Nearest-color comparison

Caramel vs Desert Clay

Caramel and Desert Clay are different orange colors with HEX values #AF6E4D and #B86D4B. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 9.3, their contrast ratio is 1.03:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Caramel and Desert Clay are very close colors. Desert Clay is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.03:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Caramel#AF6E4D

Desert Clay#B86D4B

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Caramel and Desert Clay across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance9.3

Pair contrast1.03:1

Luminance delta0.0084

Hue delta1 deg

Lighter colorDesert Clay

More saturatedDesert Clay

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

orange color

Caramel

Caramel is #AF6E4D, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Desert Clay, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for warm accents, food branding, and interior palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#AF6E4D RGB175, 110, 77 HSL20, 39, 49 CMYK0, 37, 56, 31 Luminance0.208 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

orange color

Desert Clay

Desert Clay is #B86D4B, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Caramel, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for earth-tone palettes, interior design, and material-inspired branding, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#B86D4B RGB184, 109, 75 HSL19, 43, 51 CMYK0, 41, 59, 28 Luminance0.2164 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Caramel or Desert Clay

Choose CaramelCaramel is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #AF6E4D.

Choose Desert ClayDesert Clay is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #B86D4B.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyCaramelDesert Clay

HEX#AF6E4D#B86D4B

RGB175, 110, 77184, 109, 75

HSL20, 39, 4919, 43, 51

CMYK0, 37, 56, 310, 41, 59, 28

FamilyOrangeOrange

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneEarth ToneEarth Tone

Luminance0.2080.2164

Black contrast5.16:15.33:1

White contrast4.07:13.94:1

Shared tonesEarth Tone

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Caramelblack text - 5.16:1

Desert Clayblack text - 5.33:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Caramel#AF6E4D

Desert Clay#B86D4B

#CCA08A#CCA08A

#D2A38E#D2A38E

#4C8DAE#4C8DAE

#4C96B8#4C96B8

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": "caramel",
    "name": "Caramel",
    "hex": "#AF6E4D",
    "rgb": [
      175,
      110,
      77
    ],
    "hsl": [
      20,
      39,
      49
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      37,
      56,
      31
    ],
    "family": "orange",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "earth-tone"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.208,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 5.16,
      "white": 4.07
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.16
    },
    "description": "Caramel is #AF6E4D, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Desert Clay, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for warm accents, food branding, and interior palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/caramel/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/caramel.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "desert-clay",
    "name": "Desert Clay",
    "hex": "#B86D4B",
    "rgb": [
      184,
      109,
      75
    ],
    "hsl": [
      19,
      43,
      51
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      41,
      59,
      28
    ],
    "family": "orange",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "earth-tone"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.2164,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 5.33,
      "white": 3.94
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.33
    },
    "description": "Desert Clay is #B86D4B, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Caramel, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for earth-tone palettes, interior design, and material-inspired branding, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/desert-clay/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/desert-clay.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 9.3,
  "contrastRatio": 1.03,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 1,
    "saturation": 4,
    "lightness": 2
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0084,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "earth-tone"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Desert Clay",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Desert Clay"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.03,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Caramel",
      "background": "#AF6E4D",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.16
    },
    {
      "color": "Desert Clay",
      "background": "#B86D4B",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.33
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Caramel is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #AF6E4D.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Desert Clay is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #B86D4B.",
  "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/caramel-vs-desert-clay.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/caramel.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/desert-clay.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "caramel-vs-desert-clay",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Caramel vs Desert Clay",
  "verdict": "Caramel and Desert Clay are very close colors. Desert Clay is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.03:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Caramel and Desert Clay are different orange colors with HEX values #AF6E4D and #B86D4B. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 9.3, their contrast ratio is 1.03:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 9.3,
  "contrastRatio": 1.03,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "caramel",
      "name": "Caramel",
      "hex": "#AF6E4D",
      "rgb": [
        175,
        110,
        77
      ],
      "hsl": [
        20,
        39,
        49
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        37,
        56,
        31
      ],
      "family": "orange",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "earth-tone"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.208,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 5.16,
        "white": 4.07
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.16
      },
      "description": "Caramel is #AF6E4D, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Desert Clay, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for warm accents, food branding, and interior palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/caramel/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/caramel.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "desert-clay",
      "name": "Desert Clay",
      "hex": "#B86D4B",
      "rgb": [
        184,
        109,
        75
      ],
      "hsl": [
        19,
        43,
        51
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        41,
        59,
        28
      ],
      "family": "orange",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "earth-tone"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.2164,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 5.33,
        "white": 3.94
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.33
      },
      "description": "Desert Clay is #B86D4B, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Caramel, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for earth-tone palettes, interior design, and material-inspired branding, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/desert-clay/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/desert-clay.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 9.3,
    "contrastRatio": 1.03,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 1,
      "saturation": 4,
      "lightness": 2
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0084,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "earth-tone"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Desert Clay",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Desert Clay"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.03,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Caramel",
        "background": "#AF6E4D",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.16
      },
      {
        "color": "Desert Clay",
        "background": "#B86D4B",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.33
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Caramel is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #AF6E4D.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Desert Clay is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #B86D4B.",
    "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/caramel-vs-desert-clay.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/caramel.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/desert-clay.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/caramel-vs-desert-clay/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/caramel-vs-desert-clay.json"
}