Library
The shelf
11 books on colour — the two Wada dictionaries this archive is built from, and the references that sit next to them on a working desk. Each has its own page explaining what it's for and, where it applies, what this archive already holds free.
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Every combination in it is already browsable free here, hex values and all. Buy this one for the object rather than the data — Seigensha's matte plates and Japanese binding, or a citable copy of the 1933 original. If you want plates this archive doesn't have, Vol. 2 is the one. See price on Amazon -
Wada's 1935–1938 follow-ups: 72 plates on the Japanese seasons and 165 drawn from early-century fashion, interior, and graphic design. Not in Vol. 1. Not in this archive. The book itself is a design object — Japanese binding, matte pages, zero captions. See price on Amazon -
The most important book on how colors behave next to each other. Still the default reference in art schools. See price on Amazon -
Seventy-five individual colors, each with a short history. Reads like a cabinet of curiosities. See price on Amazon -
Investigative travelogue through dye sources — indigo farms, lapis mines, safflower fields. The journey of kurenai. See price on Amazon -
240 artworks organized by color. A visual counterpart to Wada's dictionary. See price on Amazon -
A practical, example-filled guide to thirty key colors and the way they behave together. Working-designer companion to Wada's historical archive. See price on Amazon -
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. See price on Amazon -
1,100+ ready-to-apply palettes with CMYK + RGB formulas. The shelf-reference designers reach for on deadline. See price on Amazon -
Ten essays — one per color — pairing cultural history with how each pigment came to mean what it does. A good companion to Victoria Finlay's Color, also on this shelf. See price on Amazon -
The story of paint and pigment in interiors from 1650 to 1960 — 600 historical swatches with provenance. The architectural-history companion to Wada's plates. See price on Amazon
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