Showa era
Sepia & Veronia Purple
Plate 24 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sepia, Veronia Purple.
#644b1e
orange · 2 palettes
Sepia
About Sepia
Sepia is a deep, muted orange tone. Its hex value is #644b1e — that is
RGB 100, 75, 30, or HSL 39°, 54%, 25%.
It holds 8.2:1 contrast against white, so Sepia works best for body text, headings, and UI labels. (On white it scores 8.2:1; on black 2.6:1.)
Across Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, Sepia appears in 2 combinations — most often paired with Veronia Purple, Yellow Orange and Taupe Brown.
Colours that go with Sepia
From a standard colour wheel, Sepia anchors these four classic schemes. Each swatch is computed from its exact hue, so every hex is a real, usable pairing.
Complementary
#644b1e #1E3764
the hue directly opposite — the highest-contrast pairing, good for a single bold accent.
Analogous
#644b1e #64281E #5A641E
the two neighbours on the wheel — a calm, cohesive scheme that feels effortless.
Triadic
#644b1e #1E644B #4B1E64
two hues an even third of the wheel away — balanced and lively without clashing.
Split-complementary
#644b1e #1E5A64 #281E64
the two colours either side of the complement — the contrast of a complement, softened.
How to use Sepia
Sepia is a deep, muted tone (HSL 39°, 54%, 25%), which makes it a grounding background or strong accent. For text it passes WCAG AA for body text against a light background (8.2:1) — safe for paragraphs, buttons and labels. When you do set type on it, use light lettering. Pair it with its complement (#1E3764) for a focal accent, or with its analogous neighbours (#64281E and #5A641E) for a quieter, harmonious feel.
Palettes with Sepia
Sepia appears in 2 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.
From the archive
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