Bluenze · Colour sample book

Family · yellowBluenze · Palettes

Palettes by colour

Colours that go with yellow

137 combinations in the book

The only colour you can't darken and keep. Take light away and it becomes olive or mustard, which is a different conversation.

Plate · The book's 21 yellowsHaishoku 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 yellow

Yellow is the lightest colour there is, and that's both its whole advantage and its whole problem. As a background it's luminous and cheap to print; as text it's essentially unreadable on white. Lemon shouts, mustard whispers and egg yellow sits between them: picking the shade matters more here than anywhere else.

It works beautifully with black — the highest-contrast pair that exists, which is why hazard signs use it — and with navy, which makes it nautical and orderly. With warm grey it turns elegant. With brown and terracotta it becomes the seventies palette that's been coming back for a decade.

The hard rule: yellow is never text. If you need it as a button accent, the button label goes in black, not white. And if you use it as a full-page background, drop the saturation about twenty per cent from what looks right on the swatch: at full screen, yellow multiplies.

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

Five palettes with yellow, 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 yellow

Chapter 2 · From the bookHaishoku Sōkan · 1933

From the book

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

124

Pale Burnt Lake, Yellow Ocher, Olive Yellow

#862724 · #e6b730 · #aca24e

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

126

Ivory Buff, Yellow Ocher, Deep Lyons Blue

#efd8a8 · #e6b730 · #20397e

Light · button 3:1Warm and coolIts page →Open →
Chapter 2 · By ruleNamed harmonies

By rule

Three plates built from yellow 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

#e0b52a · #5775ba · #f6f3eb · #1b253f

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

Light · button 3.1:1Warm and coolOpen →

R·02

Analogous

#ffd2c4 · #e0b52a · #84a242 · #f6f3eb

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

Light · button 3.1:1Warm and coolOpen →

R·03

Monochrome with accent

#3a2c00 · #e0b52a · #f3e7c6 · #5173c7

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

Light · button 3.1:1Warm and coolOpen →

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

Plate 01 of 05 · Wada combination 124

All five ↑
The plate, as printedHaishoku Sōkan · 1933

Wada combination 124

  • Pale Burnt Lake#862724
  • Yellow Ocher#e6b730
  • Olive Yellow#aca24e

It contains a colour very close to the starting yellow (Yellow Ocher) and has been in use for almost a century. The original colours are called Pale Burnt Lake · Yellow Ocher · Olive Yellow.

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 pale burnt lake1 part yellow ocher
  • 3 parts yellow ocher1 part olive yellow
  • 3 parts olive yellow1 part pale burnt lake
  • 3 parts pale burnt lake1 part olive yellow
  • 3 parts yellow ocher1 part pale burnt lake
  • 3 parts olive yellow1 part yellow ocher

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 #e6b730, lightened.
  • 30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. From the plate, as is (#e6b730).
  • 10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. The plate's #aca24e, darkened.

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

  1. On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 4.8:1: AA, it reads.Passes
  2. On screen, the text #2f201e on the background #fef4e4 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 #968d3a 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: #fef4e4 on 60% of the screen, #e6b730 on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #968d3a 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 #2f201e, 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 #862724, where size forgives.
  3. The buttonThe accent #968d3a stands 3.1:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #2f201e.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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 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 code124

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 124 — bluenze.com/paletas */
:root {
  --fondo: #fef4e4;
  --superficie: #e6b730;
  --texto: #2f201e;
  --tinta: #2f201e;
  --texto-suave: #745e5b;
  --titular: #862724;
  --acento: #968d3a;
  --acento-texto: #2f201e;
  --enlace: #756f1b;
  --borde: #dcd0bb;

  /* la lámina de Wada, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #862724;
  --lamina-2: #e6b730;
  --lamina-3: #aca24e;

