Nearest-color comparison

Roman Red vs Clay

Roman Red and Clay are different red and orange colors with HEX values #CD5C5C and #B66A50. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 29.5, their contrast ratio is 1.02:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Roman Red and Clay are visually related colors. Roman Red is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.02:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Roman Red#CD5C5C

Clay#B66A50

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance29.5

Pair contrast1.02:1

Luminance delta0.0058

Hue delta15 deg

Lighter colorRoman Red

More saturatedRoman Red

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

red color

Roman Red

Roman Red is #CD5C5C, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Clay, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#CD5C5C RGB205, 92, 92 HSL0, 53, 58 CMYK0, 55, 55, 20 Luminance0.2141 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

orange color

Clay

Clay is #B66A50, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Roman Red, 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#B66A50 RGB182, 106, 80 HSL15, 41, 51 CMYK0, 42, 56, 29 Luminance0.2083 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Roman Red or Clay

Choose Roman RedRoman Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #CD5C5C.

Choose ClayClay is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #B66A50.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyRoman RedClay

HEX#CD5C5C#B66A50

RGB205, 92, 92182, 106, 80

HSL0, 53, 5815, 41, 51

CMYK0, 55, 55, 200, 42, 56, 29

FamilyRedOrange

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneBalancedEarth Tone

Luminance0.21410.2083

Black contrast5.28:15.17:1

White contrast3.98:14.07:1

Shared tonesNone

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Roman Redblack text - 5.28:1

Clayblack text - 5.17:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Roman Red#CD5C5C

Clay#B66A50

#E2A1A1#E2A1A1

#D0A090#D0A090

#5BCDCD#5BCDCD

#4F9CB5#4F9CB5

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": "roman-red",
    "name": "Roman Red",
    "hex": "#CD5C5C",
    "rgb": [
      205,
      92,
      92
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      53,
      58
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      55,
      55,
      20
    ],
    "family": "red",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.2141,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 5.28,
      "white": 3.98
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.28
    },
    "description": "Roman Red is #CD5C5C, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Clay, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/roman-red/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/roman-red.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "clay",
    "name": "Clay",
    "hex": "#B66A50",
    "rgb": [
      182,
      106,
      80
    ],
    "hsl": [
      15,
      41,
      51
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      42,
      56,
      29
    ],
    "family": "orange",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "earth-tone"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.2083,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 5.17,
      "white": 4.07
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.17
    },
    "description": "Clay is #B66A50, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Roman Red, 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/clay/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/clay.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 29.5,
  "contrastRatio": 1.02,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 15,
    "saturation": 12,
    "lightness": 7
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0058,
  "sameFamily": false,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [],
  "lighterColor": "Roman Red",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Roman Red"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.02,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Roman Red",
      "background": "#CD5C5C",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.28
    },
    {
      "color": "Clay",
      "background": "#B66A50",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.17
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Roman Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #CD5C5C.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Clay is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #B66A50.",
  "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/roman-red-vs-clay.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/roman-red.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/clay.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "roman-red-vs-clay",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Roman Red vs Clay",
  "verdict": "Roman Red and Clay are visually related colors. Roman Red is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.02:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Roman Red and Clay are different red and orange colors with HEX values #CD5C5C and #B66A50. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 29.5, their contrast ratio is 1.02:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 29.5,
  "contrastRatio": 1.02,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "roman-red",
      "name": "Roman Red",
      "hex": "#CD5C5C",
      "rgb": [
        205,
        92,
        92
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        53,
        58
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        55,
        55,
        20
      ],
      "family": "red",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.2141,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 5.28,
        "white": 3.98
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.28
      },
      "description": "Roman Red is #CD5C5C, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Clay, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/roman-red/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/roman-red.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "clay",
      "name": "Clay",
      "hex": "#B66A50",
      "rgb": [
        182,
        106,
        80
      ],
      "hsl": [
        15,
        41,
        51
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        42,
        56,
        29
      ],
      "family": "orange",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "earth-tone"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.2083,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 5.17,
        "white": 4.07
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.17
      },
      "description": "Clay is #B66A50, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Roman Red, 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/clay/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/clay.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 29.5,
    "contrastRatio": 1.02,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 15,
      "saturation": 12,
      "lightness": 7
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0058,
    "sameFamily": false,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [],
    "lighterColor": "Roman Red",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Roman Red"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.02,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Roman Red",
        "background": "#CD5C5C",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.28
      },
      {
        "color": "Clay",
        "background": "#B66A50",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.17
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Roman Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #CD5C5C.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Clay is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #B66A50.",
    "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/roman-red-vs-clay.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/roman-red.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/clay.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/roman-red-vs-clay/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/roman-red-vs-clay.json"
}