Bluenze · Colour sample book

Family · greyBluenze · Palettes

Palettes by colour

Colours that go with grey

69 combinations in the book

Grey isn't the absence of colour: it's the decision to let something else lead. Usually the typography.

Plate · The book's 11 greysHaishoku Sōkan · 1933

From light to dark. Tap one and the book remakes itself from that colour.

Chapter 1 · What goes with itWritten, not generated

What goes with grey

A pure grey — the same value in all three channels — is an operating-system colour, not a brand one. Grey that works always carries something: a touch of blue turns it technical, a touch of yellow turns it warm and old, a touch of green turns it stone. It's the difference between a site that looks designed and one that looks assembled.

Everything goes with grey, so the useful question is a different one: how much colour can it take before it stops being grey. The answer is usually «one, and small». A grey background, black text and a single accent is the formula behind most Swiss design and it still works. Wada, who worked with dyes, mostly uses grey to give dense colours room.

The common failure with grey is text. A mid grey on white looks elegant in the mockup and disappears on a phone in daylight. If the text is grey, make it dark grey: below 4.5:1 you're asking people to squint, and half of them won't.

The card · For sharing1200 × 630
Colour palette grey, with its hex codes
This palette’s card: it’s what shows when you share it.

Five palettes with grey, each with a reason.

Two come from Wada's dictionary and three from named harmony rules. Each arrives with the roles assigned — which colour is the background, which the text, which the button — painted at page size and with the contrast measured. If you want your exact hue, change it in the tool.

See all five ↓All the dictionary combinations →Go to the tool →

Chapter 2 · Five plates with grey

Chapter 2 · From the bookHaishoku Sōkan · 1933

From the book

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

244

Light Brown Drab, Vinaceous Tawny, Andover Green, Antwarp Blue

#be9f9e · #c75b16 · #728179 · #006984

Light · button 4.8:1Warm and coolIts page →Open →

346

Turquoise Green, Light Green Yellow, Andover Green, Rosolanc Purple

#c2e1cf · #cfd23e · #728179 · #b9366c

Light · button 3.1:1Warm and coolIts page →Open →
Chapter 2 · By ruleNamed harmonies

By rule

Three plates built from grey 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

#8a8b86 · #4c4b4e · #f3f5ec · #27252d

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

Light · button 3.1:1All neutralOpen →

R·02

Analogous

#b0afab · #8a8b86 · #666864 · #f3f5ec

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

Light · button 3.1:1All neutralOpen →

R·03

Monochrome with accent

#2d2e29 · #8a8b86 · #e7e9e3 · #4c4b4f

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

Light · button 7.9:1All 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 244

All five ↑
The plate, as printedHaishoku Sōkan · 1933

Wada combination 244

  • Light Brown Drab#be9f9e
  • Vinaceous Tawny#c75b16
  • Andover Green#728179
  • Antwarp Blue#006984

It contains a colour very close to the starting grey (Andover Green) and has been in use for almost a century. The original colours are called Light Brown Drab · Vinaceous Tawny · Andover Green · Antwarp Blue.

4 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 four colours, mixed two by two

  • 3 parts light brown drab1 part vinaceous tawny
  • 3 parts vinaceous tawny1 part andover green
  • 3 parts andover green1 part antwarp blue
  • 3 parts antwarp blue1 part light brown drab
  • 3 parts light brown drab1 part andover green
  • 3 parts vinaceous tawny1 part antwarp blue
  • 3 parts andover green1 part light brown drab
  • 3 parts antwarp blue1 part vinaceous tawny
  • 3 parts light brown drab1 part antwarp blue
  • 3 parts vinaceous tawny1 part light brown drab
  • 3 parts andover green1 part vinaceous tawny
  • 3 parts antwarp blue1 part andover green

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 #be9f9e, lightened.
  • 30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. From the plate, as is (#be9f9e).
  • 10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. The plate's #c75b16, darkened.