  --acento-50: #faf7e9;
  --acento-100: #f1ebd3;
  --acento-200: #e0d8b0;
  --acento-300: #c9bf88;
  --acento-400: #afa55d;
  --acento-500: #968d3a;
  --acento-600: #787121;
  --acento-700: #5e5911;
  --acento-800: #454107;
  --acento-900: #2e2b00;
  --neutro-50: #f7f6f5;
  --neutro-100: #ecebe8;
  --neutro-200: #d8d7d3;
  --neutro-300: #c0beb8;
  --neutro-400: #a5a39b;
  --neutro-500: #8b8980;
  --neutro-600: #727067;
  --neutro-700: #595750;
  --neutro-800: #41403a;
  --neutro-900: #2b2a26;

  --boton: #968d3a;
  --boton-encima: #837b28;
  --boton-pulsado: #706920;
  --boton-apagado: #d5d1c4;
  --foco: #968e0e;

  --exito: #3b7a3a;
  --aviso: #a08a3a;
  --error: #ac5240;
  --info: #1270b8;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #242215;
    --superficie: #312e1e;
    --borde: #4b4734;
    --texto: #f0eee5;
    --tinta: #f0eee5;
    --texto-suave: #b3b1a7;
    --acento: #a19844;
    --acento-texto: #26241b;
  }
}
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 · 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. There is nowhere for the eye to rest: no neutral, no muted colour, no green. The whole palette asks for attention at once. § 802

How each pair readsZur Farbenlehre · 1810

How each pair reads on the circle

  • Characteristic #862724 · #e6b730

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

  • Characteristic #862724 · #aca24e

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

  • Same sector #e6b730 · #aca24e

    Both fall in the same sector of the circle. There is no hue contrast, so whatever separates them will have to be lightness. § 832

    This verdict is ours. Goethe judges four of the six pairs in this group and says so himself, or one of the two colours sits right between two sectors of the circle.

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 126

All five ↑
The plate, as printedHaishoku Sōkan · 1933

Wada combination 126

  • Ivory Buff#efd8a8
  • Yellow Ocher#e6b730
  • Deep Lyons Blue#20397e

It contains a colour very close to the starting yellow (Yellow Ocher) and has been in use for almost a century. The original colours are called Ivory Buff · Yellow Ocher · Deep Lyons Blue.

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 yellow ocher
  • 3 parts yellow ocher1 part deep lyons blue
  • 3 parts deep lyons blue1 part ivory buff
  • 3 parts ivory buff1 part deep lyons blue
  • 3 parts yellow ocher1 part ivory buff
  • 3 parts deep lyons blue1 part yellow ocher

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 #e6b730, darkened.

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

  1. On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 7.7:1: AAA, reads with room to spare.Passes
  2. On screen, the text #22232e 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
  3. The accent #ae880e stands 3.0:1 from the background (a button needs 3:1) and as a link reaches 4.6:1 (a word needs 4.5:1).Passes
  4. Under deuteranopia, your accent and your background drop to 2.9:1. 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

  1. ProportionDistribute, don't equalise: #fdf4e4 on 60% of the screen, #efd8a8 on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #ae880e 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 #22232e, 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 #20397e, where size forgives.
  3. The buttonThe accent #ae880e stands 3.0:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #22232e.
  4. TemperatureWarm and cool together: let one lead and the other point. Here the background #efd8a8 leads, and the accent #ae880e is the first thing the eye will look for.
  5. 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.
  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 dense ones: loaded colours that need plenty of air around them; less is more.
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 code126

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 126 — bluenze.com/paletas */
:root {
  --fondo: #fdf4e4;
  --superficie: #efd8a8;
  --texto: #22232e;
  --tinta: #22232e;
  --texto-suave: #626271;
  --titular: #20397e;
  --acento: #ae880e;
  --acento-texto: #22232e;
  --enlace: #896a02;
  --borde: #dcd0bb;

  /* la lámina de Wada, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #efd8a8;
  --lamina-2: #e6b730;
  --lamina-3: #20397e;

