
  --lamina-4: #f4f4eb;

  --acento-50: #f6f6f6;
  --acento-100: #ebebea;
  --acento-200: #d7d7d6;
  --acento-300: #bebebd;
  --acento-400: #a2a3a1;
  --acento-500: #888987;
  --acento-600: #6e6f6d;
  --acento-700: #565756;
  --acento-800: #3f403f;
  --acento-900: #2a2a29;
  --neutro-50: #f6f7f5;
  --neutro-100: #eaebe9;
  --neutro-200: #d6d8d4;
  --neutro-300: #bcbfb9;
  --neutro-400: #a1a49d;
  --neutro-500: #868a82;
  --neutro-600: #6d7169;
  --neutro-700: #555851;
  --neutro-800: #3e413b;
  --neutro-900: #292b27;

  --boton: #6e6f6d;
  --boton-encima: #80817f;
  --boton-pulsado: #929292;
  --boton-apagado: #3b3b3a;
  --foco: #647455;

  --exito: #83b87e;
  --aviso: #cbb570;
  --error: #ea9582;
  --info: #7daef0;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: light) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #f5f5f5;
    --superficie: #e8e8e8;
    --borde: #d1d2d1;
    --texto: #242423;
    --tinta: #242423;
    --texto-suave: #636363;
    --acento: #6e6f6d;
    --acento-texto: #f6f6f6;
  }
}

Open the card →Post on LinkedIn →

Goethe’s readingWhat it conveys

What this combination conveys, and why.

Wada tells you which colours go together. Goethe, a century earlier, explains why a combination means something or means nothing, and what each colour does depending on how much of the screen it takes. His circle has six colours and three oppositions, and every verdict below carries the paragraph it comes from.

What it conveys, by where each colour landed

The palette stays at rest: it neither advances nor recedes. Restful, but it points at nothing on its own.

What is happening to this palette

Every colour below the point where a colour asserts itself. It is the opposite failure to motley, and Goethe puts it down to fear: for want of going too far, nothing gets said. § 894

How each pair readsZur Farbenlehre · 1810

How each pair reads on the circle

With a neutral #3a3938 · #1c1c1a
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #3a3938 · #2d2e2c
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #3a3938 · #f4f4eb
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #1c1c1a · #2d2e2c
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #1c1c1a · #f4f4eb
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #2d2e2c · #f4f4eb
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

Criteria taken from Zur Farbenlehre (1810), in Eastlake's 1840 translation, which is public domain. The explanations are ours: from a book you take the substance, not the wording. The light values usually credited to Goethe for working out surface proportions are not in the Farbenlehre — they are Itten's, 1961, and that is how they are credited in the adaptation rules.

Plate 05 of 05 · Monochrome with accent

All five ↑

The plate, as printedRule of harmony · not in the book

Monochrome with accent

Background#12120d
Accent#1c1c1a
Text#e8e8e2
Support#545456

One hue in three lights and a small accent opposite it. The one studios use most: the brand is recognised by one colour and the accent does the work of pointing at buttons and links.

The colours the rule gives, raw and in equal parts. It is the starting point, not the interface. Click one to copy it.

Plate · MixesThree parts to one

The four colours, mixed two by two

3 parts #12120d1 part #1c1c1a
3 parts #1c1c1a1 part #e8e8e2
3 parts #e8e8e21 part #545456
3 parts #5454561 part #12120d
3 parts #12120d1 part #e8e8e2
3 parts #1c1c1a1 part #545456
3 parts #e8e8e21 part #12120d
3 parts #5454561 part #1c1c1a
3 parts #12120d1 part #545456
3 parts #1c1c1a1 part #12120d
3 parts #e8e8e21 part #1c1c1a
3 parts #5454561 part #e8e8e2

This is where the in-betweens the plate doesn’t carry come from: borders, card backgrounds, disabled states. The mix is done in OKLab, which is closer to mixing paint than to averaging numbers. Click the result to copy it.

On screen · the split60 · 30 · 10

Adapted for screen

60% BackgroundWhere the eye rests: most of the screen. The plate's #12120d, lightened.
30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. From the plate, as is (#12120d).
10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. The plate's #1c1c1a, lightened.

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 15.2:1: AAA, reads with room to spare.Passes
On screen, the text #eeeeed on the background #222220 gives 13.7:1: AAA, reads with room to spare. APCA gives Lc 94: good for small text, the kind you read a paragraph of.Passes
The accent #6e6e6b stands 3.1:1 from the background (a button needs 3:1) and as a link reaches 4.7:1 (a word needs 4.5:1).Passes

Out in the worldAdapted

This is the plate with a whole screen to fill.

This paragraph is here so you can see real text on a real background, which is where half of the pretty palettes fall over. If it's hard to read, now you know. And this is a link.

A card

Secondary surfaces use the support colour. If it doesn't separate from the background, the hierarchy is gone.

Adapted: the background rests, the surface keeps the plate’s colour and the accent earns the button.

How to use it

ProportionDistribute, don't equalise: #222220 on 60% of the screen, #12120d on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #6e6e6b on 10%, only on buttons and links. A colour loses force the more surface it covers; what looks intense on the plate softens at full screen.
TextBody text goes in #eeeeed, a near-neutral ink tinted with the palette's hue, even though the plate had a pair that read: a saturated colour as text tires by the third line. The book's colour enters through the heading, in #e8e8e2, where size forgives.
The buttonThe accent #6e6e6b stands 3.1:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #f6f6f5.
TemperatureAll neutral: the brand will be recognised by its type and its spacing, not its colour. If you need a call-out, bring in a single accent from outside and don't scatter it.
How manyFour colours demand discipline: #12120d and #eeeeed are the base, the other two are detail. If in doubt, drop the support colour before the accent.

