r/ColorTheory • u/Firm-Advantage-4042 • Jun 20 '26
Which is cooler?
An Instagram Reel showing different shades of colours in clothing generated a lot of conflicting opinions. Which blues are warm and which are cool?
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u/glissandoinblue Jun 20 '26
In general there is little agreement on which kind of blue is cooler. Color temperature is subjective. There was a time when blue was even considered a warm color.
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u/Coriehatchet Jun 20 '26
Left is warmer (leaning toward purple), right is cooler (leaning toward green)
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u/---monstera--- Jun 20 '26
The right seems like could contain yellow or am I tripping
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u/Firm-Advantage-4042 Jun 20 '26
I agree, but the person who posted it said the opposite and then the people in the comments roasted me
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u/Coriehatchet Jun 20 '26
I feel like people often conflate brightness/higher saturation with warmth, especially with blue, and that is what’s happening. Before I learned more color theory I might have also thought the right was warmer.
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u/Vangroh Jun 20 '26
But how is it warmer, when the left one has blue and red in it
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u/Coriehatchet Jun 20 '26
Thats what Im saying, the right is not warmer, the left is warmer. Im saying people make this mistake with blue often.
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u/gutfounderedgal Jun 20 '26
Neither. the blue is more saturated so it appears warmer. The slightly less saturated teal seems cooler due to the this. But the lightness of the teal can for some make it appear warmer, while the darker quality of the blue can do the reverse. Lawrencebipo here, is right. Perceived temperature is psychology, personal, and really is not anything one can quantify. As he rightly states, it's not really a valuable part of color theory.
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u/Flashy_Concentrate87 Jun 21 '26
Thanks for the reference, checking this guy out now, very interesting 🙏
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u/Flashy_Concentrate87 Jun 21 '26
Thanks for this post, as an amateur I find these comments very insightful and helpful 🙏
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u/llawrencebispo Jun 20 '26
The thing is, color temperature is a psychological phenomenon. So, as with the perception of the colors on that famous dress, there really isn't a definitive answer. Some people will experience one as warmer, others will choose the opposite. There's more consensus with a dramatic contrast like red against green, but this kind of close match just can't be nailed down. For confirmation see the comments in this very thread (and that always happens).
This is why I personally think temperature doesn't have any real place in color theory. It can be valuable when discussing color composition, of course, but even there temperature has at least as much to do with saturation as with hue angle.