  --acento-50: #fff5e5;
  --acento-100: #fbe9ca;
  --acento-200: #eed4a2;
  --acento-300: #dbba73;
  --acento-400: #c49e40;
  --acento-500: #ae880e;
  --acento-600: #8a6b04;
  --acento-700: #6d5400;
  --acento-800: #513d00;
  --acento-900: #352803;
  --neutro-50: #f7f6f5;
  --neutro-100: #ecebe8;
  --neutro-200: #d9d7d3;
  --neutro-300: #c1beb8;
  --neutro-400: #a7a39b;
  --neutro-500: #8d8880;
  --neutro-600: #746f67;
  --neutro-700: #5b5750;
  --neutro-800: #433f3a;
  --neutro-900: #2c2a26;

  --boton: #ae880e;
  --boton-encima: #987706;
  --boton-pulsado: #836605;
  --boton-apagado: #dcd2c1;
  --foco: #af8801;

  --exito: #157e24;
  --aviso: #a28a08;
  --error: #be4330;
  --info: #1970b7;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #272115;
    --superficie: #352d1e;
    --borde: #4f4634;
    --texto: #f3ede4;
    --tinta: #f3ede4;
    --texto-suave: #b6b0a6;
    --acento: #b8911b;
    --acento-texto: #292319;
  }
}
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 · 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 · 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 · 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

  • Same sector #efd8a8 · #e6b730

    Both fall in the same sector of the circle. There is no hue contrast, so whatever separates them will have to be lightness. § 832

    This verdict is ours. Goethe judges four of the six pairs in this group and says so himself, or one of the two colours sits right between two sectors of the circle.

  • Characteristic #efd8a8 · #20397e

    Yellow and blue, with green skipped. Goethe finds it poor: red is missing, and the nearness of green leaves it slight. § 819

  • Characteristic #e6b730 · #20397e

    Yellow and blue, with green skipped. Goethe finds it poor: red is missing, and the nearness of green leaves it slight. § 819

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#e0b52a
  • Support#5775ba
  • Background#f6f3eb
  • Text#1b253f

The starting yellow 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 #e0b52a1 part #5775ba
  • 3 parts #5775ba1 part #f6f3eb
  • 3 parts #f6f3eb1 part #1b253f
  • 3 parts #1b253f1 part #e0b52a
  • 3 parts #e0b52a1 part #f6f3eb
  • 3 parts #5775ba1 part #1b253f
  • 3 parts #f6f3eb1 part #e0b52a
  • 3 parts #1b253f1 part #5775ba
  • 3 parts #e0b52a1 part #1b253f
  • 3 parts #5775ba1 part #e0b52a
  • 3 parts #f6f3eb1 part #5775ba
  • 3 parts #1b253f1 part #f6f3eb

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 #f6f3eb, lightened.
  • 30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. The plate's #f6f3eb, darkened.
  • 10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. The plate's #e0b52a, darkened.

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

  1. On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 13.6:1: AAA, reads with room to spare.Passes
  2. On screen, the text #232328 on the background #f7f5f0 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 #a88605 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: #f7f5f0 on 60% of the screen, #e5e2da on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #a88605 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 #232328, 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 #1b253f, where size forgives.
  3. The buttonThe accent #a88605 stands 3.1:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #232328.
  4. TemperatureWarm and cool together: let one lead and the other point. Here the background #e5e2da leads, and the accent #a88605 is the first thing the eye will look for.
  5. How manyFour colours demand discipline: #e5e2da and #1b253f 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: #f7f5f0;
  --superficie: #e5e2da;
  --texto: #232328;
  --tinta: #232328;
  --texto-suave: #626369;
  --titular: #1b253f;
  --acento: #a88605;
  --acento-texto: #232328;
  --enlace: #8a6d03;
  --borde: #d3d1ce;
  --apoyo-1: #5775ba;

  /* la lámina, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #e0b52a;
  --lamina-2: #5775ba;
  --lamina-3: #f6f3eb;
  --lamina-4: #1b253f;

