Color–concept associations: A cross‐occupational and ‐cultural study and comparison

This study used a questionnaire survey to examine color–concept associations in two occupational groups from Hebei Province in China: steel workers (n = 139) and managerial staff (n = 74). The color stereotypes held by these two groups were also compared to those held by three other cultural groups studied elsewhere (Hong Kong Chinese, Yunnan Chinese, and Americans). The participants were presented with 16 concepts and asked to choose one of 10 colors to represent each concept. The chi‐square test results showed that each concept was significantly associated with at least one color. Both the steel workers and the managerial staff primarily associated green with “go” and “safe” and red with “stop” and “danger.” The cross‐group comparisons indicated that the steel workers and the managerial staff produced stronger color associations than those produced by the Yunnan Chinese and the Hong Kong Chinese subjects, but weaker than those produced by the US subjects. Our findings build on existing knowledge of population stereotypes for color–concept associations and provide guidelines for the design of color displays and products for global users. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 39, 630–635, 2014     

Quantifying variations in personal color spaces: Are there sex differences in color vision?

We report a search for group differences in color experience between male and female subjects, focusing on the relative prominence of the axes of color space. Dissimilarity data were collected in the form of triadic (odd‐one‐out) judgments, made with the caps of the D‐15 color deficiency test, with lighting conditions controlled. Multidimensional scaling reduced these judgments to a small number of dimensional‐weight parameters, describing each subject's sensitivity to color axes, i.e., how much each axis contributes to the inter‐color dissimilarities perceived by each subject. Normal trichromatic subjects in two age bands were examined, teenagers and university students, and in both cases males placed significantly less weight on a ‘red‐green’ axis, and more on ‘lightness’. We consider the implications and possible explanations. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 29, 128–134, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.10232     

Hue and warm‐cool feeling as the visual resemblance criteria for iso‐CCT judgment

The hue perception and ‘warm‐cool’ feelings were investigated, in response to various lighting settings, following the adaptation to either 3500K or 5000K to compare which one—between conventional iso‐Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) and a new one based on CIE u'v′ color space—is more compatible with the visual perception. Twenty participants evaluated hue and warm‐cool feelings for 48 test lighting settings, by observing an empty gray booth. The results showed that yellow‐blue and ‘warm‐cool’ feelings are closely located around the Planckian locus, while red‐green roughly follows the line orthogonal to the Planckian locus in CIE u'v′ color space, at both 3500 K and 5000 K settings. This suggests that u'v′ color space correlates better with human perception.     

Associations of visual forms with colors: The minor role of emotion as the mediator

Associations of colors with a wide variety of visual forms were examined. Fifty visual forms were presented to Japanese participants, who were asked to report a color suitable to each visual form out of 15 colors. Correspondence analysis was applied to the responses, and four dimensions of configurations were obtained. The first and second dimensions were related to chromaticity or hue. In these dimensions, red and orange were associated with round symmetric shapes, yellow with shapes with sharp corners, violet and purple with irregular shapes with smooth curves, and cold colors such as blue and green with forms that consisted of simple geometrical elements such as triangles, squares, and circles. The third dimension was related to L* and b* in the CIELAB color space and to the stability of visual forms. Dimension 4 was not significantly related to any of L*, a*, and b*. In another experiment, participants rated the affective impressions of the colors and visual forms on semantic differential (SD) scales. The analyses of the SD data combined with the results of the color‐form associations suggest that the role of emotional meanings of colors and visual forms in mediating the associations was rather minor, and that world‐knowledge contributed considerably to the observed color‐form associations. Kandinsky's color‐form assignment was also examined, and except for the yellow‐triangle association, the assignment was not supported.     

The multiple characteristics of specific associations from words to colors

This study mainly focused on exploring the multiple characteristics of specific associations from words to colors. Color association is bidirectional, representing the relationship from color to concept or concept to color. The association between word and color has multiple correspondences in both directions. Colors are associated with ideas, concepts, meanings, emotions, and so forth. However, it is often discussed as a single relationship from color to the concept. How the specific ideas or concepts associated with color, is rarely discussed. So, this work started from a specific concept (words) to colors and then investigated the characteristics of this association. A psychophysical experiment was carried out to collect the specific color associations from target words. Pearson correlation coefficient and K-means clustering methods were employed to analyze the associations from words to colors. Therefore, the main contribution of this study is to (1) indicate the stronger association from the word to color, the larger the color similarity of the related colors; (2) identify the specific characteristic of the association from a word to colors and the three-aspect characteristic model was summarized.     