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

  1. On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 2.5:1: does not read.Falls short
  2. On screen, the text #1c2529 on the background #fff2f2 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
  3. The accent #b54b01 stands 4.8:1 from the background (a button needs 3:1) and as a link reaches 4.8:1 (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

  1. ProportionDistribute, don't equalise: #fff2f2 on 60% of the screen, #be9f9e on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #b54b01 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.
  2. TextNo pair on the plate read as text (the best gave 2.5:1). That is why body text goes in #1c2529, a near-neutral ink tinted with the palette's hue: it is not in the book, and it is needed.
  3. The buttonThe accent #b54b01 stands 4.8:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #fcf5f5.
  4. TemperatureWarm and cool together: let one lead and the other point. Here the background #be9f9e leads, and the accent #b54b01 is the first thing the eye will look for.
  5. How manyFour colours demand discipline: #be9f9e and #006984 are the base, the other two are detail. If in doubt, drop the support colour before the accent.
  6. In the dictionaryIn the dictionary it sits among the contrasting-hue sets: hues deliberately set against each other. The contrast is already there; don't force it with shadows or blacks. It is one of the pale ones: muted tones that get along; running text needs an ink from outside, near black.
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 code244

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 244 — bluenze.com/paletas */
:root {
  --fondo: #fff2f2;
  --superficie: #be9f9e;
  --texto: #1c2529;
  --tinta: #1c2529;
  --texto-suave: #5a656a;
  --titular: #006984;
  --acento: #b54b01;
  --acento-texto: #fcf5f5;
  --enlace: #b44c02;
  --borde: #dececd;
  --apoyo-1: #728179;

  /* la lámina de Wada, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #be9f9e;
  --lamina-2: #c75b16;
  --lamina-3: #728179;
  --lamina-4: #006984;

  --acento-50: #f6f6f6;
  --acento-100: #fee6db;
  --acento-200: #ffcdb3;
  --acento-300: #ffaa7c;
  --acento-400: #ef884e;
  --acento-500: #d96925;
  --acento-600: #b54b01;
  --acento-700: #933d03;
  --acento-800: #6e2c01;
  --acento-900: #481e00;
  --neutro-50: #f8f6f5;
  --neutro-100: #eeeae9;
  --neutro-200: #dbd6d4;
  --neutro-300: #c4bdb9;
  --neutro-400: #aaa19d;
  --neutro-500: #918782;
  --neutro-600: #776e69;
  --neutro-700: #5e5551;
  --neutro-800: #453f3b;
  --neutro-900: #2e2926;

  --boton: #b54b01;
  --boton-encima: #993f02;
  --boton-pulsado: #7e3303;
  --boton-apagado: #c1aa9f;
  --foco: #b34d09;

  --exito: #0e7f21;
  --aviso: #a38a0f;
  --error: #c63b29;
  --info: #1c70b6;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #2c1f18;
    --superficie: #3c2a22;
    --borde: #574238;
    --texto: #f7ece6;
    --tinta: #f7ece6;
    --texto-suave: #bbaea8;
    --acento: #e97632;
    --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 palette crosses both sides of the circle, active and passive. It carries the most tension and most needs one of the two to lead.

  • Surface · red

    Red at full surface leaves room for nothing else. It is the colour of gravity and dignity, and in a background that reads as constant weight. § 790

  • 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

  • Heading · blue

    Blue recedes, and an accent is asked to do the opposite. As a link it only has to be distinguishable; as a primary button it needs contrast to do the work the colour will not. § 781

How each pair readsZur Farbenlehre · 1810

How each pair reads on the circle

  • Adjacent #be9f9e · #c75b16

    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 #be9f9e · #728179

    Next to black, a colour from the active side gains energy. § 831

  • Characteristic #be9f9e · #006984

    Blue and red, with violet skipped. It approaches the effect of the violet their mixture would produce. § 821

  • With a neutral #c75b16 · #728179

    Next to black, a colour from the active side gains energy. § 831

  • Opposite #c75b16 · #006984

    Opposite on the circle: together they complete what the eye asks for on its own. It is the only category Goethe approves without reservation. § 810

  • With a neutral #728179 · #006984

    Next to black, a colour from the passive side loses. § 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 346

All five ↑
The plate, as printedHaishoku Sōkan · 1933

Wada combination 346

  • Turquoise Green#c2e1cf
  • Light Green Yellow#cfd23e
  • Andover Green#728179
  • Rosolanc Purple#b9366c

It contains a colour very close to the starting grey (Andover Green) and has been in use for almost a century. The original colours are called Turquoise Green · Light Green Yellow · Andover Green · Rosolanc Purple.

