Showa era
Calamine BLue & Laelia Pink
Plate 20 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Calamine BLue, Laelia Pink.
#78cdd0
blue · 10 palettes
Calamine BLue
About Calamine BLue
Calamine BLue is a mid-tone, muted blue tone. Its hex value is #78cdd0 — that is
RGB 120, 205, 208, or HSL 182°, 48%, 64%.
It holds 11.4:1 contrast against dark, so Calamine BLue works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 1.8:1; on black 11.4:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Calamine BLue appears in 10 combinations — most often paired with Pyrite Yellow, Laelia Pink and Dark Citrine.
Colours that go with Calamine BLue
From a standard colour wheel, Calamine BLue anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#78cdd0 #D07B78
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#78cdd0 #78D0A7 #78A1D0
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#78cdd0 #D078CD #CDD078
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#78cdd0 #D078A1 #D0A778
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Calamine BLue
Calamine BLue is a mid-tone, muted tone (HSL 182°, 48%, 64%), which makes it a versatile mid-tone for accents, buttons or blocks. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a dark background (11.4:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use dark lettering. Pair it with its complement (#D07B78) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#78D0A7 and #78A1D0) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Palettes with Calamine BLue
Calamine BLue appears in 10 combinations from the archive. Each pairing reveals how the same color shifts character depending on its neighbours.
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
See what's inside
Launching soon. The free archive stays free, always.