A colour harmony model for two‐colour combinations

This study investigates harmony in two‐colour combinations in order to develop a quantitative model. A total of 1431 colour pairs were used as stimuli in a psychophysical experiment for the visual assessment of harmony. These colour pairs were generated using 54 colours selected systematically from CIELAB colour space. During the experiment, observers were presented with colour pairs displayed individually against a medium gray background on a cathode ray tube monitor in a darkened room. Colour harmony was assessed for each colour pair using a 10‐category scale ranging from “extremely harmonious” to “extremely disharmonious.” The experimental results showed a general pattern of two‐colour harmony, from which a quantitative model was developed and principles for creating harmony were derived. This model was tested using an independent psychophysical data set and the results showed satisfactory performance for model prediction. The study also discusses critical issues including the definition of colour harmony, the relationship between harmony and pleasantness, and the relationship between harmony and order in colour. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 31, 191–204, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.20208     

A study of colour emotion and colour preference. Part II: Colour emotions for two‐colour combinations

Eleven colour‐emotion scales, warm–cool, heavy–light, modern–classical, clean–dirty, active–passive, hard–soft, harmonious–disharmonious, tense–relaxed, fresh–stale, masculine–feminine, and like–dislike, were investigated on 190 colour pairs with British and Chinese observers. Experimental results show that gender difference existed in masculine–feminine, whereas no significant cultural difference was found between British and Chinese observers. Three colour‐emotion factors were identified by the method of factor analysis and were labeled “colour activity,” “colour weight,” and “colour heat.” These factors were found similar to those extracted from the single colour emotions developed in Part I. This indicates a coherent framework of colour emotion factors for single colours and two‐colour combinations. An additivity relationship was found between single‐colour and colour‐combination emotions. This relationship predicts colour emotions for a colour pair by averaging the colour emotions of individual colours that generate the pair. However, it cannot be applied to colour preference prediction. By combining the additivity relationship with a single‐colour emotion model, such as those developed in Part I, a colour‐appearance‐based model was established for colour‐combination emotions. With this model one can predict colour emotions for a colour pair if colour‐appearance attributes of the component colours in that pair are known. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 29, 292–298, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.20024     

Colour and ergonomics: On the selection of a “colour of the year”

The key role of colour in ergonomics has been emphasized by a number of researchers and design professionals. Although several research studies have been published regarding the use of colour in ergonomics, there are still some areas that need to be considered. The issue of deciding a “colour of the year” is an example, which represents a new challenge for researchers in the field of ergonomics. This is of particular interest considering the fact that the nature of research on the selection of a “colour of the year” is generally based on user experience. This paper argues that ergonomics should play a more prominent role in this field to ensure better user experience and performance. This paper highlights specific areas that need further study and development.     

A study of colour emotion and colour preference. Part III: Colour preference modeling

In this study three colour preference models for single colours were developed. The first model was developed on the basis of the colour emotions, clean–dirty, tense–relaxed, and heavy–light. In this model colour preference was found affected most by the emotional feeling “clean.” The second model was developed on the basis of the three colour‐emotion factors identified in Part I, colour activity, colour weight, and colour heat. By combining this model with the colour‐science‐based formulae of these three factors, which have been developed in Part I, one can predict colour preference of a test colour from its colour‐appearance attributes. The third colour preference model was directly developed from colour‐appearance attributes. In this model colour preference is determined by the colour difference between a test colour and the reference colour (L*, a*, b*) = (50, ?8, 30). The above approaches to modeling single‐colour preference were also adopted in modeling colour preference for colour combinations. The results show that it was difficult to predict colour‐combination preference by colour emotions only. This study also clarifies the relationship between colour preference and colour harmony. The results show that although colour preference is strongly correlated with colour harmony, there are still colours of which the two scales disagree with each other. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 29, 381–389, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.20047     

Universal models of colour emotion and colour harmony

A new set of quantitative models of colour emotion and colour harmony were developed in this study using psychophysical data collected from 12 regions in the world, including Argentina, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, and the UK. These data have previously been published in journals or conferences (for details see Tables 1 and 2 ). For colour emotion, three new models were derived, showing satisfactory predictive performance in terms of an average correlation coefficient of 0.78 for “warm/cool”, 0.80 for “heavy/light” and 0.81 for “active/passive”. The new colour harmony model also had satisfactory predictive performance, with an average correlation coefficient of 0.72. Principal component analysis shows that the common colour harmony principles, including hue similarity, chroma similarity, lightness difference and high lightness principles, were partly agreed by observers of the same region. The findings suggest that it is feasible to develop universal models of colour emotion and colour harmony, and that the former was found to be relatively more culture‐independent than the latter.     