4 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 four colours, mixed two by two

  • 3 parts turquoise green1 part light green yellow
  • 3 parts light green yellow1 part andover green
  • 3 parts andover green1 part rosolanc purple
  • 3 parts rosolanc purple1 part turquoise green
  • 3 parts turquoise green1 part andover green
  • 3 parts light green yellow1 part rosolanc purple
  • 3 parts andover green1 part turquoise green
  • 3 parts rosolanc purple1 part light green yellow
  • 3 parts turquoise green1 part rosolanc purple
  • 3 parts light green yellow1 part turquoise green
  • 3 parts andover green1 part light green yellow
  • 3 parts rosolanc purple1 part andover green

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 #c2e1cf, lightened.
  • 30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. From the plate, as is (#c2e1cf).
  • 10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. The plate's #cfd23e, darkened.

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

  1. On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 3.9:1: only good for large text.Falls short
  2. On screen, the text #2e2024 on the background #e7faee gives 14.3:1: AAA, reads with room to spare. APCA gives Lc 97: good for small text, the kind you read a paragraph of.Passes
  3. The accent #8c9005 stands 3.1:1 from the background (a button needs 3:1) and as a link reaches 4.8:1 (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

  1. ProportionDistribute, don't equalise: #e7faee on 60% of the screen, #c2e1cf on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #8c9005 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.
  2. TextNo pair on the plate read as text (the best gave 3.9:1). That is why body text goes in #2e2024, a near-neutral ink tinted with the palette's hue: it is not in the book, and it is needed.
  3. The buttonThe accent #8c9005 stands 3.1:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #2e2024.
  4. TemperatureWarm and cool together: let one lead and the other point. Here the background #c2e1cf leads, and the accent #8c9005 is the first thing the eye will look for.
  5. How manyFour colours demand discipline: #c2e1cf and #b9366c are the base, the other two are detail. If in doubt, drop the support colour before the accent.
  6. In the dictionaryIn the dictionary it sits among the contrasting-hue sets: hues deliberately set against each other. The contrast is already there; don't force it with shadows or blacks. It is one of the pale ones: muted tones that get along; running text needs an ink from outside, near black.
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 code346

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 346 — bluenze.com/paletas */
:root {
  --fondo: #e7faee;
  --superficie: #c2e1cf;
  --texto: #2e2024;
  --tinta: #2e2024;
  --texto-suave: #735d64;
  --titular: #b9366c;
  --acento: #8c9005;
  --acento-texto: #2e2024;
  --enlace: #6d7108;
  --borde: #c6d5cc;
  --apoyo-1: #728179;

  /* la lámina de Wada, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #c2e1cf;
  --lamina-2: #cfd23e;
  --lamina-3: #728179;
  --lamina-4: #b9366c;

  --acento-50: #f9f7e4;
  --acento-100: #f0ecca;
  --acento-200: #dddaa2;
  --acento-300: #c5c273;
  --acento-400: #a8a840;
  --acento-500: #8c9005;
  --acento-600: #717401;
  --acento-700: #585b05;
  --acento-800: #414304;
  --acento-900: #2c2c03;
  --neutro-50: #f7f6f5;
  --neutro-100: #ebebe8;
  --neutro-200: #d8d7d3;
  --neutro-300: #bfbeb8;
  --neutro-400: #a4a39c;
  --neutro-500: #8a8980;
  --neutro-600: #717067;
  --neutro-700: #585750;
  --neutro-800: #41403a;
  --neutro-900: #2b2a26;

  --boton: #8c9005;
  --boton-encima: #7a7d0c;
  --boton-pulsado: #696b09;
  --boton-apagado: #d3d1be;
  --foco: #8c900d;

  --exito: #107e22;
  --aviso: #a38a01;
  --error: #c0422f;
  --info: #1270b8;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #232215;
    --superficie: #302f1f;
    --borde: #494735;
    --texto: #efeee4;
    --tinta: #efeee4;
    --texto-suave: #b2b1a6;
    --acento: #989c1a;
    --acento-texto: #252419;
  }
}
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 · green

    Green is where the eye rests. Goethe says whoever looks at it neither wishes nor is able to imagine anything beyond it, which is why it was the colour for rooms you live in. In an interface that is precisely a background. § 802

  • Accent · yellow

    Yellow points, but it loses the moment the ground stops being smooth and bright. On screen that means shadows, gradients and small type on top. § 771

  • Heading · 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

What is happening to this palette

  1. #c2e1cf and #cfd23e are neighbours on the circle and only 5 points of lightness apart. This is the failure Goethe describes without naming it: well-chosen colours placed at the wrong value. They vibrate, and neither can be read on top of the other. § 899

How each pair readsZur Farbenlehre · 1810

How each pair reads on the circle

  • Adjacent #c2e1cf · #cfd23e

    Adjacent on the circle, with nothing between them. Ordinary and agreeable: it says little, and it does not offend. § 829