  --acento-50: #fff5e3;
  --acento-100: #fae9ca;
  --acento-200: #edd5a2;
  --acento-300: #dabb72;
  --acento-400: #c19f3f;
  --acento-500: #a88605;
  --acento-600: #886c02;
  --acento-700: #6b5405;
  --acento-800: #4f3e04;
  --acento-900: #352902;
  --neutro-50: #f7f6f5;
  --neutro-100: #ecebe8;
  --neutro-200: #d9d7d3;
  --neutro-300: #c1beb8;
  --neutro-400: #a7a39b;
  --neutro-500: #8d8880;
  --neutro-600: #736f67;
  --neutro-700: #5a5750;
  --neutro-800: #42403a;
  --neutro-900: #2c2a26;

  --boton: #a88605;
  --boton-encima: #92750b;
  --boton-pulsado: #7d6409;
  --boton-apagado: #d9cfbe;
  --foco: #a8860c;

  --exito: #147e23;
  --aviso: #a38a06;
  --error: #bf4330;
  --info: #1870b7;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #272115;
    --superficie: #352d1e;
    --borde: #4e4634;
    --texto: #f2ede4;
    --tinta: #f2ede4;
    --texto-suave: #b6b0a6;
    --acento: #b5921a;
    --acento-texto: #282318;
  }
}
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.

  • 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 · 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

  • Characteristic #e0b52a · #5775ba

    Yellow and blue, with green skipped. Goethe finds it poor: red is missing, and the nearness of green leaves it slight. § 819

  • With a neutral #e0b52a · #f6f3eb

    Next to white, a colour from the active side loses force. § 831

  • Characteristic #e0b52a · #1b253f

    Yellow and blue, with green skipped. Goethe finds it poor: red is missing, and the nearness of green leaves it slight. § 819

  • With a neutral #5775ba · #f6f3eb

    Next to white, a colour from the passive side gains in liveliness. § 831

  • Same sector #5775ba · #1b253f

    Both fall in the same sector of the circle. There is no hue contrast, so whatever separates them will have to be lightness. § 832

    This verdict is ours. Goethe judges four of the six pairs in this group and says so himself, or one of the two colours sits right between two sectors of the circle.

  • With a neutral #f6f3eb · #1b253f

    Next to white, a colour from the passive side gains in liveliness. § 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#ffd2c4
  • Support#e0b52a
  • Text#84a242
  • Background#f6f3eb

The starting yellow 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 #ffd2c41 part #e0b52a
  • 3 parts #e0b52a1 part #84a242
  • 3 parts #84a2421 part #f6f3eb
  • 3 parts #f6f3eb1 part #ffd2c4
  • 3 parts #ffd2c41 part #84a242
  • 3 parts #e0b52a1 part #f6f3eb
  • 3 parts #84a2421 part #ffd2c4
  • 3 parts #f6f3eb1 part #e0b52a
  • 3 parts #ffd2c41 part #f6f3eb
  • 3 parts #e0b52a1 part #ffd2c4
  • 3 parts #84a2421 part #e0b52a
  • 3 parts #f6f3eb1 part #84a242

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 #f6f3eb, lightened.
  • 30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. The plate's #f6f3eb, darkened.
  • 10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. The plate's #ffd2c4, darkened.

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

  1. On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 2.6:1: does not read.Falls short
  2. On screen, the text #22251a on the background #f7f5f0 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 #aa8175 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: #f7f5f0 on 60% of the screen, #e5e2da on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #aa8175 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 2.6:1). That is why body text goes in #22251a, a near-neutral ink tinted with the palette's hue: it is not in the book, and it is needed.
  3. The buttonThe accent #aa8175 stands 3.1:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #22251a.
  4. TemperatureWarm and cool together: let one lead and the other point. Here the background #e5e2da leads, and the accent #aa8175 is the first thing the eye will look for.
  5. How manyFour colours demand discipline: #e5e2da and #5a7818 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: #f7f5f0;
  --superficie: #e5e2da;
  --texto: #22251a;
  --tinta: #22251a;
  --texto-suave: #616555;
  --titular: #5a7818;
  --acento: #aa8175;
  --acento-texto: #22251a;
  --enlace: #896357;
  --borde: #d3d1ce;
  --apoyo-1: #e0b52a;

