Edo era
Bitter Orange & Navy— 橙と紺
The sharp orange of the daidai citrus set off by deep indigo navy.
#F28C28
orange · 1 palette
Daidai
橙
Bitter orange
About Daidai
Daidai (橙) is a mid-tone, vivid orange tone. Its hex value is #F28C28 — that is
RGB 242, 140, 40, or HSL 30°, 89%, 55%.
Bitter orange.
It holds 8.6:1 contrast against dark, so Daidai works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 2.5:1; on black 8.6:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Daidai appears in 1 combination — most often paired with Kon and Gofun.
Colours that go with Daidai
From a standard colour wheel, Daidai anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#F28C28 #288EF2
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#F28C28 #F22829 #F2F128
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#F28C28 #28F28C #8C28F2
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#F28C28 #28F2F1 #2829F2
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Daidai
Daidai is a mid-tone, vivid tone (HSL 30°, 89%, 55%), 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 (8.6:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#288EF2) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#F22829 and #F2F128) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Daidai off the screen
A hex code is an instruction to a screen, not a colour. Where this one is going decides what it needs next.
Affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
-
...onto paper
Start here if the palette gets printed. Screen colour and ink colour are not the same colour, and this is the deck that translates between them.
Listed on Amazon as Pantone GP6102B Color Bridge Guide Set Coated & Uncoated, Multi-Colour
See price on Amazon -
...onto a screen you can trust
Start here if it stays digital. An uncalibrated monitor is the single most common reason a palette that looked right on your desk looks wrong everywhere else.
Calibrite
ColorChecker Studio spectrophotometer
Listed on Amazon as Calibrite ColorChecker Studio Spectrophotometer for Complete Color Management for Display, Projector, Printer and Scanner Profiling
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...by hand
Start here if you are mixing it. Wada's plates were flat printed colour; gansai pans are the closest everyday medium to them.
Kuretake
Gansai Tambi 24 — Art Nouveau
Listed on Amazon as Kuretake GANSAI TAMBI Watercolor Paint Set 24 Colors II - Art Nouveau
See price on Amazon
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Palettes with Daidai
Daidai appears in 1 combination from the archive. For how usage like this compares across the whole dictionary, see the data analysis of all 348 plates.
Questions about Daidai
- What is the hex code for Daidai?
- Daidai (橙) is #F28C28. Bitter orange It appears in 1 historical color combination from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Daidai look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Daidai (#F28C28) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 2.45:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 8.56:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Daidai come from?
- Daidai is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued orange pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.
- Can I use Daidai in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#F28C28) are factual data — not copyrightable. Our curation and descriptions are CC BY 4.0 licensed.
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
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- Tailwind v4 + v3 configs — drop into any project
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- 378 SVG plates (348 Wada + 30 editorial) — print-ready at any size
- Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues
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