  • With a neutral #c2e1cf · #728179

    A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

  • Opposite #c2e1cf · #b9366c

    Opposite on the circle: together they complete what the eye asks for on its own. It is the only category Goethe approves without reservation. § 810

  • With a neutral #cfd23e · #728179

    Next to black, a colour from the active side gains energy. § 831

  • Characteristic #cfd23e · #b9366c

    Yellow and red, with orange skipped between them. The characteristic pair he thinks best: serene and magnificent. § 820

  • With a neutral #728179 · #b9366c

    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

  • Accent#8a8b86
  • Support#4c4b4e
  • Background#f3f5ec
  • Text#27252d

The starting grey 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 #8a8b861 part #4c4b4e
  • 3 parts #4c4b4e1 part #f3f5ec
  • 3 parts #f3f5ec1 part #27252d
  • 3 parts #27252d1 part #8a8b86
  • 3 parts #8a8b861 part #f3f5ec
  • 3 parts #4c4b4e1 part #27252d
  • 3 parts #f3f5ec1 part #8a8b86
  • 3 parts #27252d1 part #4c4b4e
  • 3 parts #8a8b861 part #27252d
  • 3 parts #4c4b4e1 part #8a8b86
  • 3 parts #f3f5ec1 part #4c4b4e
  • 3 parts #27252d1 part #f3f5ec

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 #f3f5ec, lightened.
  • 30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. The plate's #f3f5ec, darkened.
  • 10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. From the plate, as is (#8a8b86).

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

  1. On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 13.7:1: AAA, reads with room to spare.Passes
  2. On screen, the text #242325 on the background #f4f6f0 gives 14.3:1: AAA, reads with room to spare. APCA gives Lc 97: good for small text, the kind you read a paragraph of.Passes
  3. The accent #8a8b86 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

  1. ProportionDistribute, don't equalise: #f4f6f0 on 60% of the screen, #e2e4db on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #8a8b86 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.
  2. TextBody text goes in #242325, 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 #27252d, where size forgives.
  3. The buttonThe accent #8a8b86 stands 3.1:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #242325.
  4. 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.
  5. How manyFour colours demand discipline: #e2e4db and #27252d 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, 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

/* Complementary — bluenze.com/paletas */
:root {
  --fondo: #f4f6f0;
  --superficie: #e2e4db;
  --texto: #242325;
  --tinta: #242325;
  --texto-suave: #636365;
  --titular: #27252d;
  --acento: #8a8b86;
  --acento-texto: #242325;
  --enlace: #6c6d68;
  --borde: #d1d2ce;
  --apoyo-1: #4c4b4e;

  /* la lámina, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #8a8b86;
  --lamina-2: #4c4b4e;
  --lamina-3: #f3f5ec;
  --lamina-4: #27252d;

  --acento-50: #f6f6f6;
  --acento-100: #ebebe9;
  --acento-200: #d7d7d5;
  --acento-300: #bebebb;
  --acento-400: #a3a49f;
  --acento-500: #8a8b86;
  --acento-600: #6f706b;
  --acento-700: #575753;
  --acento-800: #40403d;
  --acento-900: #2a2a28;
  --neutro-50: #f6f7f5;
  --neutro-100: #ebebe8;
  --neutro-200: #d7d8d3;
  --neutro-300: #bebfb9;
  --neutro-400: #a2a49c;
  --neutro-500: #888a81;
  --neutro-600: #6f7068;
  --neutro-700: #565851;
  --neutro-800: #3f403b;
  --neutro-900: #292a26;

  --boton: #8a8b86;
  --boton-encima: #787974;
  --boton-pulsado: #676767;
  --boton-apagado: #d0d1d0;
  --foco: #868e6a;

  --exito: #457942;
  --aviso: #9e8b48;
  --error: #a45747;
  --info: #3670ac;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #212221;
    --superficie: #2e2e2d;
    --borde: #474745;
    --texto: #eeeeed;
    --tinta: #eeeeed;
    --texto-suave: #b0b1b0;
    --acento: #959691;
    --acento-texto: #242423;
  }
}
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