Color and women hitchhikers' attractiveness: Gentlemen drivers prefer red

Research has shown that with some nonhuman primates, red is associated with greater sexual attractiveness of females. Five female confederates in their early 20s posed as hitchhikers wearing T‐shirts of different colors (black, white, red, blue, green, or yellow). It was found that the women wearing red solicited a higher response in the number of male drivers who stopped to offer a ride. No color effect was found when considering the behavior of female drivers. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2012     

Color association research on red‐green dichromats in the color ergonomics of user interface interaction

With the development of our modern information society, digital products have become integrated into daily life. Research on the color ergonomics of user interfaces is a pressing issue. However, color‐vision‐deficient individuals (CVDIs), who account for 4.25% of the population, must use interfaces designed for individuals with normal color vision; the demands of CVDIs have not been sufficiently addressed. In this article, we investigate color associations in the color ergonomics of user interface interaction in a manner that aims both to improve interaction efficiency and to meet the psychological needs of CVDIs. First, we study color physiological cognitions in the color interactions of user interfaces for red‐green dichromats (RGDs) to determine the single‐color, two‐color, and three‐color combinations with high discrimination for a later experiment. Second, we explore the psychological–cognition relationships of colors in user‐interface interactions for RGDs. In an experiment involving 10 pairs of association semantemes and corresponding colors, the experimental results show that RGDs have different color cognitions caused by specific visual color expressions and unconscious environmental influences. Therefore, this article argues that RGD design should consider not only the habitual colors of solidified cognitions but also instinctive color associations. Finally, based on the results of previous experiments, we apply association color to the new interface design of computer security software (360 Total Security) for RGDs. Experimental results indicate that the application of color association in our new design can improve both interaction efficiency and CVDI user experience. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 41, 547–563, 2016     

Correlations between color attributes and children's color preferences

This study examined the role of color attributes (lightness and saturation) on children's color preferences for interior room colors. It also investigated children's most preferred colors among each of the five major hue families in the Munsell color system using scale‐models. Previous color preference studies have typically been done with small color chips or papers, which are very different from seeing a color applied on wall surfaces. A simulation method allowed for investigating the value of color in real contexts and controlling confounding variables. Forty‐five color samples were displayed on scale‐models to 63 children ages 7–11 years old. This study identified children's most preferred colors among each of the five major hue families in Munsell color system. It also demonstrated that saturation was positively correlated with children's preferences in the red, green, blue, and purple hue families. In the yellow hue family, interestingly, lightness has a positive correlation with preferences. Children's gender differences were found in that girls prefer red and purple more than boys. These findings lead to color application guidelines for designers to understand better color and eventually to create improved environments for children and their families. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 39, 452–462, 2014     

Irregularity in CIECAM02 and its avoidance

Were it not for an algorithm patch, the color‐appearance model CIECAM02 would sometimes be forced to evaluate fractional powers of negative numbers. The artifact arises because the red and green primaries of the initial CAT02 chromatic adaptation lie outside the positive gamut of the Hunt–Pointer–Estévez (HPE) primaries that subsequently convey the color signal in the model. Relocating the chromaticities of the HPE red and green primaries so as to lie on the CAT02 red–green line alleviates the problem, but adds a bit of X and Y to the revised HPE blue. An (x,y) diagram aids in visualizing the CIECAM02 gamut overlaps, with an extension that accommodates the HPE RGB triangle's enclosure of the point at infinity. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 31, 142–145, 2006     

Chromaticity‐matched but spectrally different light source effects on simple and complex color judgments

As light‐emitting diode (LED) light sources mature, lighting designers will be able to deliver white light with a variety of spectral power distributions and a variety of color rendering properties. This experiment examined the effects of three spectral power distributions (SPDs) that were matched in illuminance and chromaticity on three measures of color perception: one objective (performance on the Farnsworth‐Munsell 100 hue test) and two subjective (judgments of the attractiveness of one's own skin, and preferences for the saturation of printed images). The three SPDs were a quartz‐halogen (QH) lamp and two LED sources that were matched to the QH lamp in terms of both illuminance and chromaticity; the three light sources were nominally CCT = 3500 K, x = 0.40, y = 0.39 and ～ 400 lx. LED A used three channels (red, green, blue), and had very poor color rendering (R_a = 18). LED B used four channels (red, amber, cyan, white) and had very good color rendering (R_a = 96, whereas the QH had R_a = 98). Secondary hypotheses addressed the effects of age and skin and eye color on the dependent measures. As expected, LED A delivered very different color perceptions on all measures when compared to QH; LED B did not differ from QH. The results show that it is possible for LED sources to match the familiar incandescent sources. However, although it is possible to deliver what appear to be millions of colors with a three‐chip (RGB) device, there is the risk of creating a very poor luminous environment. © 2013 National Research Council Canada and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 39, 263–274, 2014; Published Online 12 April 2013 in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/col.21811     

