27 named colors · 72 combinations

Orange Color Combinations.

Warm persimmon, tangerine, and amber pairings from the Wada archive. Japanese orange tones — daidai (bitter orange), kaaki (khaki-orange) — sit between red ceremony and yellow sunlight, grounding palettes with earthy, autumnal warmth.

Named colors

27 orange colors in the archive.

Colours that go with Orange

From a standard colour wheel, Orange anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.

Complementary

#C45C2A #2A92C4

the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.

Analogous

#C45C2A #C42A45 #C4A92A

the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.

Triadic

#C45C2A #2AC45C #5C2AC4

two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.

Split-complementary

#C45C2A #2AC4A9 #2A45C4

the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.

How to use Orange

Orange is a mid-tone, vivid tone (HSL 19°, 65%, 47%), 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 (4.9:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#2A92C4) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#C42A45 and #C4A92A) for a quieter, harmonious feel.

Combinations

72 orange-dominant color combinations.

Every palette in the archive where orange is the dominant hue — from Sanzo Wada's 348 historical plates plus editorial deep-dives.

Edo era

Persimmon & Burnt Brown— 柿と焦茶

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

Edo era

Bitter Orange & Navy— 橙と紺

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

Showa era

English Red & Cerulian Blue

Plate 1 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — English Red, Cerulian Blue.

Showa era

Raw Sienna & Pale Lemon Yellow

Plate 3 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Raw Sienna, Pale Lemon Yellow.

Showa era

Orange & Glaucous Green

Plate 7 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Orange, Glaucous Green.

Showa era

Cinnamon Rufous & Grayish Lavender - A

Plate 8 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cinnamon Rufous, Grayish Lavender - A.

Showa era

Cinnamon Rufous & Dark Citrine

Plate 10 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cinnamon Rufous, Dark Citrine.

Showa era

Raw Sienna & Veronia Purple

Plate 13 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Raw Sienna, Veronia Purple.

Showa era

Mars Brown Tobacco & Night Green

Plate 19 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Mars Brown Tobacco, Night Green.

Showa era

Cinnamon Buff & Light Mauve

Plate 23 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cinnamon Buff, Light Mauve.

Showa era

Golden Yellow & Pale Raw Umber

Plate 26 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Golden Yellow, Pale Raw Umber.

Showa era

Ochraceous Salmon & Night Green

Plate 32 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Ochraceous Salmon, Night Green.

Showa era

Raw Sienna & Slate Color

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

Showa era

Vinaceous Tawny & Citron Yellow

Plate 40 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Vinaceous Tawny, Citron Yellow.

Showa era

Seashell Pink & Lemon Yellow

Plate 45 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Seashell Pink, Lemon Yellow.

Showa era

Orange & Black

Plate 46 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Orange, Black.

Showa era

Raw Sienna & Lincoln Green

Plate 70 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Raw Sienna, Lincoln Green.

Showa era

Pale Raw Umber & Rainette Green

Plate 73 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Pale Raw Umber, Rainette Green.

Showa era

Pinkish Cinnamon & Venice Green

Plate 78 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Pinkish Cinnamon, Venice Green.

Showa era

Golden Yellow & Warm Gray

Plate 81 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Golden Yellow, Warm Gray.

Showa era

Seashell Pink & Deep Slate Green

Plate 84 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Seashell Pink, Deep Slate Green.

Showa era

Vinaceous Tawny & Antwarp Blue

Plate 85 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Vinaceous Tawny, Antwarp Blue.

Showa era

Raw Sienna & Sea Green

Plate 86 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Raw Sienna, Sea Green.

Showa era

Seashell Pink & Blue

Plate 88 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Seashell Pink, Blue.

Showa era

Cinnamon Rufous & Dusky Madder Violet

Plate 103 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cinnamon Rufous, Dusky Madder Violet.

Showa era

Brown & Vandyke Brown

Plate 110 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Brown, Vandyke Brown.

Showa era

Seashell Pink & Vandyke Brown

Plate 113 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Seashell Pink, Vandyke Brown.

Showa era

Brown & Ochraceous Salmon +1

Plate 121 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Brown, Ochraceous Salmon, Lincoln Green.

Showa era

Cinnamon Buff & Pistachio Green +1

Plate 127 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cinnamon Buff, Pistachio Green, Dark Soft Violet.

Showa era

Raw Sienna & Carmine Red +1

Plate 130 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Raw Sienna, Carmine Red, Violet.

Showa era

Raw Sienna & English Red +1

Plate 131 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Raw Sienna, English Red, Peacock Blue.

Showa era

Golden Yellow & Lemon Yellow +1

Plate 138 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Golden Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Venice Green.

Showa era

Golden Yellow & Antwarp Blue +1

Plate 140 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Golden Yellow, Antwarp Blue, Slate Color.

Showa era

Orange & Yellow Green +1

Plate 141 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Orange, Yellow Green, Dark Tyrian Blue.

Showa era

Brown & Citron Yellow +1

Plate 145 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Brown, Citron Yellow, Dull Violet Black.