    1. 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 #8a8b86 · #4c4b4e

      A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

    • With a neutral #8a8b86 · #f3f5ec

      A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

    • With a neutral #8a8b86 · #27252d

      A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

    • With a neutral #4c4b4e · #f3f5ec

      A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

    • With a neutral #4c4b4e · #27252d

      A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

    • With a neutral #f3f5ec · #27252d

      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

    • Accent#b0afab
    • Support#8a8b86
    • Text#666864
    • Background#f3f5ec

    The starting grey 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 #b0afab1 part #8a8b86
    • 3 parts #8a8b861 part #666864
    • 3 parts #6668641 part #f3f5ec
    • 3 parts #f3f5ec1 part #b0afab
    • 3 parts #b0afab1 part #666864
    • 3 parts #8a8b861 part #f3f5ec
    • 3 parts #6668641 part #b0afab
    • 3 parts #f3f5ec1 part #8a8b86
    • 3 parts #b0afab1 part #f3f5ec
    • 3 parts #8a8b861 part #b0afab
    • 3 parts #6668641 part #8a8b86
    • 3 parts #f3f5ec1 part #666864

    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 #f3f5ec, lightened.
    • 30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. The plate's #f3f5ec, darkened.
    • 10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. The plate's #b0afab, darkened.

    The roles the plate doesn’t carry

    Measured, before and after

    1. On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 5.1:1: AA, it reads.Passes
    2. On screen, the text #232423 on the background #f4f6f0 gives 14.3:1: AAA, reads with room to spare. APCA gives Lc 97: good for small text, the kind you read a paragraph of.Passes
    3. The accent #8b8a86 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

    1. ProportionDistribute, don't equalise: #f4f6f0 on 60% of the screen, #e2e4db on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #8b8a86 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.
    2. 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 #666864, where size forgives.
    3. The buttonThe accent #8b8a86 stands 3.1:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #232423.
    4. 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.
    5. How manyFour colours demand discipline: #e2e4db and #666864 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, 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

    /* Analogous — bluenze.com/paletas */
:root {
  --fondo: #f4f6f0;
  --superficie: #e2e4db;
  --texto: #232423;
  --tinta: #232423;
  --texto-suave: #636362;
  --titular: #666864;
  --acento: #8b8a86;
  --acento-texto: #232423;
  --enlace: #71716d;
  --borde: #d1d2ce;
  --apoyo-1: #8a8b86;

  /* la lámina, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #b0afab;
  --lamina-2: #8a8b86;
  --lamina-3: #666864;
  --lamina-4: #f3f5ec;

  --acento-50: #f7f6f6;
  --acento-100: #ebebea;
  --acento-200: #d8d7d5;
  --acento-300: #bfbebb;
  --acento-400: #a4a3a0;
  --acento-500: #8b8a86;
  --acento-600: #706f6c;
  --acento-700: #585754;
  --acento-800: #40403d;
  --acento-900: #2a2a28;
  --neutro-50: #f7f6f5;
  --neutro-100: #ecebe8;
  --neutro-200: #d8d7d3;
  --neutro-300: #c0beb8;
  --neutro-400: #a5a39b;
  --neutro-500: #8b8980;
  --neutro-600: #717067;
  --neutro-700: #595750;
  --neutro-800: #41403a;
  --neutro-900: #2b2a26;

  --boton: #8b8a86;
  --boton-encima: #797874;
  --boton-pulsado: #676767;
  --boton-apagado: #d0d0cf;
  --foco: #918b67;

  --exito: #457942;
  --aviso: #9e8b48;
  --error: #a45747;
  --info: #3670ac;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #222221;
    --superficie: #2e2e2d;
    --borde: #474746;
    --texto: #eeeeed;
    --tinta: #eeeeed;
    --texto-suave: #b1b0b0;
    --acento: #979692;
    --acento-texto: #242423;
  }
}
    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

      1. 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 #b0afab · #8a8b86

        A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

      • With a neutral #b0afab · #666864

        A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

      • With a neutral #b0afab · #f3f5ec

        A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

      • With a neutral #8a8b86 · #666864

        A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

      • With a neutral #8a8b86 · #f3f5ec

        A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

      • With a neutral #666864 · #f3f5ec

        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

      • Text#2d2e29
      • Support#8a8b86
      • Background#e7e9e3
      • Accent#4c4b4f

      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 #2d2e291 part #8a8b86
      • 3 parts #8a8b861 part #e7e9e3
      • 3 parts #e7e9e31 part #4c4b4f
      • 3 parts #4c4b4f1 part #2d2e29
      • 3 parts #2d2e291 part #e7e9e3
      • 3 parts #8a8b861 part #4c4b4f
      • 3 parts #e7e9e31 part #2d2e29
      • 3 parts #4c4b4f1 part #8a8b86
      • 3 parts #2d2e291 part #4c4b4f
      • 3 parts #8a8b861 part #2d2e29
      • 3 parts #e7e9e31 part #8a8b86
      • 3 parts #4c4b4f1 part #e7e9e3

      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 #e7e9e3, lightened.
      • 30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. From the plate, as is (#e7e9e3).
      • 10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. From the plate, as is (#4c4b4f).

