Nearest-color comparison
Dark Olive Green #556B2F vs Fern Frond #657220: RGB distance 23 and contrast 1.13:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Dark Olive Green and Fern Frond are very close, with an RGB distance of 23. Fern Frond is lighter by 0.0226, and Fern Frond is more saturated by 17 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.13:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Dark Olive Green and Fern Frond across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
green color
Dark Olive Green is #556B2F, a cool green with hue 82°, saturation 39% and luminance 0.1265. Beside Fern Frond, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 5.95:1.
green color
Fern Frond is #657220, a cool green with hue 70°, saturation 56% and luminance 0.1491. Beside Dark Olive Green, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 5.27:1.
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 Dark Olive Green and Fern Frond, 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": "dark-olive-green",
"name": "Dark Olive Green",
"hex": "#556B2F",
"rgb": [
85,
107,
47
],
"hsl": [
82,
39,
30
],
"cmyk": [
21,
0,
56,
58
],
"family": "green",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1265,
"contrast": {
"black": 3.53,
"white": 5.95
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.95
},
"description": "Dark Olive Green is #556B2F, a cool green color with earth tone character. Compared with Fern Frond, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/dark-olive-green/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-olive-green.json"
},
{
"slug": "fern-frond",
"name": "Fern Frond",
"hex": "#657220",
"rgb": [
101,
114,
32
],
"hsl": [
70,
56,
29
],
"cmyk": [
11,
0,
72,
55
],
"family": "green",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"earth-tone",
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1491,
"contrast": {
"black": 3.98,
"white": 5.27
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.27
},
"description": "Fern Frond is #657220, a cool green color with earth tone and jewel tone character. Compared with Dark Olive Green, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for botanical palettes, natural product design, and seasonal editorial palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/fern-frond/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/fern-frond.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 23,
"contrastRatio": 1.13,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 12,
"saturation": 17,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0226,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"earth-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Fern Frond",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Fern Frond"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.13,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Dark Olive Green",
"background": "#556B2F",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.95
},
{
"color": "Fern Frond",
"background": "#657220",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.27
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Olive Green is better when the design needs earth tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #556B2F.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Fern Frond is better when the design needs earth tone and jewel tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #657220.",
"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/dark-olive-green-vs-fern-frond.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-olive-green.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/fern-frond.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "dark-olive-green-vs-fern-frond",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Dark Olive Green vs Fern Frond",
"verdict": "Dark Olive Green and Fern Frond are very close colors. Fern Frond is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.13:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Dark Olive Green and Fern Frond are different green colors with HEX values #556B2F and #657220. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 23, their contrast ratio is 1.13:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 23,
"contrastRatio": 1.13,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "dark-olive-green",
"name": "Dark Olive Green",
"hex": "#556B2F",
"rgb": [
85,
107,
47
],
"hsl": [
82,
39,
30
],
"cmyk": [
21,
0,
56,
58
],
"family": "green",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1265,
"contrast": {
"black": 3.53,
"white": 5.95
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.95
},
"description": "Dark Olive Green is #556B2F, a cool green color with earth tone character. Compared with Fern Frond, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/dark-olive-green/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-olive-green.json"
},
{
"slug": "fern-frond",
"name": "Fern Frond",
"hex": "#657220",
"rgb": [
101,
114,
32
],
"hsl": [
70,
56,
29
],
"cmyk": [
11,
0,
72,
55
],
"family": "green",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"earth-tone",
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1491,
"contrast": {
"black": 3.98,
"white": 5.27
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.27
},
"description": "Fern Frond is #657220, a cool green color with earth tone and jewel tone character. Compared with Dark Olive Green, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for botanical palettes, natural product design, and seasonal editorial palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/fern-frond/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/fern-frond.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 23,
"contrastRatio": 1.13,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 12,
"saturation": 17,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0226,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"earth-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Fern Frond",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Fern Frond"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.13,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Dark Olive Green",
"background": "#556B2F",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.95
},
{
"color": "Fern Frond",
"background": "#657220",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.27
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Olive Green is better when the design needs earth tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #556B2F.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Fern Frond is better when the design needs earth tone and jewel tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #657220.",
"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/dark-olive-green-vs-fern-frond.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-olive-green.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/fern-frond.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/dark-olive-green-vs-fern-frond/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/dark-olive-green-vs-fern-frond.json"
}