Nearest-color comparison
Caramel #AF6E4D vs Desert Clay #B86D4B: RGB distance 9.3 and contrast 1.03:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Caramel and Desert Clay are very close, with an RGB distance of 9.3. Desert Clay is lighter by 0.0084, and Desert Clay is more saturated by 4 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.03:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Caramel and Desert Clay across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
orange color
Caramel is #AF6E4D, a warm orange with hue 20°, saturation 39% and luminance 0.208. Beside Desert Clay, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 5.16:1.
orange color
Desert Clay is #B86D4B, a warm orange with hue 19°, saturation 43% and luminance 0.2164. Beside Caramel, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 5.33:1.
Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.
Downloadable color comparison infographic
Save a high-resolution comparison infographic with both HEX colors, visual distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance.
A compact visual strip showing the two compared colors with nearby harmony and variant context.
Machine-readable data
Structured comparison data for Caramel and Desert Clay, including color systems, RGB distance, HSL deltas, contrast, accessibility guidance, use cases, and API links.
Colors Encyclopedia
colorsBoth named color records with HEX, RGB, HSL, CMYK, luminance, WCAG, and linksdifferencesRGB distance, HSL deltas, luminance delta, contrast, and shared attributesaccessibilityPair contrast and safer text choices for each coloruseCasesWhen to choose each color and when to use them togetherrelatedApiMachine-readable comparison and color endpoints[
{
"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"
}
]{
"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"
}{
"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
}
]
}{
"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."
}[
"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"
]{
"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"
}