Collection · 24 palettes

Color Palettes for Branding

Combinations with the gravitas to carry a brand — not just a moodboard.

Every palette here has been used in real client work: editorial publications, museum identity systems, heritage-led consumer brands, restaurant programs. They work at print scale, they work at favicon scale, and they survive the client review where someone asks "can we see it on navy?" The answer is always yes.

Heian era

Crimson & Navy— 紅と紺

Deep safflower crimson against navy — the courtly contrast of Heian-era robes and formal Edo textiles.

Muromachi era

Scorched Brown & Unbleached— 焦茶と生成

The dark brown of scorched wood against unbleached hemp — quiet materials.

Edo era

Madder Red & Evergreen— 茜と常磐

The rooted red of madder-dyed cotton set against enduring pine green.

Edo era

Persimmon & Burnt Brown— 柿と焦茶

Autumn persimmon against scorched cedar — harvest colors from the countryside.

Edo era

Crimson Lake & Pine— 臙脂と松葉

The deep lake crimson of cochineal against pine needle green — winter evergreen.

Kamakura era

Vermillion, Black, Gold— 朱・黒・金

The ceremonial triad of temple lacquerware — vermillion, lacquer black, gold leaf.

Edo era

Kerria Gold & Chestnut— 山吹と栗

The bright gold of the kerria flower against the warm brown of roasted chestnut.

Edo era

Kite Brown & Gold— 鳶と黄金

The warm brown of a kite's wing lit by afternoon gold.

Edo era

Pale Blue & Vermillion— 浅葱と朱

The faded blue of Shinsengumi jackets against shrine-gate vermillion — restrained power.

Kamakura era

Ultramarine & Chalk White— 群青と胡粉

The deep ultramarine of Buddhist mineral pigment against temple chalk white.

Heian era

Royal Purple & Silver— 紫と銀

Imperial purple set against lunar silver — Heian courtly luxury at its quietest.

Edo era

Bitter Orange & Navy— 橙と紺

The sharp orange of the daidai citrus set off by deep indigo navy.

Heian era

Lapis & Chalk— 瑠璃と胡粉

Lapis lazuli blue against oyster-shell white — the color of Buddhist scripture.

Kamakura era

Red Lead & Ink— 鉛丹と墨

The dense orange-red of lead oxide pigment struck against ink black.

Muromachi era

Bellflower & Ink— 桔梗と墨

The deep violet of the bellflower set against ink — formal, discreet.

Edo era

Sky Blue & Vermillion— 空と朱

Clear sky blue against shrine-gate vermillion — a New Year morning.

Edo era

Indigo Blue & Silver— 縹と銀

Mid-grade indigo with the quiet sheen of silver — an understated Edo merchant robe.

Edo era

Edo Purple & Mouse Grey— 江戸紫と鼠

The cool Edo purple worn by kabuki actors against mouse grey — theatrical understatement.

Showa era

Cossack Green & Vandar Poel's Blue

Plate 5 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cossack Green, Vandar Poel's Blue.

Showa era

Sepia & Veronia Purple

Plate 24 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sepia, Veronia Purple.

Showa era

Madder Brown & Deep Indigo

Plate 28 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Madder Brown, Deep Indigo.

Showa era

Raw Sienna & Slate Color

Plate 33 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Raw Sienna, Slate Color.

Showa era

Brick Red & Red Violet

Plate 37 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Brick Red, Red Violet.

Showa era

Diamine Green & Deep Lyons Blue

Plate 38 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Diamine Green, Deep Lyons Blue.

From the archive

Support the archive The full catalog, on your disk, as a thank-you.

All 378 palettes (348 Wada + 30 editorial) in five formats
Figma design tokens (W3C-spec JSON, drag into any file)
Tailwind v4 + v3 configs — drop into any project
CSS custom properties — every plate, one stylesheet
378 museum SVG plates — print-ready at any size
Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues

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