Color analysis glossary
What is the four-season color analysis system?
The four-season system — Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter — is the original color analysis framework, sorting everyone into one of four palettes by warmth and depth.
Popularized in the 1980s by Carole Jackson's book Color Me Beautiful, the four-season system was the first to make color analysis mainstream. Spring and Autumn are warm; Summer and Winter are cool.
Its limitation is breadth: four categories can't capture everyone, so many people fall between seasons. The modern 12-season system was developed to fix this by adding sub-seasons.
Related terms
Frequently asked
- Who invented the four-season color system?
- It was popularized in the 1980s by Carole Jackson's bestselling book Color Me Beautiful, which brought color analysis into the mainstream.
- Why was the 12-season system created?
- Because four categories couldn't capture everyone — many people fall between seasons. Splitting each season into three sub-seasons gives a far more accurate match.
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A full 12-season analysis from one selfie, in about 15 minutes.
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