Nearest-color comparison
Red Clay #B45A3C vs Desert Clay #B86D4B: RGB distance 24.5 and contrast 1.19:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Red Clay and Desert Clay are very close, with an RGB distance of 24.5. Desert Clay is lighter by 0.043, and Red Clay is more saturated by 7 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.19:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Red Clay and Desert Clay across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
orange color
Red Clay is #B45A3C, a warm orange with hue 15°, saturation 50% and luminance 0.1734. Beside Desert Clay, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 4.7:1.
orange color
Desert Clay is #B86D4B, a warm orange with hue 19°, saturation 43% and luminance 0.2164. Beside Red Clay, it is lighter and less 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 Red Clay 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": "red-clay",
"name": "Red Clay",
"hex": "#B45A3C",
"rgb": [
180,
90,
60
],
"hsl": [
15,
50,
47
],
"cmyk": [
0,
50,
67,
29
],
"family": "orange",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1734,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.47,
"white": 4.7
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.7
},
"description": "Red Clay is #B45A3C, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Desert Clay, it is darker and more 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/red-clay/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/red-clay.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 Red Clay, it is lighter and less 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": 24.5,
"contrastRatio": 1.19,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 4,
"saturation": 7,
"lightness": 4
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.043,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"earth-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Desert Clay",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Red Clay"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.19,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Red Clay",
"background": "#B45A3C",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.7
},
{
"color": "Desert Clay",
"background": "#B86D4B",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.33
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Red Clay is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #B45A3C.",
"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/red-clay-vs-desert-clay.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/red-clay.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/desert-clay.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "red-clay-vs-desert-clay",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Red Clay vs Desert Clay",
"verdict": "Red Clay and Desert Clay are very close colors. Desert Clay is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.19:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Red Clay and Desert Clay are different orange colors with HEX values #B45A3C and #B86D4B. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 24.5, their contrast ratio is 1.19:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 24.5,
"contrastRatio": 1.19,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "red-clay",
"name": "Red Clay",
"hex": "#B45A3C",
"rgb": [
180,
90,
60
],
"hsl": [
15,
50,
47
],
"cmyk": [
0,
50,
67,
29
],
"family": "orange",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1734,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.47,
"white": 4.7
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.7
},
"description": "Red Clay is #B45A3C, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Desert Clay, it is darker and more 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/red-clay/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/red-clay.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 Red Clay, it is lighter and less 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": 24.5,
"contrastRatio": 1.19,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 4,
"saturation": 7,
"lightness": 4
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.043,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"earth-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Desert Clay",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Red Clay"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.19,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Red Clay",
"background": "#B45A3C",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.7
},
{
"color": "Desert Clay",
"background": "#B86D4B",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.33
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Red Clay is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #B45A3C.",
"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/red-clay-vs-desert-clay.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/red-clay.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/desert-clay.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/red-clay-vs-desert-clay/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/red-clay-vs-desert-clay.json"
}