Measurements & formulas

Color temperature

A way to describe appearance of light, measured in degrees of Kelvin (K). Color temperature relates to warm and cool colors.

See how it looks

Use the slider to see how adjusting color temperature affects an image.

Warm

How it affects UI design

Complementary colors tend to be of opposing temperatures. Using warm and cool colors together creates dynamic color contrast.

Warm colors can communicate excitement, friendliness, and positivity.

Cool colors can be used to communicate calmness, peace, approachability, and sadness.

Certain combinations of warm and cool colors are not distinguishable to people with color vision deficiencies.

Sources:

  1. R.W.G. Hunt, M.R. Pointer (2011). Measuring Colour. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Pages 437
  2. Color temperature. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature