Preference for accent and background colors in interior architecture in terms of similarity/contrast of natural color system attributes

Color combination criteria are said to entail an affective response in interior design. We investigated the color combination criteria that orient the preference of current observers, after Le Corbusier's 1931 Salubra keyboards. We explored the similarity/contrast in Natural Color System (NCS) hue, blackness, and chromaticness in 312 combinations with four colors, two backgrounds and two accent colors, coming from 43 individual colors, on the walls of a simulated interior of a bedroom from the Swiss Pavilion (Le Corbusier, 1930-1931). Participants were 644 students of architecture and interior design in Western Europe and Near East, who evaluated with a Likert scale their preference for virtual images via an online survey. Results indicate that the most preferred color combinations are those with hues closer in the color wheel, being the similarity between hues in the backgrounds more important than in the accent colors, and with NCS B30G to G as the most preferred hues. Observers preferred color compositions with blackness under 10% and similar blackness between the two background colors, together with a certain blackness contrast between these background colors and the two color accents. Similarly, observers liked color compositions with low chromaticness and low chromaticness difference among the four colors of the composition.     

Experimental determination of laws of color harmony. Part 3: Harmony content of different hue pairs

At the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in 1956, we decided to start large‐scale experiments on color harmony. The experiments and the processing of the experimental data were completed in 2006. The experiments described in this article were based on a long established experience that harmony content of different hue pairs greatly differ from each other. The vast majority of former research activities on the subject of color harmony narrowed down mostly to investigations of saturated color pairs. Color samples of our experiments have been defined within the color space of the Coloroid color system, built on harmony thresholds. The compositions, prepared for the experiments, always consisted of two saturated hues and three low saturation colors of each hue at varying brightness, making it a total of eight colors. Within the framework of the experiments, 48 hues were used. Out of these, each of the 24 was formed into composition pairs with the remaining 48 hues, forming a total of 852 compositions. The paired‐comparison experiments were conducted with the use of the compositions prepared by collage technique. Color samples made of painted paper, between 1980 and 1985, have been repeated between 2002 and 2006 with the same color selection but with computer‐generated pseudorandom patch system compositions. It has been established that harmony content of hue pairs can be expressed by the relative angle of their hue planes in the Coloroid color space. The harmony content of hue pairs exceeds that of other pairs, when this angle is below 10°, between 30° and 40°, between 130° and 140° or near to 180°. Those color pairs of which hue planes are between 60° and 90° to each other in Coloroid color space, exhibit the least harmony content. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 34, 33–44, 2009.     

Comparison of unique hue stimuli determined by two different methods using Munsell color chips

Unique hue stimuli were determined by male and female observers using two different visual experimental procedures involving Munsell color chips of varying hue but identical chroma and value. The hypothesis was that unique hues can be more reliably established by explicit selection from a series of ordered stimuli than implicitly by hue scaling a series of stimuli in terms of neighboring UHs and this was statistically confirmed. The implicit selections based on long term memory of UHs appears to have been more challenging to observers since variability was increased by nearly 50% compared to when UHs were explicitly selected. The ranges of unique hues selected in the two methods were, however, comparable and no statistically significant difference was found between the results of females and males. The intra‐observer variability in picking a stimulus to represent a unique hue, for all observers and averaged for all hues, was approximately 12% of the mean spread of unique hues, confirming that the large inter‐observer variability is driven by differences in color vision and perhaps cognitive processes. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2010     

An interior design exhibition: An assessment of color scheme preferences and the emotional states of students

Color is an essential factor for perceiving objects and their interaction. There are many alternatives to color selection in interior design. Colors can be selected according to a user, physical characteristics of the space or a concept. In this context, research has been conducted on the interior color scheme preferences and emotional states with university students. It contains the findings obtained during an interior design exhibition, which was organized at the interior design department of the university. This exhibition was organized for sampling interior color information, selection methods, and using forms. For the exhibition, to be able to observe the changes in the perception of space and the effects of the color, the visuals were arranged according to different color selection methods in the same space. A survey was conducted during the exhibition to examine color scheme preferences and the relation with emotional states of students on interior designs. In the survey, students were asked whether they would prefer or not each interior space and which emotional state is expressed for each visual separately. The statistical analysis was made, and according to the answers given in the survey, comparative results appeared. It is concluded that the students who participate in the survey have meaningful relationships on the spatial color preferences, and differences are determined in emotional states.     

Effect of area on color harmony in simulated interiors

The main aim of this study is to examine the effect of area on color harmony in simulated interior spaces. The secondary aim of the study is to investigate how the term color harmony is defined and the link between color harmony and related terms used to define it. These terms can explain why a color scheme is evaluated as harmonious. Four sets of three-color combinations created by using the hues red, blue, yellow, green, purple, and orange were studied in a simulated office interior emphasizing different proportional use of each color. Firstly, participants evaluated harmony content of the images. Secondly, they evaluated each image regarding the terms related to color harmony. Findings indicated that area had an effect on color harmony for two of the color combinations (warm & cool). However, there were no strong but rather moderate and weak correlations between color harmony and the terms.     

Color names,stimulus color,and their subjective links

The aim of the research reported by this study was on the one hand to identify what colors were associated with particular words in relation to a specific language (Italian), by portraying them in color stimuli on the screen of a monitor; and on the other hand to verify whether some words of that language denoted colors that were either particularly well defined or confused with others. In an experiment using special software, the subjects were asked to produce colors directly, instead of choosing among a number of colors presented on the screen. The results showed that (i) it is possible to identify the color‐stimuli to which the terms of a language refer; that (ii) the “best” colors Giallo (Yellow), Rosso (Red), Blu (Blue), and Verde (Green) which the subjects were requested to produce were very similar to the corresponding unique hues; that (iii) among the mixed hues there were perceptually intermediate colors, that is, ones exactly midway between two consecutive unique colors: Arancione (Orange) and Viola (bluish Purple); that (iv) Turquoise and Lime were clearly positioned in the mental space of color of the participants; and that (v) for Italian speakers some hues coincide: Azzurro (Azure) and Celeste (Cerulean); Arancione (Orange), RossoGiallo (RedYellow) and Carota (Carrot); Lime and GialloVerde (YellowGreen), so that their color terms can be considered synonyms. Our most interesting finding, however, is that for Italian speakers these four mixed colors with their specific names (Lime, Turchese (Turquoise), Viola (bluish Purple) and Arancione (Orange) fall perceptually in the middle of each of the four quadrants formed in the hue circle by the four unique hues. The resulting circle is therefore characterized by eight colors of which four are unique and four are intermediate mixed. It would be advisable to repeat the study cross‐culturally to test for possible similarities and differences in color meanings with speakers of different languages. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 42, 89–101, 2017     

Individual differences of unique hue loci and their relation to color preferences

Loci of the four unique hues (red, green, blue, and yellow) on the equiluminant plane on the color display and three preferred colors were obtained from 115 normal trichromats. We sought possible correlations between these measures. Different unique hue loci were not correlated with each other. The three preferred colors were not correlated with each other. We found five combinations of significant correlation between a preferred color and unique hue settings, yet the overall tendency is not very clear. We conclude that individual differences in color appearance measured by unique hues and color preferences measured by asking for favorite colors may not be predicted from each other or even within a category because the differences in the earlier visual mechanisms can be compensated for and these high‐level measures can be influenced by learning and experience. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 29, 285–291, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.20023     

Assessing the color of red wine like a taster's eye

Color of 33 commercial red wines and five‐color reference wines was measured in the same conditions in which visual color assessment is done by wine tasters. Measurements were performed in the two distinctive regions, center and rim, which are the regions assessed by wine tasters when the wine sampler is tilted. Commercial wines were classified into five color categories using the color specifications in their taste cards. The five color categories describe the spread of red hues found in red wines from the violet to brown nuances. The performance of CIELAB color coordinates in terms of their ability to reproduce the observed classification has been established using discriminant analysis. The CIELAB hue angle, h_ab, measured in the rim, where wine thickness is of the order of few millimeters, gives the best results classifying correctly 71.1% of the samples. Classification results are not significantly improved when additional color coordinates are considered. Moreover, ΔE* color differences with color reference wines do not provide good classification results. The analysis of reference and commercial wines supports the fact that hue is the main factor in the classification done by wine tasters. This is reinforced by the linear correlation found between h_ab in the rim and the wine age (R² = 0.795) in accordance with the fact that wines change their hues from violet to brown tints with ageing. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 34, 153–162, 2009     

