About this combination
Kikyō-iro is the cool, deep purple of the Chinese bellflower — a traditional emblem of faith and honesty. With sumi ink, it becomes the color scheme of samurai formal wear in late Muromachi period.
Where it works
- Legal, consulting, professional services
- Editorial for serious long-form
- Product packaging for dark cosmetics
Historical context
This editorial combination anchors Kikyō, Sumi and Gin in the purple family — a 3-colour grouping with a solemn, refined, cool character. It is an original composition by the editors of colorcombinations.org, built with Wada's method from traditional Japanese shikisai colour names associated with the Muromachi era; it is not one of the 348 plates in Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations. Its strongest pairing — Sumi on Gin — reaches a contrast ratio of 8.99:1, clearing the WCAG AAA bar for body text, so it holds up for text-on-colour layouts as well as decorative use.
Studio
Taking Bellflower & Ink off the screen
A hex code is an instruction to a screen, not a colour. Where this palette 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 Formula Guide – Coated & Uncoated | Professional PMS Color Matching System for Print, Packaging & Graphic Design | GP1601B
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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 Passport Photo 2
Listed on Amazon as Calibrite ColorChecker Passport Photo 2 Portable Color Calibration Kit for Photo and Video, 4 Target Set for White Balance, Exposure and Creative Look
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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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