Select a pure hue. Adjust the four remaining attributes independently.
1 — Hue
The warm–cool direction of a color. Every hue family has a warm version and a cool version — warm hues pull yellow, orange, or red; cool hues pull blue or violet. Drag to select your pure hue. This is the only control that sets the reference swatch below.
This color has reduced value or chroma — it is not a pure hue. Use the analyzer below to explore it.
Temperature within hue familyNudges warm or cool within the selected hue
← CoolerNeutralWarmer →
Result & readout
Pure hue
Result
#000000
–
0°Hue
±0Temp
50Value
100Chroma
100Clarity
–Contrast
NoneModifier
2 — Four remaining attributes
ValuePigment lightness
Low value (dark)High value (light)
ChromaPigment strength / saturation
Low (muted)High (saturated)
ClarityGrey influence
Smoky (soft)Crystalline (clear)
Modifier
NoneFull
Color Analyzer
Enter any hex code to see how it breaks down across the four attributes. The analyzer shows the entered color alongside its pure hue equivalent — the same hue family at full saturation and mid value, with no modifications.
#
Entered color
Pure hue equivalent
Value–
Low (dark)High (light)
Chroma–
Low (muted)High (saturated)
Clarity–
Smoky (soft)Crystalline (clear)
Temperature–
CoolWarm
Closest 12-season equivalent
Color Vocabulary Reference
Common color terms translated into measurable attributes. Each term is defined by which attribute — or combination of attributes — it actually describes. Understanding these distinctions is the difference between a color result you can trust and one you cannot consistently apply.
Hue terms
Warm
Hue pulls yellow, orange, or red. Colors with warm undertone.
Cool
Hue pulls blue or violet. Colors with cool undertone.
Earthy
Warm hue direction combined with lower clarity. The burnished, grounded quality of Autumn palettes. Not simply muted.
Ashy
Cool hue direction with low clarity overlay. A greyed coolness distinct from clean cool colors.
Value terms
Deep / Dark
Low value. Not the same as rich or saturated — value is about lightness, not pigment strength.
Light
High value. Airy and receding regardless of saturation level.
Pale
High value and lower chroma together. Delicate and diluted.
Inky
Very low value with high clarity. Dark but crystalline — not murky.
Washed Out
Low chroma without sufficient value depth for the wearer. A mismatch problem, not a color property.
Chroma terms
Saturated
High chroma. Strong pigment presence. Not the same as bright, which also requires high clarity.
Vivid
High chroma. Often used interchangeably with bright, but vivid is about pigment strength, not clarity.
Electric
Very high chroma and high clarity together. Sharp, high-impact.
Muted
Low chroma. Reduced pigment strength. The color is less present, not greyed.
Dusty
Low chroma specifically. Pigment is reduced. Distinct from smoky, which is a clarity term.
Clarity terms
Clear
High clarity. Little to no grey influence. Not the same as bright — a clear color can have lower chroma.
Soft
Low clarity. Grey is present and diffusing the color. In ColorAxis terminology, soft refers to clarity specifically — not chroma.
Smoky
Low clarity. Grey interference creates a diffused, atmospheric quality.
Murky / Muddy
Very low clarity, often compounded by undertone interference. Visual noise that cannot be explained by any single attribute alone.
Crisp
High clarity and medium to high contrast together. Clean and defined.
Compound terms
Bright
High chroma and high clarity together. Strong pigment with no grey. Sharp and crystalline. This is what Bright Spring means technically.
Burnished
High chroma and low clarity. Intense pigment with grey diffusion — rich and atmospheric, not glassy. Where many Dark Autumn colors live.
Rich
High chroma and low value. Deep and intensely pigmented. Weight and density without necessarily being soft or clear.
Jewel-toned
Medium to high chroma and medium to deep value. Not automatically high clarity — a garnet can be jewel-toned and slightly softened.
Graphic
High contrast and high clarity together. Bold visual separation with clean color.
Blended
Low contrast. Tones sit close together in value, creating a harmonious, unified impression.
Contrast terms
High Contrast
Large light-dark separation between features or colors. Bold and defined.
Low Contrast
Minimal light-dark separation. Tonal and close-range.
Sharp
High contrast and/or high clarity. Defined edges and clear separation.
Striking
High contrast. The visual impact comes from light-dark separation, not saturation.
The most commonly confused pair: Soft vs Muted
These two terms are used interchangeably in most color systems. In ColorAxis terminology they refer to two distinct and independent attributes.
Muted = low chroma. The pigment strength is reduced. Less color is present. The saturation is genuinely lower. A muted color is not necessarily grey-influenced — it simply has less pigment.
Soft = low clarity. Grey influence is present and diffusing the color. The pigment may still be reasonably strong but grey is blending into it, creating a smoky, diffused quality. A soft color is not necessarily low in chroma.
You can be muted without being soft. You can be soft without being muted. Getting one wrong while the other is correct still produces an incomplete result.