Experimental determination of laws of color harmony. Part 2: Harmony content of different monochrome color pairs

In 1956, we came to the decision at the Budapest Technical University to start large scale experiments on color harmony. The experiments and the processing of the experimental results have been completed in 2006, after 50 years of research work. The focal point of the experiments published in the current article has been the practical experience that the span of intervals between saturations and brightnesses of the compositions influence the harmony content of the composition, namely they determine in what extent we perceive the color composition as a harmonic one. Within the framework of experiments compositions have been shown to the participants, first those consisting of color pairs featuring the same hues and saturations but different brightnesses then those consisting of the same hues and brightnesses but different saturations. The method of experiments consisted of comparisons in pairs. There were 780 compositions prepared for the tests. The number of elementary observations during the tests comprised 544 000. It has been established that the variation of harmony content as a function of brightness‐ and saturation‐intervals could be described by a harmony function. It has been established that the variation of harmony content depending on brightness‐intervals is not, but that of depending on saturation intervals is being influenced by the hues of colors of the color pair in the composition. It has been established that in case of compositions with the maximum harmony content the interval of brightnesses of the colors making the color pair in each case gives d30V (d9Y), the interval of saturations gives d30T or is near to it. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 33, 262–270, 2008.     

Does interior color contrast enhance spatial memory?

This study investigated the effect of contrast in neutral-, warm-, and cool-colored spaces on spatial memory. Spatial memory was measured in terms of architectural scale and recollection of architectural elements and furniture. Participants (N = 114) viewed a short virtual simulation video of a residential studio and were asked to sketch a map of the architectural elements on distributed grid paper. Spatial memory was measured in terms of scale, and item recall rate. Contrast and hue had no significant effect on the memorization of proportional scale. However, high-contrast schemes allowed for a significantly higher recollection of architectural elements than low-contrast schemes. In comparing the effect of hues, a significant difference was seen in recalling detailed furniture and lighting items. Participants reported significantly better spatial memory of neutral and warm color schemes than of cool color schemes. There was no interaction effect between contrast and hue in the color combinations. These results can be applied in the design of color schemes for architectural spaces requiring enhanced spatial cognition and memory.     

Color preference affected by mode of color appearance

Most color preference research focuses on colors in an object color mode. In our daily life, however, colors are perceived not only as an object color mode but also as other modes, such as unnatural object color and light source color modes. To explore the effect of the color appearance mode on color preference, we examined the relationship between color preference and the mode of color appearance. Thirty‐three color chips were chosen from the Munsell notation varying in hues and chromas. The color chips were presented in different color appearance modes by changing the subject's room illuminance and the color chip room illuminance. The experimental results showed that the brightest and most saturated colors were preferred. It was found that the subject preferred color in a light source color mode and unnatural object color mode to color in an object color mode. Moreover, we found that hue had a small effect on color preference in the light source color mode. We also investigated the relationship between color preference and the perceived color attributes (perceived chromaticness, whiteness, and blackness). In a supplementary experiment, elementary color naming was conducted. The results showed that the perceived chromaticness, perceived whiteness, and perceived blackness play a role for the determination of color preference for different color appearance modes. We, consequently, suggest that color preference is dominated not only by color attributes but also by the mode of color appearance. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2010     

Practical color barrier‐free illumination for deuteranopia using LEDs

Here, we propose a color barrier‐free illumination consisting of white, red, and blue LEDs for people with deuteranopia‐type defects in color perception. Color perceptions of 20 volunteers with normal vision and four examinees of deuteranopia were evaluated by both the Ishihara test for color blindness and the Farnsworth Panel D‐15 test under color barrier‐free illumination. The illumination was comparably effective, not only for discriminating between red and green but also for discrimination of the hues on a color chip continuously. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 40, 218–223, 2015     

Formulation of interior design color palette based on the regression analysis of digital color samples

