Showa era
Golden Yellow & Pale Raw Umber
Plate 26 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Golden Yellow, Pale Raw Umber.
#f3a257
orange · 10 palettes
Golden Yellow
About Golden Yellow
Golden Yellow is a mid-tone, vivid orange tone. Its hex value is #f3a257 — that is
RGB 243, 162, 87, or HSL 29°, 87%, 65%.
It holds 10.1:1 contrast against dark, so Golden Yellow works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 2.1:1; on black 10.1:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Golden Yellow appears in 10 combinations — most often paired with Sulpher Yellow, Pale Raw Umber and Warm Gray.
Colours that go with Golden Yellow
From a standard colour wheel, Golden Yellow anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#f3a257 #57A8F3
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#f3a257 #F3575A #F3F057
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#f3a257 #57F3A2 #A257F3
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#f3a257 #57F3F0 #575AF3
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Golden Yellow
Golden Yellow is a mid-tone, vivid tone (HSL 29°, 87%, 65%), 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 (10.1:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#57A8F3) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#F3575A and #F3F057) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Golden Yellow 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
See price on Amazon -
...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 36
Listed on Amazon as Kuretake GANSAI TAMBI Watercolor Paint Set 36 Colors
See price on Amazon
Amazon Associates affiliate links — your price is unchanged and a small commission keeps the archive free. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Palettes with Golden Yellow
Golden Yellow appears in 10 combinations from the archive. Each pairing reveals how the same color shifts character depending on its neighbours. For how usage like this compares across the whole dictionary, see the data analysis of all 348 plates.
Questions about Golden Yellow
- What is the hex code for Golden Yellow?
- Golden Yellow is #f3a257. It appears in 10 historical color combinations from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Golden Yellow look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Golden Yellow (#f3a257) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 2.08:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 10.12:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Golden Yellow come from?
- Golden Yellow 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 Golden Yellow in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#f3a257) 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
- 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 SVG plates (348 Wada + 30 editorial) — 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.