A Dictionary of Color Combinations Online: What It Is and How to Use It for Logo Palettes
What online versions of A Dictionary of Color Combinations are, how they differ from the printed book, and how to turn their palettes into reliable vector logo colors.
Contents
The Short Answer
A Dictionary of Color Combinations is a printed color reference associated with the Japanese artist and designer Sanzo Wada. It presents curated groupings of two, three or four colors rather than single swatches. When people search for it online, they are usually looking for a web-based adaptation that shows those groupings on screen, often with digital color codes, so the palettes can be browsed and copied into design software.
The available research for this article did not confirm details about any specific website, including who runs it, which color codes it lists, or how its values were produced. This article therefore explains what such an online version is, how it differs from the book, and what to check before using its colors in a vector logo. It does not recommend or describe any particular site.
Book Versus Online Version
The two formats serve the same purpose but differ in ways that matter for logo work.
- Source of the color: the book shows colors as printed ink on paper, while an online version shows colors as light on a screen, which is a different color model.
- Color codes: a printed swatch has no inherent hex or RGB value. Any code shown online was assigned by someone, through scanning, sampling or matching, and may be an approximation.
- Authority: the book is the published original. An online adaptation may be unofficial, and its accuracy depends on how carefully it was made.
- Usability: an online version is easier to search, filter and copy from, which is usually why people look for one.
Why the Color Values Need Checking
For logo design, the most important caveat is that on-screen values derived from a printed book are interpretations, not specifications. Two online sources can list different codes for what is meant to be the same swatch, and neither is necessarily wrong. If a site does not explain how its values were derived, treat them as a starting point rather than a final brand color.
Screen display adds another variable. The same hex value can look different across monitors and devices, so judging a combination only by how it looks in a browser is not a reliable basis for a final logo palette.
Turning a Combination Into Logo Colors
A dictionary-style palette is useful mainly for choosing which colors belong together. Turning that choice into a dependable logo palette is a separate step.
- Choose the combination for its relationships, such as contrast and mood, rather than for exact values.
- Define the final values yourself in your vector editor, and refine them for the logo's actual uses.
- Set values for each output: RGB or hex for screens, CMYK for print, and a spot color system if the brand needs one. These are separate decisions, not automatic conversions.
- Test the logo in a single color and in reverse as well as in full color, because a combination that works as a swatch grid may not hold up on a small mark.
- Record the confirmed values in the brand guidelines so the palette is not rebuilt from the online source each time.
Vector Artwork Versus Screenshots and Previews
An online color dictionary is a reference, not logo artwork. Swatches shown on a web page are typically rendered as page elements or images. Taking a screenshot of a swatch grid gives you a raster image, and sampling color from it adds another layer of approximation. The more reliable route is to type the listed codes into your vector application and create proper swatches.
If a site offers downloadable palette or swatch files, do not assume from the file name or extension alone that they contain clean, editable color definitions. Open the file and confirm the swatches import as defined colors in your software, not as an embedded image or a flattened preview.
Permissions and Rights
Using a color combination as inspiration is different from copying a website's content. Individual colors and simple color pairings are generally not something a site owner can stop you from using. However, the book's text and imagery, the website's layout and graphics, and any downloadable files may be protected separately, and a site's terms may limit how its material can be reused. Check those terms before redistributing anything taken from a site.
This is general information, not legal advice. Separately, choosing a palette for your own logo does not clear the logo for trademark use. If the finished mark, including its color scheme, closely resembles an existing brand in the same field, that is a trademark question that is separate from where the colors came from.
What This Article Could Not Confirm
- Which websites currently host an adaptation of the dictionary, and whether any is authorized by the book's publisher.
- Whether a given site lists hex, RGB, CMYK or other values, and how those values were derived.
- Whether any site offers downloadable swatch files, and in which formats.
- The exact number of combinations or editions of the printed book.
- Verify these points directly on any site you use before relying on its values for final brand colors.