Request for existing experimental datasets on colour emotion and colour harmony

The Technical Committee 1‐86 of the International Commission on Illumination on “Models of colour emotion and harmony” is requesting the submission of datasets for use in developing new models of colour emotion and colour harmony. The data should be submitted to the TC Chair, Dr. Li‐Chen Ou at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2012     

Colour meaning and context

This study compares semantic ratings of colour samples (chips) with those of the same colours applied to a variety of objects. In total, 25 participants took part in the colour‐meaning experiment, and assessed 54 images using five semantic scales. In Experiment 1, simplified images (coloured silhouettes) were used whereas in Experiment 2 real images were used. In this article, the terms “chip meaning” and “context meaning” are used for convenience. Chip meaning refers to the associated meanings when only isolated colour chips were evaluated while context meaning refers to colour meanings evaluated when colours were applied to a variety of product categories. Analyses were performed on the data for the two experiments individually. The results of Experiment 1 show relatively few significant differences (28%) between chip meaning and context meaning. However, differences were found for a number of colours, objects, and semantic scales i.e., red and black; hand wash and medicine; and masculine‐feminine and elegant‐vulgar. The results of Experiment 2 show more significant differences (43%) between chip meaning and context meaning. In summary, the context sometimes affects the colour meaning; however, the degree to which colour meanings are invariant to context is perhaps slightly surprising. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 42, 450–459, 2017     

Print quality evaluation and applied colour management in coldset offset newspaper print

This article aims to investigate print quality in newspaper print, by considering the appropriate calibration standard and applying colour management. In particular, this article examines the colorimetric properties of eight Norwegian newspaper printing presses, to evaluate the relevant colour separation approach, either by applying custom separation profiles or by using an industry standard profile. The key method underlying the work described here relies on obtaining colour measurements to determine the repeatability of each participant in terms of colour differences. Furthermore, the variation between the eight newspaper printing presses and the variation according to the colorimetric values of the ISO 12647‐3 standard are important parts of the quantitative evaluation. Based on the colour measurements two custom ICC profiles were generated and an industry standard profile “ISOnewspaper26v4.icc” was also used. The first custom profile was generated using averaged colour measurement data set from a test print run, and the second using a data set averaged between measured data and the characterization data set “IFRA26.txt” provided by IFRA. These three profiles were applied to four test images, which were then printed by the eight newspaper printing presses. A psychophysical experiment was carried out to determine the “pleasantness” of the reproductions, which were produced using the three profiles. The results of the study show the performance of the appropriate profile, which is applied to the eight newspaper printing presses to obtain significant best print quality. Eventually the results demonstrate the fact that the print variations in colours between the eight printing presses are larger thanthe difference between the custom and the standard profiles. Hence, the print variations and not the profile selection may have determined the visual print quality. Therefore the study reveals the importance of adopting international standards and methods instead of using insufficiently defined house standards to preserve equal results among different newspaper printing presses. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2011     

Colour-odour correspondences in women during the menstrual cycle: Comparative analysis between the menstrual and ovulation phases

Women might experience modulation in their perception and cognition of colours and odours during the menstrual cycle, but how women's impressions of and correspondence between colours and odours differ according to the cycle changes remains unknown. Here, we experimentally examined women's performance of several tasks, including evaluation of impressions of colours and odours, matching/nonmatching of colours with odours, and identification of odours, comparing two phases: the beginning of menstruation and ovulation. The results showed that participants had similar impressions of colours and odours and made similar colour choices for odours in both the menstrual and ovulation phases, while “pleasant-unpleasant” impressions of colour and odour might vary according to the menstrual cycle. We found no significant differences in odour identification between the phases. The findings imply that hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle might affect “pleasant-unpleasant” impressions of colour and odour but not other features regarding impressions or crossmodal correspondence. In future studies, examination with a large number of participants is necessary.     

