Showa era
Eugenia Red | B & Sea Green
Plate 17 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Eugenia Red | B, Sea Green.
#00b49b
blue · 11 palettes
Sea Green
About Sea Green
Sea Green is a deep, vivid blue tone. Its hex value is #00b49b — that is
RGB 0, 180, 155, or HSL 172°, 100%, 35%.
It holds 8.0:1 contrast against dark, so Sea Green works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 2.6:1; on black 8.0:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Sea Green appears in 11 combinations — most often paired with Peach Red, Eugenia Red | B and Grenadine Pink.
Colours that go with Sea Green
From a standard colour wheel, Sea Green anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#00b49b #B40019
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#00b49b #00B441 #0073B4
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#00b49b #9B00B4 #B49B00
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#00b49b #B40073 #B44100
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Sea Green
Sea Green is a deep, vivid tone (HSL 172°, 100%, 35%), which makes it a grounding background or strong accent. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a dark background (8.0:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#B40019) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#00B441 and #0073B4) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Studio
Taking Sea Green 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.
Listed on Amazon as Pantone GP6102B Color Bridge Guide Set Coated & Uncoated, Multi-Colour
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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
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.
Listed on Amazon as Strathmore 300 Series Tape Bound Watercolor Pad, 140 lb. Cold Press, 11 X 15 inches, White, 12 Sheets (360-111)
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Palettes with Sea Green
Sea Green appears in 11 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 Sea Green
- What is the hex code for Sea Green?
- Sea Green is #00b49b. It appears in 11 historical color combinations from Sanzo Wada's 1933 "A Dictionary of Color Combinations".
- What does Sea Green look like on white and black backgrounds?
- Sea Green (#00b49b) has a WCAG contrast ratio of 2.62:1 against white (#FFFFFF) and 8.00:1 against black (#000000). WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Where does the color Sea Green come from?
- Sea Green is documented in Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933, Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). Wada catalogued blue pigments and historical Japanese color terms. The source work is in the public domain.
- Can I use Sea Green in my own design or brand?
- Yes. The color name and hex value (#00b49b) 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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- Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues
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