      The roles the plate doesn’t carry

      Measured, before and after

      1. On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 11.1:1: AAA, reads with room to spare.Passes
      2. On screen, the text #242423 on the background #f4f5f2 gives 14.1:1: AAA, reads with room to spare. APCA gives Lc 96: good for small text, the kind you read a paragraph of.Passes
      3. The accent #4c4b4f stands 7.9:1 from the background (a button needs 3:1) and as a link reaches 7.9:1 (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

      1. ProportionDistribute, don't equalise: #f4f5f2 on 60% of the screen, #e7e9e3 on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #4c4b4f 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.
      2. TextBody text goes in #242423, 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 #2d2e29, where size forgives.
      3. The buttonThe accent #4c4b4f stands 7.9:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #f6f7f5.
      4. 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.
      5. How manyFour colours demand discipline: #e7e9e3 and #2d2e29 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, 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

      /* Monochrome with accent — bluenze.com/paletas */
:root {
  --fondo: #f4f5f2;
  --superficie: #e7e9e3;
  --texto: #242423;
  --tinta: #242423;
  --texto-suave: #636362;
  --titular: #2d2e29;
  --acento: #4c4b4f;
  --acento-texto: #f6f7f5;
  --enlace: #4c4b4f;
  --borde: #d1d2cf;
  --apoyo-1: #8a8b86;

  /* la lámina, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #2d2e29;
  --lamina-2: #8a8b86;
  --lamina-3: #e7e9e3;
  --lamina-4: #4c4b4f;

  --acento-50: #f6f6f7;
  --acento-100: #ebebec;
  --acento-200: #d7d7d9;
  --acento-300: #bebec1;
  --acento-400: #a4a3a6;
  --acento-500: #89888d;
  --acento-600: #706f73;
  --acento-700: #4c4b4f;
  --acento-800: #403f42;
  --acento-900: #2a2a2c;
  --neutro-50: #f7f6f8;
  --neutro-100: #ebebed;
  --neutro-200: #d8d7db;
  --neutro-300: #bfbdc3;
  --neutro-400: #a4a2aa;
  --neutro-500: #8a8890;
  --neutro-600: #706e77;
  --neutro-700: #58565d;
  --neutro-800: #403f45;
  --neutro-900: #2a292e;

  --boton: #4c4b4f;
  --boton-encima: #3c3b3f;
  --boton-pulsado: #2c2c2c;
  --boton-apagado: #8c8c8c;
  --foco: #4e4767;

  --exito: #457942;
  --aviso: #9e8b48;
  --error: #a45747;
  --info: #3670ac;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #222122;
    --superficie: #2e2e2f;
    --borde: #474648;
    --texto: #eeeeee;
    --tinta: #eeeeee;
    --texto-suave: #b1b0b1;
    --acento: #96959a;
    --acento-texto: #242424;
  }
}
      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

        1. 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 #2d2e29 · #8a8b86

          A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

        • With a neutral #2d2e29 · #e7e9e3

          A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

        • With a neutral #2d2e29 · #4c4b4f

          A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

        • With a neutral #8a8b86 · #e7e9e3

          A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

        • With a neutral #8a8b86 · #4c4b4f

          A neutral with a colour that has no side on the circle. Goethe has nothing to say here. § 831

        • With a neutral #e7e9e3 · #4c4b4f

          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.

        Index · 69 combinationsHaishoku Sōkan · 1933

        Wada's combinations with grey.

        Here are the 24 with the most colours out of the 69 that use some grey. The rest are in the dictionary.

        All the dictionary combinations →Go to the tool →

        The other elevenColours that go with…

        The other colours

        And if your colour is another one.

        All twelve families on one plate →

        Combinations based on Sanzō Wada's system (Haishoku Sōkan, 1933-34; Seigensha selection, 2010). Colour values are checked against that edition; the Spanish names, each combination's character and the explanations are ours.

        Colophon

        Colour is where it starts, not the whole job

        If it is for your brand, this is what we do: custom websites that start with colour and end in code.

        Custom web design →And your current site? See if they can find you →