Color Theory: Grey Temperature

[Jared]

I'm tired of squinting at the little badly-compressed swatches in Andy's Guide to Color Theory, so hopefully you gentlemen can help me understand some of this: Do greys appear warm or cold because of coloured tints (ie: grey with a hint of some other colour) or is it just certain shades of pure grey? Can you tell if a grey is warm or cold from looking at a photo of a fabric swatch, a fabric swatch in real life, or do you need a whole bolt or garment in natural lighting conditions?

 

[designprofessor]

Ranges of grey can appear "cooler" or "warmer" depending upon which colors have been added.

I can't speak to the fabric swatches specifically, but I few things to consider:

Lighting will make a difference.

Pairing one sample against another can help reveal certain color qualities.

Your skin tone / coloration will be part of the whole color equation.

Google Chevreul's color theories -some ideas I find useful

Colors are not seen in isolation like a swatch, their interaction influences how they are percieved.

 

[visionology]

You can tell even on your color monitor by the way that the profile is set.

If you have a pure grey square on your monitor and the color temperature is too high or too low it will look either blue or red because certain temperatures tend to produce a certain color of light.

In my design schooling we took color theory classes in which you can see how the perception of color is changed based on the colors and or tone next to them.

You should be able to spot a warm or cold grey fabric in person but I wouldn't judge a photo because incandescant or flourescent lighting is much like your monitor, they have different temperatures that fool the camera into creating warm or cool greys. Incandescant is warm and flourescent is cool typically. Good white balancing will solve the problem but most digital cameras don't handle it correctly.