Showa era
Isabella Color & Red Violet
Plate 4 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Isabella Color, Red Violet.
#c5a56e
brown · 4 palettes
Isabella Color
About Isabella Color
Isabella Color is a mid-tone, muted brown tone. Its hex value is #c5a56e — that is
RGB 197, 165, 110, or HSL 38°, 43%, 60%.
It holds 9.0:1 contrast against dark, so Isabella Color works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 2.3:1; on black 9.0:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Isabella Color appears in 4 combinations — most often paired with Pale Lemon Yellow, Red Violet and Green Blue.
Colours that go with Isabella Color
From a standard colour wheel, Isabella Color anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#c5a56e #6E8EC5
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#c5a56e #C57A6E #BAC56E
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#c5a56e #6EC5A5 #A56EC5
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#c5a56e #6EBAC5 #796EC5
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Isabella Color
Isabella Color is a mid-tone, muted tone (HSL 38°, 43%, 60%), 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 (9.0:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#6E8EC5) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#C57A6E and #BAC56E) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Isabella Color 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.
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...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.
Pantone
Color Bridge Guide — coated
Listed on Amazon as Pantone Color Bridge Guide Coated | Pantone to CMYK, RGB & HTML Color Matching Fan Deck for Graphic Design, Branding & Print | GG6103B
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...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
Display Plus HL colorimeter kit
Listed on Amazon as Calibrite Video Photo Kit with Display Plus HL Colorimeter and ColorChecker Passport Video 2, 10,000 Nit Monitor Calibration, Camera Color Matching
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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 36
Listed on Amazon as Kuretake GANSAI TAMBI Watercolor Paint Set 36 Colors
See price on Amazon
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Palettes with Isabella Color
Isabella Color appears in 4 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 Isabella Color
- What is the hex code for Isabella Color?
- Isabella Color is #c5a56e. It appears in 4 historical color combinations from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Isabella Color look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Isabella Color (#c5a56e) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 2.34:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 8.98:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Isabella Color come from?
- Isabella Color is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued brown pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.
- Can I use Isabella Color in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#c5a56e) 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
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