4, 12, and 16 seasons describe different levels of detail
Short answer: 12-season and 16-season color analysis are not medical diagnoses with one universal industry standard. A common 12-season approach divides each base season into three directions. ColorNote uses four binary axes to create 16 product combinations. More labels mean more descriptive detail, not automatic accuracy.
| System | Common structure | Useful question | ColorNote output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 seasons | Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter | What is the broad undertone and depth direction? | Shown by the free browser test |
| 12 seasons | Often three directions inside each season | Is Light, True/Warm/Cool, Bright, Soft, or Deep dominant? | No separate 12-type API result |
| ColorNote 16 types | Four combinations inside each season | How do undertone, depth, clarity, and contrast combine? | Shown in the complete app analysis |
ColorNote evaluates four axes
The base season is formed first from undertone and depth: warm/light is Spring, cool/light is Summer, warm/deep is Autumn, and cool/deep is Winter. Clear versus soft and high versus low contrast then produce 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 combinations.
Undertone
The relative harmony of warm versus cool color directions.
Depth
Whether lighter or deeper colors support the features.
Clarity
Whether clear chromatic or gray-softened colors look more balanced.
Contrast
The light-dark relationship among visible skin, eyes, and hair.
This page reflects product rule version chromatic_rules_v3. Type names are display labels; the four-axis combination in the same row is the precise product definition.
How to read common 12-season vocabulary
This is a common pattern, not the only standard. True is often presented as Warm or Cool, and different systems draw the Bright, Soft, Light, and Deep boundaries differently.
| Base season | Three common directions | Reading focus |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Light / Warm or True / Bright | Keep warmth, then compare lightness, temperature dominance, or brightness |
| Summer | Light / Cool or True / Soft | Keep coolness, then compare lightness, cool dominance, or softness |
| Autumn | Soft / Warm or True / Deep | Keep warmth, then compare softness, temperature dominance, or depth |
| Winter | Bright / Cool or True / Deep | Keep coolness, then compare brightness, cool dominance, or depth |
Complete ColorNote 16-type reference
The table keeps each stable server key. Display names follow the current app and report. Because a label's everyday meaning may not match every axis literally, read the name and four-axis definition together.
| Season | Display name | Stable key | Undertone | Depth | Clarity | Contrast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | Light Spring | light_spring |
Warm | Light | Clear | High |
| Spring | Warm Spring | warm_spring |
Warm | Light | Clear | Low |
| Spring | Soft Spring | soft_spring |
Warm | Light | Soft | High |
| Spring | Fresh Spring | fresh_spring |
Warm | Light | Soft | Low |
| Summer | Clear Summer | clear_summer |
Cool | Light | Clear | High |
| Summer | Light Summer | light_summer |
Cool | Light | Clear | Low |
| Summer | Cool Summer | cool_summer |
Cool | Light | Soft | High |
| Summer | Soft Summer | soft_summer |
Cool | Light | Soft | Low |
| Autumn | Clear Autumn | clear_autumn |
Warm | Deep | Clear | High |
| Autumn | Warm Autumn | warm_autumn |
Warm | Deep | Clear | Low |
| Autumn | Deep Autumn | deep_autumn |
Warm | Deep | Soft | High |
| Autumn | Soft Autumn | soft_autumn |
Warm | Deep | Soft | Low |
| Winter | Bright Winter | bright_winter |
Cool | Deep | Clear | High |
| Winter | Cool Winter | cool_winter |
Cool | Deep | Clear | Low |
| Winter | Deep Winter | deep_winter |
Cool | Deep | Soft | High |
| Winter | Dark Winter | dark_winter |
Cool | Deep | Soft | Low |
How to read a subtype without letting the label take over
- Read the four axes firstConfirm undertone and depth, then clarity and contrast. The label is only shorthand.
- Compare one-axis neighborsNear a boundary, the adjacent combination may be more useful than insisting on one absolute name.
- Keep test conditions stableChanging light, camera, makeup, or sample position changes visible color and should trigger a controlled retest.
- Verify with real colorsCompare recommended and opposite colors in the same light and observe skin evenness and feature clarity.
Method and limits: more detail is not certainty
- A season is a styling language, not a medical diagnosis, skin-value ranking, or identity label.
- Different studios can use the same subtype name with different axes, drapes, and boundaries.
- ColorNote's 16 types are product definitions, not a claim of one universal industry standard.
- Without independent controlled validation, one accuracy percentage cannot represent every skin tone, camera, and light.
Read ColorNote's analysis method and limitations for sampling and boundary details. Before retesting, use the personal color photo guide to standardize the input.
Sources, product version, and editorial note
The 16-type mapping was checked against the current ColorNote product implementation. External sources explain one common 12-season vocabulary, colorimetry, skin-measurement variables, and research limits; they do not validate ColorNote's 16-type algorithm.
- The Concept Wardrobe: Twelve Seasons Colour AnalysisUsed as one published example of the common 12-season names in this page. It is not presented as a universal industry standard.
- CIE 015:2018: Colorimetry, 4th EditionUsed to check hue, lightness, chroma, viewing conditions, and color-difference concepts. These quantities are not season labels.
- CIE 256:2025: Measurement of Human Skin ColourUsed to check how illumination geometry, sample location, device settings, and individual diversity affect comparable measurements.
- Perrett & Sprengelmeyer (2021): clothing colors and skin toneUsed to check evidence and limits around clothing-color studies, including the lack of one consistent scientific definition for common personal-color categories.
Product rules and sources checked August 27, 2026.