Nearest-color comparison

Aegean Blue vs Shale

Aegean Blue and Shale are different blue colors with HEX values #4E6E81 and #59656F. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 22.9, their contrast ratio is 1.1:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Aegean Blue and Shale are very close colors. Aegean Blue is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.1:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Aegean Blue#4E6E81

Shale#59656F

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Aegean Blue and Shale across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance22.9

Pair contrast1.1:1

Luminance delta0.0178

Hue delta5 deg

Lighter colorAegean Blue

More saturatedAegean Blue

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

blue color

Aegean Blue

Aegean Blue is #4E6E81, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Shale, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#4E6E81 RGB78, 110, 129 HSL202, 25, 41 CMYK40, 15, 0, 49 Luminance0.1436 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

blue color

Shale

Shale is #59656F, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Aegean Blue, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for earth-tone palettes, interior design, and material-inspired branding, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#59656F RGB89, 101, 111 HSL207, 11, 39 CMYK20, 9, 0, 56 Luminance0.1258 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Aegean Blue or Shale

Choose Aegean BlueAegean Blue is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4E6E81.

Choose ShaleShale is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #59656F.

Use togetherUse these colors together as related palette neighbors, subtle material differences, or tonal alternatives rather than readable foreground/background pairs.

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyAegean BlueShale

HEX#4E6E81#59656F

RGB78, 110, 12989, 101, 111

HSL202, 25, 41207, 11, 39

CMYK40, 15, 0, 4920, 9, 0, 56

FamilyBlueBlue

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneMutedMuted

Luminance0.14360.1258

Black contrast3.87:13.52:1

White contrast5.42:15.97:1

Shared tonesMuted

Accessibility and Contrast

Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.

Aegean Bluewhite text - 5.42:1

Shalewhite text - 5.97:1

Related Palette Strip

A compact visual strip showing the two compared colors with nearby harmony and variant context.

Aegean Blue#4E6E81

Shale#59656F

#7C9DB1#7C9DB1

#85939D#85939D

#83624E#83624E

#6E6259#6E6259

colorsBoth named color records with HEX, RGB, HSL, CMYK, luminance, WCAG, and links

differencesRGB distance, HSL deltas, luminance delta, contrast, and shared attributes

accessibilityPair contrast and safer text choices for each color

useCasesWhen to choose each color and when to use them together

relatedApiMachine-readable comparison and color endpoints

Structured sections

Colors

[
  {
    "slug": "aegean-blue",
    "name": "Aegean Blue",
    "hex": "#4E6E81",
    "rgb": [
      78,
      110,
      129
    ],
    "hsl": [
      202,
      25,
      41
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      40,
      15,
      0,
      49
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.1436,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 3.87,
      "white": 5.42
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 5.42
    },
    "description": "Aegean Blue is #4E6E81, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Shale, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/aegean-blue/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/aegean-blue.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "shale",
    "name": "Shale",
    "hex": "#59656F",
    "rgb": [
      89,
      101,
      111
    ],
    "hsl": [
      207,
      11,
      39
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      20,
      9,
      0,
      56
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.1258,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 3.52,
      "white": 5.97
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 5.97
    },
    "description": "Shale is #59656F, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Aegean Blue, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for earth-tone palettes, interior design, and material-inspired branding, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/shale/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/shale.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 22.9,
  "contrastRatio": 1.1,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 5,
    "saturation": 14,
    "lightness": 2
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0178,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "muted"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Aegean Blue",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Aegean Blue"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.1,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Aegean Blue",
      "background": "#4E6E81",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 5.42
    },
    {
      "color": "Shale",
      "background": "#59656F",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 5.97
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Aegean Blue is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4E6E81.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Shale is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #59656F.",
  "useTogetherWhen": "Use these colors together as related palette neighbors, subtle material differences, or tonal alternatives rather than readable foreground/background pairs."
}

Related API

[
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/aegean-blue-vs-shale.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/aegean-blue.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/shale.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "aegean-blue-vs-shale",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Aegean Blue vs Shale",
  "verdict": "Aegean Blue and Shale are very close colors. Aegean Blue is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.1:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Aegean Blue and Shale are different blue colors with HEX values #4E6E81 and #59656F. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 22.9, their contrast ratio is 1.1:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 22.9,
  "contrastRatio": 1.1,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "aegean-blue",
      "name": "Aegean Blue",
      "hex": "#4E6E81",
      "rgb": [
        78,
        110,
        129
      ],
      "hsl": [
        202,
        25,
        41
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        40,
        15,
        0,
        49
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.1436,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 3.87,
        "white": 5.42
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 5.42
      },
      "description": "Aegean Blue is #4E6E81, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Shale, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/aegean-blue/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/aegean-blue.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "shale",
      "name": "Shale",
      "hex": "#59656F",
      "rgb": [
        89,
        101,
        111
      ],
      "hsl": [
        207,
        11,
        39
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        20,
        9,
        0,
        56
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.1258,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 3.52,
        "white": 5.97
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 5.97
      },
      "description": "Shale is #59656F, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Aegean Blue, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for earth-tone palettes, interior design, and material-inspired branding, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/shale/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/shale.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 22.9,
    "contrastRatio": 1.1,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 5,
      "saturation": 14,
      "lightness": 2
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0178,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Aegean Blue",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Aegean Blue"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.1,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Aegean Blue",
        "background": "#4E6E81",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 5.42
      },
      {
        "color": "Shale",
        "background": "#59656F",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 5.97
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Aegean Blue is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4E6E81.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Shale is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #59656F.",
    "useTogetherWhen": "Use these colors together as related palette neighbors, subtle material differences, or tonal alternatives rather than readable foreground/background pairs."
  },
  "relatedApi": [
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/aegean-blue-vs-shale.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/aegean-blue.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/shale.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/aegean-blue-vs-shale/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/aegean-blue-vs-shale.json"
}