Nearest-color comparison
Medium Blue #0000CD vs Zaffre #0014A8: RGB distance 42.1 and contrast 1.13:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Medium Blue and Zaffre are related but distinguishable, with an RGB distance of 42.1. Medium Blue is lighter by 0.0108, and their saturation is equal. 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 Medium Blue and Zaffre across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
blue color
Medium Blue is #0000CD, a cool blue with hue 240°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.0441. Beside Zaffre, it is lighter and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 11.16:1.
blue color
Zaffre is #0014A8, a cool blue with hue 233°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.0333. Beside Medium Blue, it is darker and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 12.61:1.
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 Medium Blue and Zaffre, 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": "medium-blue",
"name": "Medium Blue",
"hex": "#0000CD",
"rgb": [
0,
0,
205
],
"hsl": [
240,
100,
40
],
"cmyk": [
100,
100,
0,
20
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"vibrant",
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0441,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.88,
"white": 11.16
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 11.16
},
"description": "Medium Blue is #0000CD, a cool blue color with vibrant and jewel tone character. Compared with Zaffre, it is lighter and similar in saturation. 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/medium-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/medium-blue.json"
},
{
"slug": "zaffre",
"name": "Zaffre",
"hex": "#0014A8",
"rgb": [
0,
20,
168
],
"hsl": [
233,
100,
33
],
"cmyk": [
100,
88,
0,
34
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0333,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.67,
"white": 12.61
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 12.61
},
"description": "Zaffre is #0014A8, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Medium Blue, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/zaffre/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zaffre.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 42.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.13,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 7,
"saturation": 0,
"lightness": 7
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0108,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Medium Blue",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Medium Blue"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.13,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Medium Blue",
"background": "#0000CD",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 11.16
},
{
"color": "Zaffre",
"background": "#0014A8",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 12.61
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Medium Blue is better when the design needs vibrant and jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0000CD.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Zaffre is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0014A8.",
"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/medium-blue-vs-zaffre.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/medium-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zaffre.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "medium-blue-vs-zaffre",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Medium Blue vs Zaffre",
"verdict": "Medium Blue and Zaffre are visually related colors. Medium Blue 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": "Medium Blue and Zaffre are different blue colors with HEX values #0000CD and #0014A8. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 42.1, their contrast ratio is 1.13:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 42.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.13,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "medium-blue",
"name": "Medium Blue",
"hex": "#0000CD",
"rgb": [
0,
0,
205
],
"hsl": [
240,
100,
40
],
"cmyk": [
100,
100,
0,
20
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"vibrant",
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0441,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.88,
"white": 11.16
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 11.16
},
"description": "Medium Blue is #0000CD, a cool blue color with vibrant and jewel tone character. Compared with Zaffre, it is lighter and similar in saturation. 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/medium-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/medium-blue.json"
},
{
"slug": "zaffre",
"name": "Zaffre",
"hex": "#0014A8",
"rgb": [
0,
20,
168
],
"hsl": [
233,
100,
33
],
"cmyk": [
100,
88,
0,
34
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0333,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.67,
"white": 12.61
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 12.61
},
"description": "Zaffre is #0014A8, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Medium Blue, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/zaffre/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zaffre.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 42.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.13,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 7,
"saturation": 0,
"lightness": 7
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0108,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Medium Blue",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Medium Blue"
},
"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": "Medium Blue",
"background": "#0000CD",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 11.16
},
{
"color": "Zaffre",
"background": "#0014A8",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 12.61
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Medium Blue is better when the design needs vibrant and jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0000CD.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Zaffre is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0014A8.",
"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/medium-blue-vs-zaffre.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/medium-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zaffre.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/medium-blue-vs-zaffre/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/medium-blue-vs-zaffre.json"
}