The kit · ramps and statesFor the design system

The kit

A brand needs four colours; an interface needs a good deal more. This is what you'd otherwise invent by hand once you take four hex codes into the editor.

Click any swatch to copy it.

The accent’s tints

The neutrals, tinted with the accent

Button states and alerts

The kit · night and codeR·03

The same plate, by day

The same colour, by day.

The palette is born dark; this is its light version. The background is not pure white: it carries a little of its hue, just as the dark one was not black.

A button

Take it with you

/* Monochrome with accent — bluenze.com/paletas */
:root {
  --fondo: #222220;
  --superficie: #12120d;
  --texto: #eeeeed;
  --tinta: #eeeeed;
  --texto-suave: #b1b1b0;
  --titular: #e8e8e2;
  --acento: #6e6e6b;
  --acento-texto: #f6f6f5;
  --enlace: #8c8c89;
  --borde: #474745;
  --apoyo-1: #545456;

  /* la lámina, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #12120d;
  --lamina-2: #1c1c1a;
  --lamina-3: #e8e8e2;
  --lamina-4: #545456;

  --acento-50: #f6f6f6;
  --acento-100: #ebebea;
  --acento-200: #d7d7d6;
  --acento-300: #bebebc;
  --acento-400: #a3a3a0;
  --acento-500: #898986;
  --acento-600: #6e6e6b;
  --acento-700: #575755;
  --acento-800: #40403e;
  --acento-900: #2a2a28;
  --neutro-50: #f6f6f5;
  --neutro-100: #ebebe8;
  --neutro-200: #d7d7d3;
  --neutro-300: #bebfb8;
  --neutro-400: #a4a49c;
  --neutro-500: #898981;
  --neutro-600: #707068;
  --neutro-700: #575850;
  --neutro-800: #40403a;
  --neutro-900: #2a2a26;

  --boton: #6e6e6b;
  --boton-encima: #80807d;
  --boton-pulsado: #919191;
  --boton-apagado: #3a3a39;
  --foco: #6e704e;

  --exito: #83b87e;
  --aviso: #cbb570;
  --error: #ea9582;
  --info: #7daef0;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: light) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #f5f5f4;
    --superficie: #e8e8e7;
    --borde: #d2d2d0;
    --texto: #242423;
    --tinta: #242423;
    --texto-suave: #636363;
    --acento: #6e6e6b;
    --acento-texto: #f6f6f6;
  }
}

Open the card →Post on LinkedIn →

Goethe’s readingWhat it conveys

What this combination conveys, and why.

Wada tells you which colours go together. Goethe, a century earlier, explains why a combination means something or means nothing, and what each colour does depending on how much of the screen it takes. His circle has six colours and three oppositions, and every verdict below carries the paragraph it comes from.

What it conveys, by where each colour landed

The palette stays at rest: it neither advances nor recedes. Restful, but it points at nothing on its own.

What is happening to this palette

Every colour below the point where a colour asserts itself. It is the opposite failure to motley, and Goethe puts it down to fear: for want of going too far, nothing gets said. § 894

How each pair readsZur Farbenlehre · 1810

How each pair reads on the circle

With a neutral #12120d · #1c1c1a
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #12120d · #e8e8e2
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #12120d · #545456
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #1c1c1a · #e8e8e2
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #1c1c1a · #545456
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831
With a neutral #e8e8e2 · #545456
A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

Criteria taken from Zur Farbenlehre (1810), in Eastlake's 1840 translation, which is public domain. The explanations are ours: from a book you take the substance, not the wording. The light values usually credited to Goethe for working out surface proportions are not in the Farbenlehre — they are Itten's, 1961, and that is how they are credited in the adaptation rules.

What goes with black

Five palettes with black, each with a reason.

Rosolanc Purple, Orange, Black

Ivory Buff, English Red, Black

Complementary

Analogous

Monochrome with accent

Wada combination 144

The three colours, mixed two by two

Adapted for screen

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

How to use it

The kit

The accent’s tints

The neutrals, tinted with the accent

Button states and alerts

The same plate, by day

Take it with you

What this combination conveys, and why.

What it conveys, by where each colour landed

How each pair reads on the circle

Wada combination 190

The three colours, mixed two by two

Adapted for screen

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

How to use it

The kit

The accent’s tints

The neutrals, tinted with the accent

Button states and alerts

The same plate, at night

Take it with you

What this combination conveys, and why.

What it conveys, by where each colour landed

How each pair reads on the circle

Complementary

The four colours, mixed two by two

Adapted for screen

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

How to use it

The kit

The accent’s tints

The neutrals, tinted with the accent

Button states and alerts

The same plate, by day

Take it with you

What this combination conveys, and why.

What it conveys, by where each colour landed

What is happening to this palette

How each pair reads on the circle

Analogous

The four colours, mixed two by two

Adapted for screen

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

How to use it

The kit

The accent’s tints

The neutrals, tinted with the accent

Button states and alerts

The same plate, by day

Take it with you

What this combination conveys, and why.

What it conveys, by where each colour landed

What is happening to this palette

How each pair reads on the circle

Monochrome with accent

The four colours, mixed two by two

Adapted for screen

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

How to use it

The kit

The accent’s tints

The neutrals, tinted with the accent

Button states and alerts