Colour combination effects in experimental rooms*

This article deals with the way colours in a room affect each other through contrast effects and reflections. The study presented is based on the visual observations of the colour appearance of three inherent colours in a sequence of experimental situations. My point of departure was a yellow, blue, and red room. The room had distinctly different colour appearances of the same inherent colours when observed at different locations. The effects of both contrasts and reflections were evident. However, reflection effects seemed to dominate the situation. In a study of small experimental rooms, different combinations of the same three inherent colours were systematically tested. Comparisons were made to examine the differences in colour appearance between monochromatic rooms and multicoloured rooms with varying colour schemes. The illumination was kept stable. In the cases studied, it was obvious how the colours in the two‐coloured rooms became more alike or “neutralized each other.” The contrast strengthening between abutting areas on the same level had distinct significance for colour appearance and perception of space. However, not in such a way that the perceived colour differences became larger in the two‐coloured room than between each monochromatic rooms. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Col Res Appl, 24, 230–242, 1999     

Similarity of psychological and physical colour space shown by symmetry analysis

Data on the psychological structure of colour space was gathered from a dictionary of colour terms and by collecting responses to questions of the form, “which is the more similar pair: A and B or C and D?” and “which is lighter: A or B?” Where A, B, C, and D were drawn from the eleven Basic Colour Terms. Analysis showed that the data possessed an approximate symmetry corresponding to the exchange of Red and Orange, Blue and Green, Purple and Yellow, Black and White, Pink and Brown, and “darker” and “lighter.” Analysis of a physical model of colour vision showed that a similar symmetry exists in the structure of the space of possible colour sensations. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Col Res Appl, 26, 151–157, 2001     

Evolution and human's attraction and reaction to colour: Food and health

For continued good health, we are urged to design our meals around the colours of the rainbow. To answer the question “Why?” requires consideration of two evolutionary stories. These broadly are natural evolution, and evolution driven by the activities of human beings. For the first, we need to go back to the start of life on earth and think about pigments rather than colour. There are two major pigment families, carotenoids and those based on the porphyrin ring, without both of which life on earth would not exist, and which still play major roles in our make‐up and well‐being. Other pigments, edible and poisonous evolved as pressures on plant life increased through predation and their own need for survival. The second story commenced with the arrival of human beings and their eventual ability to control fire leading to development of food preservation, processing and more recently, ultraprocessing. The rainbow rule does not apply to such foods in which colour is an indicator of process. Heavily processed foods include use of coloured, cheap, poor quality, and unhealthy ingredients contributing to the present health crisis. For this intervention by humans we must switch from consideration of pigment to that of colour, because it is colour that is a major factor in our selection of the food we eat today.     

A computer‐assisted colour selection system based on aesthetic measure for colour harmony and fuzzy logic theory

An aesthetic measure based approach for constructing a colour design/selection system is proposed in this article. In this model, an image data base for the relationships between the psychological preference of customers and clothing colour tones is built using the membership functions of a fuzzy set, and an aesthetic measure calculation method based on colour harmony is also proposed. In addition, a skin colour detection theory is proposed to construct a skin colour detection program to detect the skin colour of a customer, which is then taken as the major colour in matching the skin, polo shirt, and(or) pant colours to select the best colour combination. Integrating the skin colour detection theory, colour harmony theory, aesthetic measure method, and fuzzy set theory, a program is constructed to build an aesthetic measure based colour design/selection system. With the aid of this system, one can get proper cloth colours to match his/her skin colour and image requirement by starting with inputting one's colour photo, catching image with a camera, or inputting R, G, B values of his/her skin. The theoretical results for the ranks of clothing colours proposed by the system are examined with the experimental results and the result shows they are very close, suggesting that the proposed colour selection system is acceptable. Although the selection of clothing colours is taken as an example to specify the methodology, it can also be used to develop a system for other products. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 33, 411–423, 2008     

Spectrophotometric measurement of human skin colour

This article focuses on human skin colour. Three different colour measuring instruments were used: a tele‐spectroradiometer, a de:8° and a 45°:0° spectrophotometers. They were used to measure 47 subjects who were divided into four skin groups: Chinese, Caucasian, South‐Asian, and Dark. Eight locations for each subject were measured. The spectral reflectance results were first compared. They all showed the “W” shape between the 550 nm and 580 nm as found by the other studies. Those from the tele‐spectroradiometer had an increase from 600 nm while the others were flatter. The colorimetric data calculated from the spectral measurements revealed similar patterns to describe the colour distribution of each skin group. It was found that two scales: whiteness‐depth, and blackness‐vividness could well describe these distributions. The results also showed systematic differences between the four ethnic groups, between eight body locations, between two genders, and between the measurements from the three instruments.     

