A little colour memory test

Trust your eyes?

Remember this shade. It disappears in three seconds.

Look closely…

Holi colour palettes

Holi colour combinations inspired by powdered pigments: turmeric yellow, warm red and pink with deliberate space between accents. Explore 4 palettes.

Bright powders and coloured water are central to Holi imagery. The V&A documents yellow and red among traditional powder colours; pink, sky blue and softened tints are design extensions here.

Colour pairings & usage tips

Use these colours.

Warm gulal keeps the emphasis on red and yellow. Choose just one additional pigment for a poster accent; pink and sky and soft powder offer cooler and quieter alternatives.

Text & contrast.

Vivid pigments can differ in hue while sharing luminance. Keep small text on the paper or ink swatch, and avoid assigning meaning to a powder colour without a written label.

Choose a direction.

  • Warm gulal: #3A243F · #ED4E67 · #F5BD38 · #A23D94 · #FFF2D9. Preview palette
  • Pink & sky: #242F51 · #E04799 · #56A3CD · #F3CD65 · #FFF1E2. Preview palette
  • Modern pigment: #263F3A · #E96130 · #E1AF2F · #7E4DA7 · #F9F1DF. Preview palette
  • Soft powder: #513355 · #D9A1C9 · #EAB77F · #83B7A5 · #FFF1DC. Preview palette

Check your foreground and background.

Festivals & Cultural Celebrations · Holi powder imagery in South Asia and diaspora celebrations.

Colour context: V&A: the festival of Holi.

A pairing to start with.

In Holi · Warm gulal, #3A243F against #FFF2D9 has a contrast ratio of 12.60:1. This pair meets the WCAG AA contrast threshold for normal text. This checks opaque colours only; use the contrast checker to review text in a palette preview. Transparency and gradients need their own checks.

The 5 swatches span 30–96% OKLCH lightness. Try different colour roles in the palette generator.

Palette of the day

Explore the collection

THE COLOR SHEET / RESTORE

Bring your colours back?

HoliWarm gulal
HoliPink & sky
HoliModern pigment
HoliSoft powder

THE COLOR SHEET / POSTCARD

Send a little colour.

THE PICTURE SIDE

Just for this postcard. Your saved memory stays as you wrote it.