Colour comparison

Browns vs Colts colors

Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts and their primary colours sit 1.17:1 apart in lightness with a perceptual difference of 53.7. Every cross-team pairing is measured below.

These values are not yet verified

The colour values on this page are illustrative placeholders used while the site is being built. Each one must be traced to the team's own published brand assets and dated before it is presented as fact — see the method page. Do not use these figures for print or production yet.

Browns vs Colts

Greyscale clash
Colour difference
ΔE 53.7
Lightness contrast
1.17:1

The same two colours in greyscale — what a monochrome feed, and a viewer with colour vision deficiency, has to work with.

The two palettes

Cleveland Browns National Football League
Brown #311D00
Orange #FF3C00

All Browns values →

Indianapolis Colts National Football League
Speed Blue #002C5F
Gray #A2AAAD

All Colts values →

Every cross-team pairing

4 measured
Contrast for every Browns colour against every Colts colour
Browns colour #002C5F #A2AAAD
#311D00 1.17:1 Fails 6.80:1 AA
#FF3C00 3.87:1 Large text only 1.51:1 Fails
Browns on Colts
Strongest pairing

Brown on Gray is the highest-contrast combination across the two palettes. Use it for anything carrying text.

6.80:1 AA
Browns on Colts
Weakest pairing

Brown on Speed Blue is the lowest-contrast combination, and the one a designer reaches for by accident when both teams want their signature colour.

1.17:1 Fails

What the verdict means

A colour clash takes two measurements, not one. Perceptual difference says how far apart two colours look to the eye with hue included; lightness contrast says what survives when colour is removed. Judged on lightness alone, a navy and a purple can score identically to navy against itself, which is plainly wrong. Judged on hue alone, two colours that separate clearly in colour can merge completely in a monochrome broadcast.

For Browns and Colts the two figures are ΔE 53.7 and 1.17:1, which together give a verdict of greyscale clash. They separate by hue but sit at almost the same lightness, so they merge in greyscale and for viewers with red-green colour vision deficiency.

The National Football League divides its thirty-two teams between two conferences, and uniform colour is regulated more tightly here than in any other major league: a team must register its colours with the league, and opposing teams are required to wear contrasting jerseys so that broadcast audiences can tell them apart.

Design with either palette

Take Browns or Colts colours into the design studio, add your own artwork, and check the result for print problems before committing to a run.

Every other Browns comparison

30 matchups

Every other Colts comparison

30 matchups