A Dictionary of Color Combinations: A Practical Reference for Logo Palettes

The short answer

A Dictionary of Color Combinations is a printed reference book of curated color pairings and groupings, commonly associated with the Japanese artist and color researcher Sanzo Wada. It is not a logo, a vector file or a software tool. It is a source of palette ideas. For logo work, its value lies in showing how specific colors behave next to one another, which can help you choose a starting palette before you build and specify it in your vector artwork.

The material supplied for this article does not confirm edition details, publisher, page count, the number of combinations included, or whether a given edition prints numeric color values. Check those details against the specific copy or edition you are using before you rely on them.

How it differs from a palette generator

A palette generator produces combinations algorithmically, usually from a seed color or a harmony rule, and outputs digital values you can paste directly into design software. A combination dictionary works the other way around. It presents finished, hand-selected groupings as printed swatches, and you decide which ones suit the brand. The trade-off is practical. A curated book offers considered, often unexpected pairings, while a generator offers speed and immediate numeric output.

Aspect | Combination dictionary (printed) | Palette generator (digital)

Origin of combinations | Curated by a person | Produced by rules or algorithms

Output | Printed swatches on paper | Numeric values (for example HEX, RGB)

Color accuracy for reuse | Depends on printing, paper and how you capture it | Exact values, though appearance still varies by screen

Best use in logo work | Inspiration and judging relationships between colors | Fast iteration and direct specification

Turning a printed combination into vector logo colors

A printed swatch is a physical reference, not a color specification. Photographing or scanning a page produces a raster image whose colors are shifted by lighting, camera or scanner settings, and display calibration. Sampling an eyedropper value from that image gives you an approximation, not the color the book intends. Treat any value captured this way as a starting point and refine it by eye and against your output conditions.

• Choose a combination for its relationships first: contrast, warmth, and how dominant each color should be in the mark.
• If your edition prints numeric values, record them, but confirm which color model they describe before converting.
• Define each final color deliberately in your vector software, ideally as named global swatches so every path using the color updates together.
• Set separate, intentional values for each output: CMYK for process print, RGB or HEX for screens, and a matched spot color if the brand requires one. Automatic conversion between these is not always faithful.
• Test the palette at small sizes and check that the logo still reads in a single-color and a reversed version.
• Check text and icon contrast where the logo appears near interface elements or body copy.

Keep the reference out of the artwork

If you place a scan or photo of a swatch page inside your logo file as a guide, it remains an embedded raster image, not vector artwork. Remove it, or keep it on a locked, non-printing layer, before delivering files. A delivered logo should define its colors through vector fills and strokes, with the palette documented separately in a style sheet or brand guide.

A note on usage rights

Using a color pairing you saw in a book as inspiration is different from reproducing the book's pages. Scans of the pages and the book's layout and text are part of a published work, so do not redistribute them or include them in client deliverables without permission. Separately, choosing a palette does not clear a logo for use. Trademark, font licensing and artwork ownership questions apply to the finished mark regardless of where its colors came from.

What the available information does not cover

No verified details were available on specific editions, the exact contents or count of combinations, official digital color values, or any authorized digital companion palettes. If you need exact values or reproduction rights, consult the edition itself or the rights holder rather than third-party conversions.