Requirements capture for colour information for design professionals

This article presents the results of a study that investigates the status of colour information use in the design process and generates ideas for a colour tool. Face‐to‐face interviews with senior designers and brand managers from the packaging and branding fields were conducted as the primary data collection method. The results are categorized into six topics: colour decision, types of colour information considered to be important in the design process, reasons for considering colour information important in the design process, current use of colour information, design professionals' preferences for existing colour tool types and data types and suggestions for a colour tool. It is concluded that there are problems with existing colour resources and tools regarding their availability and usefulness; there is a strong demand for a colour tool in the packaging design and branding processes. The insight from this work will help researchers, design professionals and colour tool developers to make informed decisions on the areas on which they should focus, how they should do so and why. This will facilitate better provisions and uptake of useful colour information for design professionals in the design process and strategy fields.     

Investigation of texture effect on visual colour difference evaluation

The texture effect on visual colour difference evaluation was investigated in this study. Five colour centers were selected and textured colour pairs were generated using scanned textile woven fabrics and colour‐mapping technique. The textured and solid colour pairs were then displayed on a characterized cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor for colour difference evaluation. The colour difference values for the pairs with texture patterns are equal to 5.0 CIELAB units in lightness direction. The texture level was represented by the half‐width of histogram, which is called texture strength in this study. High correlation was found between texture strength and visual colour difference for textured colour pairs, which indicates that an increasing of 10 units of texture strength in luminance would cause a decreasing of 0.25 units visual difference for the five colour centers. The ratio of visual difference between textured and solid colour pairs also indicates a high parametric effect of texture. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 30, 341–347, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.     

Interpretation concerns regarding white light

The article “White Light” by Mark Rea and Jean Paul Freyssinier is summarized and discussed. The measurement procedure is very promising, and could lead to a variety of significant measurements. However, some of the interpretations presented are problematic. The measurements were based on loci of equal correlated colour temperature, which have neither precise nor consistent physiological or perceptual interpretations, and the resultant conclusions are therefore not uniquely meaningful. Nevertheless, the measurement technique could easily be adapted to slightly different methodologies that could be very powerful, and such replication is highly recommended. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2013     

The colour sensitivity of a colour matching recipe

The article examines the concepts of the following three quantities: partial colour sensitivity of a recipe to a particular colorant, colour balance of a recipe, and the overall colour sensitivity and the related property of colour robustness of a recipe. the way to calculate numerical estimates of the above quantities is extended from the case of CIE L *a*b* to the case CMC(l:c) colour difference formula. Results of a few numerical experiments are included for illustration and some possible practical consequences are discussed.     

Colour here,there, and in‐between—Placemaking and wayfinding in mental health environments

Colour design in mental healthcare environments is acutely significant. Sensory acuity may be impaired through age, illness, or heightened stress and anxiety. While research has played a role in the development of guidance on the use of colour in such environments, this article suggests that this tends to be followed in a dogmatic, risk‐averse manner and predominately without professional design input, leading to monotonous and under‐stimulating environments. The article reports on two case study projects by the authors, involving user participation and student volunteers. These colour design installations provide examples of practice‐led applied research within occupied healthcare facilities. The article discusses the significance of site‐specific colour design in relation to place‐making and wayfinding with reference to previous research that considers the role of colour as part of the everyday experience of all users, in contrast to an approach focused solely on the behavior of patients. It concludes that colour design knowledge developed and applied through “real world” live projects, involving students as part of their architectural education can address some of the shortcomings of laboratory or staged colour research.     

Colour words and their uses

Popular usage of colour words as parts of speech obey certain rules according to whether they are population dependent and whether use demands a degree of colour vision. The word green refers to that colour most of us see, recognize and categorize as being of the colour called green. But, colours and colour words are to do with emotion as well as perception. What can we learn from the greatest writers, artists and musical composers; how do they, for example, regard green? From them we learn that we perceive colours with our ears as well as our eyes and, in an emotional sense, a colour word means or is associated with just what the writer intends. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 40, 111–113, 2015