Showa era
Light Green Yellow & Cotinga Purple
Plate 61 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Light Green Yellow, Cotinga Purple.
#501345
purple · 7 palettes
Cotinga Purple
About Cotinga Purple
Cotinga Purple is a deep, vivid purple tone. Its hex value is #501345 — that is
RGB 80, 19, 69, or HSL 311°, 62%, 19%.
It holds 13.8:1 contrast against white, so Cotinga Purple works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 13.8:1; on black 1.5:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Cotinga Purple appears in 7 combinations — most often paired with Slate Color, Light Green Yellow and Carmine Red.
Colours that go with Cotinga Purple
From a standard colour wheel, Cotinga Purple anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#501345 #13501E
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#501345 #3D1350 #501326
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#501345 #455013 #134550
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#501345 #265013 #13503D
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Cotinga Purple
Cotinga Purple is a deep, vivid tone (HSL 311°, 62%, 19%), which makes it a grounding background or strong accent. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a light background (13.8:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#13501E) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#3D1350 and #501326) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Palettes with Cotinga Purple
Cotinga Purple appears in 7 combinations from the archive. Each pairing reveals how the same color shifts character depending on its neighbours.
From the archive
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