  /* la lámina, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #ffd2c4;
  --lamina-2: #e0b52a;
  --lamina-3: #84a242;
  --lamina-4: #f6f3eb;

  --acento-50: #fdf5f3;
  --acento-100: #f6e8e4;
  --acento-200: #e8d3cc;
  --acento-300: #d6b8af;
  --acento-400: #c09b90;
  --acento-500: #aa8175;
  --acento-600: #8d675b;
  --acento-700: #704f46;
  --acento-800: #543a32;
  --acento-900: #39251f;
  --neutro-50: #f8f6f5;
  --neutro-100: #eeeae9;
  --neutro-200: #dcd6d4;
  --neutro-300: #c5bcba;
  --neutro-400: #aba19e;
  --neutro-500: #928683;
  --neutro-600: #786d6a;
  --neutro-700: #5e5552;
  --neutro-800: #463e3c;
  --neutro-900: #2e2927;

  --boton: #aa8175;
  --boton-encima: #976f64;
  --boton-pulsado: #7f6057;
  --boton-apagado: #d6cfcd;
  --foco: #c37761;

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

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #27201e;
    --superficie: #352c2a;
    --borde: #504441;
    --texto: #f2edeb;
    --tinta: #f2edeb;
    --texto-suave: #b5afae;
    --acento: #b68c80;
    --acento-texto: #272321;
  }
}
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 · 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 · 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

How each pair readsZur Farbenlehre · 1810

How each pair reads on the circle

  • Adjacent #ffd2c4 · #e0b52a

    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

  • Characteristic #ffd2c4 · #84a242

    Characteristic by geometry — there is a colour skipped between the two. But Goethe judges only four pairs in this group, and this is not one of them. § 823

    This verdict is ours. Goethe judges four of the six pairs in this group and says so himself, or one of the two colours sits right between two sectors of the circle.

  • With a neutral #ffd2c4 · #f6f3eb

    Next to white, a colour from the active side loses force. § 831

  • Adjacent #e0b52a · #84a242

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

    This verdict is ours. Goethe judges four of the six pairs in this group and says so himself, or one of the two colours sits right between two sectors of the circle.

  • With a neutral #e0b52a · #f6f3eb

    Next to white, a colour from the active side loses force. § 831

  • With a neutral #84a242 · #f6f3eb

    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#3a2c00
  • Accent#e0b52a
  • Background#f3e7c6
  • Support#5173c7

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 #3a2c001 part #e0b52a
  • 3 parts #e0b52a1 part #f3e7c6
  • 3 parts #f3e7c61 part #5173c7
  • 3 parts #5173c71 part #3a2c00
  • 3 parts #3a2c001 part #f3e7c6
  • 3 parts #e0b52a1 part #5173c7
  • 3 parts #f3e7c61 part #3a2c00
  • 3 parts #5173c71 part #e0b52a
  • 3 parts #3a2c001 part #5173c7
  • 3 parts #e0b52a1 part #3a2c00
  • 3 parts #f3e7c61 part #e0b52a
  • 3 parts #5173c71 part #f3e7c6

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 #f3e7c6, lightened.
  • 30% SurfaceCards, bands, headers. This is where the book's colour lives. From the plate, as is (#f3e7c6).
  • 10% AccentOnly what gets clicked. The plate's #e0b52a, darkened.

