Mid-Century Color Palettes

Mid-century modern color — the palette of 1950s–60s furniture, textile, and graphic design — converges on a specific register of warmth and restraint that was already present in Wada's 1933 Japanese catalog. The warm mustard of 'ukon' (鬱金 — turmeric yellow), the olive-green of 'matcha' (抹茶), the warm brown of 'kuri' (栗 — chestnut), the deep teal of 'ao' (青) — these are the same pigments the Eames era reached for through different cultural traditions. The combinations here work for mid-century interior design, vintage furniture brands, record-label aesthetics, graphic design studios, and any project that should feel like 1962 in the best possible way.