Hay's Russet & Cream Yellow +2

About this combination

Combination 304 of 348 in Wada's six-volume 1933 work. A 4-colour grouping of Hay's Russet, Cream Yellow, Dark Citrine, Benzol Green, as documented in the original plates.

Historical context

Plate 304 of Wada's 348 anchors Hay's Russet, Cream Yellow, Dark Citrine and Benzol Green in the red family — a 4-colour grouping with a refined, warm, bold character, recorded in the Showa-era volumes of Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations, where these shikisai names have sat in the public domain for generations. Its strongest pairing — Hay's Russet on Cream Yellow — reaches a contrast ratio of 5.54:1, meeting the WCAG AA bar for body text, so it holds up for text-on-colour layouts as well as decorative use.