Nearest-color comparison

Shale vs Granite

Shale and Granite are different blue and gray colors with HEX values #59656F and #676767. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 16.2, their contrast ratio is 1.06:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Shale and Granite are very close colors. Granite is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.06:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Shale#59656F

Granite#676767

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Shale and Granite across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance16.2

Pair contrast1.06:1

Luminance delta0.0098

Hue delta207 deg

Lighter colorGranite

More saturatedShale

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

blue color

Shale

Shale is #59656F, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Granite, 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.

HEX#59656F RGB89, 101, 111 HSL207, 11, 39 CMYK20, 9, 0, 56 Luminance0.1258 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

gray color

Granite

Granite is #676767, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Shale, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for earth-tone palettes, interior design, and material-inspired branding, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#676767 RGB103, 103, 103 HSL0, 0, 40 CMYK0, 0, 0, 60 Luminance0.1356 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Shale or Granite

Choose ShaleShale is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #59656F.

Choose GraniteGranite is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #676767.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyShaleGranite

HEX#59656F#676767

RGB89, 101, 111103, 103, 103

HSL207, 11, 390, 0, 40

CMYK20, 9, 0, 560, 0, 0, 60

FamilyBlueGray

TemperatureCoolNeutral

ToneMutedMuted

Luminance0.12580.1356

Black contrast3.52:13.71:1

White contrast5.97:15.66:1

Shared tonesMuted

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Shalewhite text - 5.97:1

Granitewhite text - 5.66:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Shale#59656F

Granite#676767

#85939D#85939D

#949494#949494

#6E6259#6E6259

#666666#666666

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": "shale",
    "name": "Shale",
    "hex": "#59656F",
    "rgb": [
      89,
      101,
      111
    ],
    "hsl": [
      207,
      11,
      39
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      20,
      9,
      0,
      56
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.1258,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 3.52,
      "white": 5.97
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 5.97
    },
    "description": "Shale is #59656F, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Granite, 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/shale/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/shale.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "granite",
    "name": "Granite",
    "hex": "#676767",
    "rgb": [
      103,
      103,
      103
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      40
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      60
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.1356,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 3.71,
      "white": 5.66
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 5.66
    },
    "description": "Granite is #676767, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Shale, it is lighter and less 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/granite/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/granite.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 16.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.06,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 207,
    "saturation": 11,
    "lightness": 1
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0098,
  "sameFamily": false,
  "sameTemperature": false,
  "sharedTones": [
    "muted"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Granite",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Shale"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.06,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Shale",
      "background": "#59656F",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 5.97
    },
    {
      "color": "Granite",
      "background": "#676767",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 5.66
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Shale is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #59656F.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Granite is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #676767.",
  "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/shale-vs-granite.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/shale.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/granite.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "shale-vs-granite",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Shale vs Granite",
  "verdict": "Shale and Granite are very close colors. Granite is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.06:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Shale and Granite are different blue and gray colors with HEX values #59656F and #676767. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 16.2, their contrast ratio is 1.06:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 16.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.06,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "shale",
      "name": "Shale",
      "hex": "#59656F",
      "rgb": [
        89,
        101,
        111
      ],
      "hsl": [
        207,
        11,
        39
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        20,
        9,
        0,
        56
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.1258,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 3.52,
        "white": 5.97
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 5.97
      },
      "description": "Shale is #59656F, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Granite, 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/shale/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/shale.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "granite",
      "name": "Granite",
      "hex": "#676767",
      "rgb": [
        103,
        103,
        103
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        40
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        60
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.1356,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 3.71,
        "white": 5.66
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 5.66
      },
      "description": "Granite is #676767, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Shale, it is lighter and less 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/granite/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/granite.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 16.2,
    "contrastRatio": 1.06,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 207,
      "saturation": 11,
      "lightness": 1
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0098,
    "sameFamily": false,
    "sameTemperature": false,
    "sharedTones": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Granite",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Shale"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.06,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Shale",
        "background": "#59656F",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 5.97
      },
      {
        "color": "Granite",
        "background": "#676767",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 5.66
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Shale is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #59656F.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Granite is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #676767.",
    "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/shale-vs-granite.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/shale.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/granite.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/shale-vs-granite/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/shale-vs-granite.json"
}