red · 8 palettes

Pale Burnt Lake

About Pale Burnt Lake

Pale Burnt Lake is a deep, muted red tone. Its hex value is #802626 — that is RGB 128, 38, 38, or HSL 0°, 54%, 33%.

It holds 9.4:1 contrast against white, so Pale Burnt Lake works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 9.4:1; on black 2.2:1.)

Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Pale Burnt Lake appears in 8 combinations — most often paired with Yellow Ocher, Olive Yellow and Yellow Orange.

Colours that go with Pale Burnt Lake

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

Complementary

#802626 #268080

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

Analogous

#802626 #802653 #805326

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

Triadic

#802626 #268026 #262680

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

Split-complementary

#802626 #268053 #265380

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

How to use Pale Burnt Lake

Pale Burnt Lake is a deep, muted tone (HSL 0°, 54%, 33%), which makes it a grounding background or strong accent. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a light background (9.4:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#268080) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#802653 and #805326) for a quieter, harmonious feel.

Studio

Taking Pale Burnt Lake 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 Color Bridge Guide Coated | Pantone to CMYK, RGB & HTML Color Matching Fan Deck for Graphic Design, Branding & Print | GG6103B

    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.

    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.

    Listed on Amazon as Kuretake GANSAI TAMBI Watercolor Paint Set 36 Colors

    See price on Amazon

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Palettes with Pale Burnt Lake

Pale Burnt Lake appears in 8 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 Pale Burnt Lake

What is the hex code for Pale Burnt Lake?
Pale Burnt Lake is #802626. It appears in 8 historical color combinations from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
What does Pale Burnt Lake look like on white and black backgrounds?
Pale Burnt Lake (#802626) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 9.45:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 2.22:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
Where does the color Pale Burnt Lake come from?
Pale Burnt Lake is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued red pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.
Can I use Pale Burnt Lake in my own design or brand?
Yes. The color name and hex value (#802626) are factual data — not copyrightable. Our curation and descriptions are CC BY 4.0 licensed.

Embed this color

Drop a Pale Burnt Lake swatch card into any blog post, design review, or color-study reference page. Links back to this color's detail.

<iframe src="https://colorcombinations.org/embed/colors/pale-burnt-lake/" width="360" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border-radius:8px;overflow:hidden;" title="Pale Burnt Lake — colorcombinations.org"></iframe>

Preview

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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  • Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues
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