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Tonesy
The system

The 12 color seasons

Four families, each split into three by the trait that dominates. Neighbours on the wheel share a property, which is why a near-miss result usually lands next door rather than across the circle.

Reading clockwise from Light Spring, each step changes one property at a time.

Spring

Spring

Warm and clear. Spring colors carry yellow and light, from the palest peach to a vivid coral. The three Springs differ in what dominates: lightness, warmth or clarity.

Summer

Summer

Cool and soft. Summer colors sit under a light haze, blue-based and gently greyed, like a coastline in morning fog. Lightness, coolness or muteness leads.

Autumn

Autumn

Warm and muted. Autumn colors are earthy and dense, golden rather than bright. The three Autumns split by softness, warmth and depth.

Winter

Winter

Cool and saturated. Winter colors are icy or jewel-like with sharp contrast between them. Depth, coolness or brightness takes the lead.

Flow

How the seasons run into each other

The wheel has no hard walls. Each season borrows from the two beside it, and people near a border can wear part of both palettes. This is the order:

  1. Light Spring
  2. Light Summer
  3. True Summer
  4. Soft Summer
  5. Soft Autumn
  6. True Autumn
  7. Deep Autumn
  8. Deep Winter
  9. True Winter
  10. Bright Winter
  11. Bright Spring
  12. True Spring

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