Nearest-color comparison
Roman Red #CD5C5C vs Clay #B66A50: RGB distance 29.5 and contrast 1.02:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Roman Red and Clay are related but distinguishable, with an RGB distance of 29.5. Roman Red is lighter by 0.0058, and Roman Red is more saturated by 12 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.02:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Roman Red and Clay across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
red color
Roman Red is #CD5C5C, a warm red with hue 0°, saturation 53% and luminance 0.2141. Beside Clay, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 5.28:1.
orange color
Clay is #B66A50, a warm orange with hue 15°, saturation 41% and luminance 0.2083. Beside Roman Red, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 5.17:1.
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 Roman Red and 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": "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"
}
]{
"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"
}{
"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
}
]
}{
"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."
}[
"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"
]{
"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"
}