The roles the plate doesn’t carry

Measured, before and after

  1. On the plate, the best pair of colours reads at 11.0:1: AAA, reads with room to spare.Passes
  2. On screen, the text #27231d on the background #fbf5e4 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 #a88605 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: #fbf5e4 on 60% of the screen, #f3e7c6 on 30% (cards, bands, headers) and #a88605 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 #27231d, 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 #3a2c00, where size forgives.
  3. The buttonThe accent #a88605 stands 3.1:1 apart from the background: it works as a button, with text in #27231d.
  4. TemperatureWarm and cool together: let one lead and the other point. Here the background #f3e7c6 leads, and the accent #a88605 is the first thing the eye will look for.
  5. How manyFour colours demand discipline: #f3e7c6 and #3a2c00 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: #fbf5e4;
  --superficie: #f3e7c6;
  --texto: #27231d;
  --tinta: #27231d;
  --texto-suave: #67635a;
  --titular: #3a2c00;
  --acento: #a88605;
  --acento-texto: #27231d;
  --enlace: #8a6d03;
  --borde: #d7d1c1;
  --apoyo-1: #5173c7;

  /* la lámina, tal cual */
  --lamina-1: #3a2c00;
  --lamina-2: #e0b52a;
  --lamina-3: #f3e7c6;
  --lamina-4: #5173c7;

  --acento-50: #fff5e3;
  --acento-100: #fae9ca;
  --acento-200: #edd5a2;
  --acento-300: #dabb72;
  --acento-400: #c19f3f;
  --acento-500: #a88605;
  --acento-600: #886c02;
  --acento-700: #6b5405;
  --acento-800: #4f3e04;
  --acento-900: #352902;
  --neutro-50: #f7f6f5;
  --neutro-100: #ecebe8;
  --neutro-200: #d9d7d3;
  --neutro-300: #c1beb8;
  --neutro-400: #a7a39b;
  --neutro-500: #8d8880;
  --neutro-600: #736f67;
  --neutro-700: #5a5750;
  --neutro-800: #42403a;
  --neutro-900: #2c2a26;

  --boton: #a88605;
  --boton-encima: #92750b;
  --boton-pulsado: #7d6409;
  --boton-apagado: #d9cfbe;
  --foco: #a8860c;

  --exito: #147e23;
  --aviso: #a38a06;
  --error: #bf4330;
  --info: #1870b7;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --fondo: #272115;
    --superficie: #352d1e;
    --borde: #4e4634;
    --texto: #f2ede4;
    --tinta: #f2ede4;
    --texto-suave: #b6b0a6;
    --acento: #b5921a;
    --acento-texto: #282318;
  }
}
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 · 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 and Heading · 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

How each pair readsZur Farbenlehre · 1810

How each pair reads on the circle

  • Same sector #3a2c00 · #e0b52a

    Both fall in the same sector of the circle. There is no hue contrast, so whatever separates them will have to be lightness. § 832

    This verdict is ours. Goethe judges four of the six pairs in this group and says so himself, or one of the two colours sits right between two sectors of the circle.

  • Same sector #3a2c00 · #f3e7c6

    Both fall in the same sector of the circle. There is no hue contrast, so whatever separates them will have to be lightness. § 832

    This verdict is ours. Goethe judges four of the six pairs in this group and says so himself, or one of the two colours sits right between two sectors of the circle.

  • Characteristic #3a2c00 · #5173c7

    Yellow and blue, with green skipped. Goethe finds it poor: red is missing, and the nearness of green leaves it slight. § 819

  • Same sector #e0b52a · #f3e7c6

    Both fall in the same sector of the circle. There is no hue contrast, so whatever separates them will have to be lightness. § 832

    This verdict is ours. Goethe judges four of the six pairs in this group and says so himself, or one of the two colours sits right between two sectors of the circle.

  • Characteristic #e0b52a · #5173c7

    Yellow and blue, with green skipped. Goethe finds it poor: red is missing, and the nearness of green leaves it slight. § 819

  • Characteristic #f3e7c6 · #5173c7

    Yellow and blue, with green skipped. Goethe finds it poor: red is missing, and the nearness of green leaves it slight. § 819

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 · 137 combinationsHaishoku Sōkan · 1933

Wada's combinations with yellow.

Here are the 24 with the most colours out of the 137 that use some yellow. 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 →