Olive Drab vs Red — Difference, Contrast & Harmony

Olive Drabnearest vs Rednearest

#638B00 · #C44D6C

Four independent scores (read the one that fits your goal): Readability 3/100 (fail) · Harmony 59/100 (triadic (soft)) · Distinguishable 57/100 (somewhat similar) · Match 0/100 (different). There is no single “good/bad” — a pair can clash for text yet be great for an outfit.

Readability3Fail

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Fail1.1:1

Harmony59Triadic (soft)

Triadic (soft)

93° apart

Distinguishable57Somewhat similar

normal

deuteranopia

ΔE 95 (20 under CVD)

Match0Different

ΔE 95 — different

How different are Olive Drab and Red?

Olive Drab and Red are very different (ΔE 95). They have distinctly different hues (93° apart) and their lightness is different, giving a clear light/dark split.

Can you read one on the other?

Olive Drab text on Red: 1.13:1 (Fail); Red text on Olive Drab: 1.13:1 (Fail). Neither meets AA at body size — nudging one color to #FCFFFA clears it.

Common questions

Do Olive Drab and Red go well together?

Triadic (soft) — workable but not a textbook harmony (harmony 59/100). This is about how they look together (clothing, interiors, branding), independent of text contrast.

Is Olive Drab readable as text on Red?

Not at body size — the best direction is only 1.1:1, below the 4.5:1 minimum. Nudging one colour to #FCFFFA clears AA.

What is the colour difference (ΔE) between Olive Drab and Red?

Their CIE76 ΔE is about 95 — very different.

Are Olive Drab and Red the same colour?

clearly different colours (ΔE 95).

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