Various color models have been developed to represent color as a synthetic construct of its component attributes. The CMYK color model is based on a mathematical framework efficient for digitally planning and processing the colors for a domain‐specific application such as interior design. The CMYK color model correlated with the Munsell system would also increase usability and effectiveness. In this research, we suggest a computationally assisted systematic method to formulate a color palette useful for interior design. A continuous process of sampling, statistical analysis, and computational manipulations has been performed to derive a desirable color palette. First, color samples have been extracted from the representative interior design cases of residential buildings, offices, and commercial spaces. Second, the interrelationships among C, M, Y, and K values in all samples have been statistically analyzed followed by calculating the number of elements in the numerically categorized sets for C, M, or K value. New CMYK combinations were generated by using selected sets of C, M, or K value showing relatively dominant presence in the original samples. Then, the statistically extracted correlation function was used to propose a complete list of CMYK color combinations for interior design. The resulting CMYK combinations were then converted into the values represented in the Munsell color system. We envision that the proposed approach can increase both applicability and efficiency of the resulting color palette by considering both intuitive and mathematical color models with the support of a computational data processing technique. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 30, 135–145, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.20092     

Color constancy from invariant wavelength ratios: I. The empirical spectral mechanism

The wavelengths of several constant hues over four illuminants (D95, D65, D50, A) are derived from several sets of published data. In the plane of wavelength and reciprocal illuminant color temperature (MK^?1), the wavelengths of constant hues plot straight approximately parallel lines whose mean slope is about 87°. Parallel lines give invariant wavelength ratios, hence constant hues in this plane are near‐invariant wavelength ratios across illuminants. As recently demonstrated, the complementary wavelengths to a constant hue (across illuminants) represent the complementary constant hue; these complementary wavelengths also plot a near‐parallel line to the first constant hue. To confirm and further define the constant slope of these lines, it is shown that complementary wavelength pairs, per CIE data, can only plot parallel straight lines at the angle of 87° ± 1. In summary, near‐parallel sloping lines represent constant hues at near‐invariant wavelength ratios. This mechanism of color constancy is shown to relate to the well‐known theory of relational color constancy from invariant cone‐excitation ratios. In the visual process, the latter ratios are presumably the source of the former (invariant wavelength ratios). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 33, 238–249, 2008     

Complementary colors theory of color vision: Physiology,color mixture,color constancy and color perception

I describe complementary colors' physiology and functional roles in color vision, in a three‐stage theory (receptor, opponent color, and complementary color stages). 40 specific roles include the complementary structuring of: S and L cones, opponent single cells, cardinal directions, hue cycle structure, hue constancy, trichromatic color mixture, additive/subtractive primaries, two unique hues, color mixture space, uniform hue difference, lightness‐, saturation‐, and wavelength/hue‐discrimination, spectral sensitivity, chromatic adaptation, metamerism, chromatic induction, Helson‐Judd effect, colored shadows, color rendering, warm‐cool colors, brilliance, color harmony, Aristotle's flight of colors, white‐black responsivity, Helmholtz‐Kohlrausch effect, rainbows/halos/glories, dichromatism, spectral‐sharpening, and trimodality of functions (RGB peaks, CMY troughs whose complementarism adapts functions to illuminant). The 40 specific roles fall into 3 general roles: color mixture, color constancy, and color perception. Complementarism evidently structures much of the visual process. Its physiology is evident in complementarism of cones, and opponent single cells in retina, LGN, and cortex. Genetics show our first cones were S and L, which are complementary in daylight D65, giving a standard white to aid chromatic adaptation. M cone later split from L to oppose the nonspectral (red and purple) hues mixed from S+L. Response curves and wavelength peaks of cones L, S, and (S+L), M, closely resemble, and lead to, those of opponent‐color chromatic responses y, b, and r, g, a bimodal system whose summation gives spectral‐sharpened trimodal complementarism (RGB peaks, CMY troughs). Spectral sharpening demands a post‐receptoral, post‐opponent‐colors location, hence a third stage. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2011     

A comparative study on correlation between personal background and interior color preference

