A Dictionary of Color Combinations

OK. We’ll admit it: When our sales rep suggested this book, we were, like, Meh. Color? No thanks. Maybe that’s because we failed Color and Light in college. (No joke.) But we took a chance and are so glad we did. This little book is as lovely as it is useful—and since it’s in Japanese, we don’t have to feel guilty about not reading it.

This book presents a collection of 348 color combinations originated by Sanzo Wada (1883–1967) who—during the early Showa era, a time of increasingly avant-garde and diversified use of color—was quick to focus on the importance of color and laid the foundation for contemporary color research.

You don’t need to be interested in Japanese color research to put this book to good use. And you don’t need to have gotten an A+ in (or even passed) a color theory course to enjoy A Dictionary of Color Combinations. It’s a delicious little book.