Categorical formation of Mandarin color terms at different luminance levels

This study presents the categorical formation of a set of Mandarin color terms on the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) 1931 chromaticity diagram across six luminance levels. This article conducted a study that employed 44 native Mandarin speakers to perform a force–choice sorting task. The Mandarin color terms for sorting were determined by a free‐recall pretest and are consistent with basic color terms proposed by Berlin and Kay. The square‐sampled stimuli were generated by evenly sweeping the x–y diagram of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 170 cd/m² planes. The categorical sorting results and response time (RT) measurements suggest that: (1) the concepts of green, blue, purple, and gray stably exist at most luminance levels. The voting RT for the green, blue, and purple categories is particularly short. (2) Red, orange, yellow, and pink are highly luminance‐dependent; these can be identified without difficulty only at some restricted luminance levels. (3) The chromaticity areas designated as orange, partial yellow, red, and pink are recognized as brown when the luminance level decreases. (4) Brown and gray serve as representations of two distinct tints in the low saturation condition. (5) The location of boundaries between blue and green are remarkably different than those in a similar study that employed Japanese speakers. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2011.     

An interactive method for generating harmonious color schemes

We present an interactive visualization tool for generating color schemes that can be used by both professional artists and novice designers to improve their design efficiency. The method is developed on two color harmony principles of familial factors and rhythmic spans from conventional color theories. The interactive tool makes use of these principles for users to interactively generate colors palettes containing harmonious combinations in the hue, saturation, and lightness color space in as few steps as possible. A pilot study with 20 participants has shown that this tool provides efficient workflow, color‐scheme harmony, and intuitive interaction, demonstrating the usefulness of the method. This work contributes to an artistic‐theory driven harmonious color‐scheme generation and to interactive user interfaces visualizing color relationships. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 39, 70–78, 2014     

Phosphor‐in‐fluorescent‐glasses for high color rendering white light emitting diodes

Fluorescent glass frits were prepared and used to synthesize phosphor‐in‐fluorescent glass composites (PiFGs) to realize stable white light emitting diodes with high color‐rendering properties. Commercial red, green, and blue phosphors were co‐sintered and red phosphors were partially replaced by Eu³⁺ in glass frits. Phosphor‐in‐glass composites were placed on UV‐light emitting diodes (UV‐LEDs) to generate white light. Pure white light with a luminous efficacy=58.4 lm/W, general color rendering index R_a=87 and special color rendering index for strong red R₉=73 was realized with glass frits containing 7 mol% Eu₂O₃ and RGB ratio of 35:20:15. Luminous efficacy, R_a and R₉ increased as red phosphors were replaced by red‐fluorescent glass frits.     

Hue,chroma, and lightness preference in Chinese adults: Age and gender differences

Recent studies have shown cultural differences in color preference. However, the color preference of people in China, which was found to have its own pattern, was yet to be studied in depth. The current study investigated color preference and the associated age and gender differences in an adult national sample (N = 1290) to provide a culture‐specific characteristic of color perception. Participants rated how much they liked each of 31 colors (four chroma‐lightness levels of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, plus three achromatic colors). We found a unique saturated color preference pattern characterized by red, cyan, and blue being preferred the most and orange as the least preferred chromatic color. The “red preference” phenomenon was observed in Chinese adults. Light colors were preferred the most in terms of chroma‐lightness level, followed by saturated, muted, and dark colors. The results of a principal component analysis of the 28 chromatic colors showed that blue‐green‐like colors (cool colors) constituted the largest proportion of color preference. The preference for orange and several dark colors increased with age, while that for bluish colors, purple, yellow, white, black, and light colors decreased. In terms of gender, women liked cyan, white, pink, and light colors and disliked red, orange, and dark colors more than men did. Our findings provide new empirical evidence about the color preference of Chinese and may offer some insight into the study of color preference and lay the foundations for future theoretical and practical research.     