Showa era

Seashell Pink & Citron Yellow +1

Plate 150 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Seashell Pink, Citron Yellow, Glaucous Green.

Showa era

Brown & Pinkish Cinnamon +1

Plate 161 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Brown, Pinkish Cinnamon, Helvetia Blue.

Showa era

Ecru & Pale King's Blue +1

Plate 167 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Ecru, Pale King's Blue, Vandar Poel's Blue.

Showa era

Cinnamon Rufous & Antwarp Blue +1

Plate 172 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cinnamon Rufous, Antwarp Blue, Red Violet.

Showa era

Pinkish Cinnamon & Olive Buff +1

Plate 175 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Pinkish Cinnamon, Olive Buff, Blue Violet.

Showa era

Cinnamon Buff & Light Mauve +1

Plate 180 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cinnamon Buff, Light Mauve, Neutral Gray.

Showa era

Raw Sienna & Vandyke Brown +1

Plate 182 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Raw Sienna, Vandyke Brown, Deep Indigo.

Showa era

Burnt Sienna & Apricot Yellow +1

Plate 198 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Burnt Sienna, Apricot Yellow, Green.

Showa era

Sudan Brown & Glaucous Green +1

Plate 207 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sudan Brown, Glaucous Green, Black.

Showa era

Cinnamon Buff & Lemon Yellow +1

Plate 210 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cinnamon Buff, Lemon Yellow, Lincoln Green.

Showa era

Apricot Orange & Olive Yellow +1

Plate 211 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Apricot Orange, Olive Yellow, Deep Indigo.

Showa era

Vinaceous Cinnamon & Apricot Yellow +1

Plate 213 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Vinaceous Cinnamon, Apricot Yellow, Pale King's Blue.

Showa era

Golden Yellow & Deep Slate Olive +1

Plate 229 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Golden Yellow, Deep Slate Olive, Neutral Gray.

See all 72 orange combinations →

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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Library

Colour books worth owning

Colour theory, history and the references designers keep close — recommended on Amazon.

Sean Adams

The Designer's Dictionary of Color

Abrams, 2017.

A practical, example-filled guide to thirty key colors and the way they behave together. Working-designer companion to Wada's historical archive.

View on Amazon
Leatrice Eiseman & Keith Recker

Pantone: The Twentieth Century in Color

Chronicle Books, 2011.

A decade-by-decade visual history of color in design, advertising, and culture from 1900 to 2000. The modern complement to Wada's pre-war record.

View on Amazon
Jim Krause

Color Index XL

Watson-Guptill, 2017.

1,100+ ready-to-apply palettes with CMYK + RGB formulas. The shelf-reference designers reach for on deadline.

View on Amazon

Book links are Amazon Associates affiliate links. Your price is unchanged; a small commission supports the archive. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Orange Color Combinations.

Colours that go with Orange

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Split-complementary

How to use Orange

Persimmon & Burnt Brown— 柿と焦茶

Bitter Orange & Navy— 橙と紺

English Red & Cerulian Blue

Raw Sienna & Pale Lemon Yellow

Orange & Glaucous Green

Cinnamon Rufous & Grayish Lavender - A

Cinnamon Rufous & Dark Citrine

Raw Sienna & Veronia Purple

Mars Brown Tobacco & Night Green

Cinnamon Buff & Light Mauve

Golden Yellow & Pale Raw Umber

Ochraceous Salmon & Night Green

Raw Sienna & Slate Color

Vinaceous Tawny & Citron Yellow

Seashell Pink & Lemon Yellow

Orange & Black

Raw Sienna & Lincoln Green

Pale Raw Umber & Rainette Green

Pinkish Cinnamon & Venice Green

Golden Yellow & Warm Gray

Seashell Pink & Deep Slate Green

Vinaceous Tawny & Antwarp Blue

Raw Sienna & Sea Green

Seashell Pink & Blue

Cinnamon Rufous & Dusky Madder Violet

Brown & Vandyke Brown

Seashell Pink & Vandyke Brown

Brown & Ochraceous Salmon +1

Cinnamon Buff & Pistachio Green +1

Raw Sienna & Carmine Red +1

Raw Sienna & English Red +1

Golden Yellow & Lemon Yellow +1

Golden Yellow & Antwarp Blue +1

Orange & Yellow Green +1

Brown & Citron Yellow +1

Seashell Pink & Citron Yellow +1

Brown & Pinkish Cinnamon +1

Ecru & Pale King's Blue +1

Cinnamon Rufous & Antwarp Blue +1

Pinkish Cinnamon & Olive Buff +1

Cinnamon Buff & Light Mauve +1

Raw Sienna & Vandyke Brown +1

Burnt Sienna & Apricot Yellow +1

Sudan Brown & Glaucous Green +1

Cinnamon Buff & Lemon Yellow +1

Apricot Orange & Olive Yellow +1

Vinaceous Cinnamon & Apricot Yellow +1

Golden Yellow & Deep Slate Olive +1

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

The Designer's Dictionary of Color

Pantone: The Twentieth Century in Color

Color Index XL

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