Nearest-color comparison

Shale vs Storm Blue

Shale and Storm Blue are different blue and cyan colors with HEX values #59656F and #4F666A. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 11.2, their contrast ratio is 1.02:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Shale and Storm Blue are very close colors. Shale 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

Shale#59656F

Storm Blue#4F666A

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance11.2

Pair contrast1.02:1

Luminance delta0.0037

Hue delta18 deg

Lighter colorShale

More saturatedStorm Blue

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

blue color

Shale

Shale is #59656F, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Storm Blue, 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#59656F RGB89, 101, 111 HSL207, 11, 39 CMYK20, 9, 0, 56 Luminance0.1258 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

cyan color

Storm Blue

Storm Blue is #4F666A, a cool cyan color with muted character. Compared with Shale, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#4F666A RGB79, 102, 106 HSL189, 15, 36 CMYK25, 4, 0, 58 Luminance0.1221 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Shale or Storm Blue

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

Choose Storm BlueStorm Blue is better when the design needs muted cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4F666A.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyShaleStorm Blue

HEX#59656F#4F666A

RGB89, 101, 11179, 102, 106

HSL207, 11, 39189, 15, 36

CMYK20, 9, 0, 5625, 4, 0, 58

FamilyBlueCyan

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneMutedMuted

Luminance0.12580.1221

Black contrast3.52:13.44:1

White contrast5.97:16.1:1

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

Storm Bluewhite text - 6.1:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Shale#59656F

Storm Blue#4F666A

#85939D#85939D

#78969B#78969B

#6E6259#6E6259

#6A524E#6A524E

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 Storm Blue, 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/shale/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/shale.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "storm-blue",
    "name": "Storm Blue",
    "hex": "#4F666A",
    "rgb": [
      79,
      102,
      106
    ],
    "hsl": [
      189,
      15,
      36
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      25,
      4,
      0,
      58
    ],
    "family": "cyan",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.1221,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 3.44,
      "white": 6.1
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 6.1
    },
    "description": "Storm Blue is #4F666A, a cool cyan color with muted character. Compared with Shale, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/storm-blue/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/storm-blue.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 11.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.02,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 18,
    "saturation": 4,
    "lightness": 3
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0037,
  "sameFamily": false,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "muted"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Shale",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Storm Blue"
}

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": "Shale",
      "background": "#59656F",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 5.97
    },
    {
      "color": "Storm Blue",
      "background": "#4F666A",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 6.1
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Shale is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #59656F.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Storm Blue is better when the design needs muted cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4F666A.",
  "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-storm-blue.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/shale.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/storm-blue.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "shale-vs-storm-blue",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Shale vs Storm Blue",
  "verdict": "Shale and Storm Blue are very close colors. Shale 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": "Shale and Storm Blue are different blue and cyan colors with HEX values #59656F and #4F666A. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 11.2, their contrast ratio is 1.02:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 11.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.02,
  "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 Storm Blue, 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/shale/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/shale.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "storm-blue",
      "name": "Storm Blue",
      "hex": "#4F666A",
      "rgb": [
        79,
        102,
        106
      ],
      "hsl": [
        189,
        15,
        36
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        25,
        4,
        0,
        58
      ],
      "family": "cyan",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.1221,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 3.44,
        "white": 6.1
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 6.1
      },
      "description": "Storm Blue is #4F666A, a cool cyan color with muted character. Compared with Shale, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/storm-blue/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/storm-blue.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 11.2,
    "contrastRatio": 1.02,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 18,
      "saturation": 4,
      "lightness": 3
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0037,
    "sameFamily": false,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Shale",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Storm Blue"
  },
  "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": "Shale",
        "background": "#59656F",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 5.97
      },
      {
        "color": "Storm Blue",
        "background": "#4F666A",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 6.1
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Shale is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #59656F.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Storm Blue is better when the design needs muted cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4F666A.",
    "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-storm-blue.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/shale.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/storm-blue.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/shale-vs-storm-blue/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/shale-vs-storm-blue.json"
}