Predicting personality associations evoked by multicolored appearance of virtual agents: An exploratory study

Designing agents' color appearance that can evoke desired color‐personality associations (CPAs) is still a challenge. To respond to the challenge, this study proposed a multicolor personality index (MCPI) model to predict the CPAs evoked by agents using the color‐personality indices for single colors together with the histogram of agents' image. Specifically, the color personality index for each bin of an agent's histogram was first calculated based on the color‐personality indices for single colors; then, the predicted values of CPAs were obtained by calculating the weighted average of color‐personality indices of all bins in the histogram. To improve the MCPI model, a simple color‐attention index model was proposed to evaluate the effects of color on attention and the effects were introduced into the MCPI model, that is, the multi‐color personality index based on color attention (MCPI‐CA) model. To validate the two models, an experiment was conducted to collect the CPAs of five traits (i.e., extraverted‐introverted, moody‐unemotional, agreeable‐disagreeable, organized‐disorganized, and wide interests‐narrow interests) evoked by the multi‐colored appearance of agents. The results showed that (a) observers in general perceived the CPAs evoked by color appearance in similar way; (b) for most agents, the CPAs evoked by multi‐colored appearance could be predicted well by the MCPI model; and (c) the MCPI‐CA model usually had better performance than the MCPI model due to the inclusion of the effects of color attributes on attention. In addition, the limitations of the proposed models and their implications for designers were also discussed.     

Preparation and characterization of green reflective films of polyaniline analogs containing azobenzene units

Pd‐catalyzed polycondensation of aniline derivatives and 4,4′‐dibromoazobenzene affords polyaniline analogs containing azobenzene units. The polymers are red in solution and in thin films state, whereas they have a green luster in thick films. Substitution of 4,4′‐dibromoazobenzene for 4,4′‐dibromostilbene changes the reflection color from green to blue, whereas the introduction of a non‐conjugated unit slightly affects the reflection color. The glossiness of the film is dependent on the smoothness of the film surface. The reflectance measurements using polarized light reveal that reflection spectra correlate well with the complex refractive index (ñ = n + ik) of the film. These results confirm that the green luster can be attributed to the uniform surface reflection of the object, which has a large refractive index and absorption coefficient at around 500 nm. The polymer films exhibit good transmission of radio frequency signals owing to the lack of free electron carriers. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41275.     

A cross‐cultural clustering study of similarities and dissimilarities based on concept words cheap,reliable, and high quality and their corresponding color associations

The world has undergone a techno‐cultural revolution during the last decades with the materialization of the “global village” and more; all having a profound impact on our culture. Quantitative analysis of these profound multidimensional changes needs cross‐cultural data, and scalable tools/techniques that can discover interesting nontrivial hidden relationships in large data sets. Subsequently, presenting these discovered relationships in an intuitive visual form to non‐IT domain experts. In this article, using proven data mining techniques, we perform cross‐cultural clustering of word‐color associations for 344 respondents from three cultures, that is, the United States, Pakistan, and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We consider the concept words cheap, reliable, and high quality along with colors liked and disliked for 10 colors. After statistical data validation one‐way cross‐cultural clustering was performed. High similarity of word‐based cluster association was discovered across the three cultures for negative and positive connotation words, and clear dissimilarity in clustering was discovered within each culture for color‐based cluster association; with possible explanations given. The universal consistent similarities in cross‐culture associations and the dissimilarities in local or intra‐culture associations could be useful for global brand decision making. In this article, we also do a technical comparison of the proposed technique with three traditional techniques used for such analysis, that is, hierarchical clustering, k‐means clustering and factor analysis; along with related comparison with principal component analysis and multidimensional scaling.     

Coffee cup color and evaluation of a beverage's “warmth quality”

Glass color may influence the evaluation of food and beverages as has been reported in a previous study where participants rated a cold beverage presented in a blue glass to be more thirst‐quenching than the same beverage poured into a green, yellow, or red glass. Our experiment sought to test whether container color also can affect the perceived temperature of a warm beverage. One hundred and twenty undergraduates were given warm coffee served in cups of different colors (blue, green, yellow, and red) and were asked to indicate which beverage was the warmest. Statistically significant differences among colors were found. The red cup was evaluated as containing the warmest beverage (38.3%), followed by the yellow (28.3%), the green (20.0%), and the blue (13.3%) cups. Conventional associations between warm versus cool colors are used to explain these results. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 39, 79–81, 2014