In this research, we identify and investigate some of the factors influencing residential color preference. We have taken social environment as a primary focus and the influence of a person's residential, regional, educational, and personal background have been examined. A questionnaire, two drawings (one of a bedroom and another of the exterior of a few houses) and 24 color pencils were prepared. In total, 319 data were gathered from Japanese students living in Japan, Foreign students living in Japan, and Iranian students living in Iran, with 301 applicable data. One of the questions was the respondent's favorite color. The results showed that more than 96.7% have used their favorite colors in the drawings. Blue hues were used most by people living in coastal areas (P < 0.05). Education had a strong correlation with number of color varieties (P < 0.01). Moreover, students who had parents with art backgrounds had used more colors in the drawings rather than the ones with parents with no art background (P < 0.05). Foreigners and Iranians have used more color varieties compared to Japanese (P < 0.05). Ultimately, it was observed that among the case studies (regional, residential, and educational), education had a strong positive correlation with number of color varieties (P < 0.01). © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 40, 416–424, 2015     

Chromatic interior environments for the elderly: A literature review

The impact of the physical environment on individuals has arisen as a growing body of research in population wellbeing. Yet, most of studies in this area do not focus on elderly even though they are particularly susceptible to the characteristics of their interior spaces. It is a well‐known fact that to be old is to acquire a tolerance of disabilities based on the gradual degeneration. A common problem is a dysfunction in visual sensitivity and accordingly, the alteration of their environmental color perception. That is why these impairments need to be understood in order to minimize the elderly spatial difficulties. To know at what point there is a loss in the ability to perceive color is necessary to understand how should we take these facts into consideration. A state‐of‐the‐art literature review of current studies from the last 20 years is carried out. The aim is to analyze existing practices on Evidence‐Based Research through a multidisciplinary approach in order to create knowledge about chromatic built environments for the elderly. Data are identified and considered together with empirical experience about color, perception, built environment and elderly. Thus, the way in which elderly perceive the space is explored. The adjustments in the formulation of these impairments throughout any design strategy to adapt the environment to their physiological changes are determined. This article aims to determine a design interpretation of the various findings, demonstrating that color, as a parameter of the visual performance, influences visual comfort and helps performance in architecture for old people.     

Experimental determination of laws of color harmony. Part 5: The harmony content of the various hue triads

We, in 1956 the Department of Architecture at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, decided to start an extensive color harmony experiment. The experimental work, the collation, and processing of the collected data, lasting 50 years, was completed in 2006. The experiments described in this article are based on earlier experimental results obtained from investigation into the harmony content of hue pairs. We then decided to search for a third hue, which in association with an existing pair, with high‐color harmony, forms a hue triad with high‐harmony content too. The compositions prepared for the experiment were composed in each case of three hues of four identical saturation but different brightness, forming a group of 12 colors. The color content of the compositions covered the color space uniformly. That was the first stage in the experiment, carried out with 60 compositions. In the second stage, we investigated the effect of the saturation content of the colors used in the composition, on the harmony content of the hue triads. For this experiment, we prepared 48 compositions. In these experiments, we applied the method of grading. We concluded that the level of the harmony content of the hue triads depends on the inclination between the hue planes in the Coloroid color space. We also concluded that to every hue, selected for starting point, six well‐definable groups of hues can be ordered from the Coloroid color space, from which color triads with high harmony content, can be selected. It showed conclusively that the saturation level of the individual members of the triads has a significant influence on their harmony content. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2011     

Constant hue bands in boundary colors discovered using a new appearance model

Boundary colors are observed when light from a scene is dispersed by a prism or diffraction grating. We discovered that patterns with repeating black and white stripes can produce repeating bands of boundary colors with two hues. These hues are virtually constant as measured by chromaticity or CIELAB. We found seven cases of this kind using a new appearance model for boundary colors. The model correctly predicts that green and magenta bands recur as stripe widths and dispersion strength vary. The first green/magenta case in the sequence traces out an accurate ellipse in XYZ color space. Green and magenta bands are prominent in supernumerary rainbows and interference rings, and we explain why that might be the case. The explanation is based on an interesting property of the visible spectrum. In addition to the green/magenta cases, the other cases are orange/cyan, yellowish‐green/purple, and yellow/violet. The success of the boundary color appearance model implies that bands are perceived as if the wavelength responses of the cones were essentially independent, which contradicts the actual behavior of cones. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 40, 135–146, 2015