Optimal employment of color attributes to achieve saliency in icon matrix designs

With the wide use of smart devices, through which information is presented in vast quantities, objective guidelines are needed to enable designers to choose appropriate colors for information display. The purpose of this study is to determine which colors are the most eye‐catching in displays that employ icon matrices and thereby provide empirical grounds for strengthening the visual information structure of interface designs. Three attributes of color, which include hue, tone, and color combinations, are examined to optimize the color saliency in information displays. An eye‐tracking study was conducted to evaluate saliency objectively by analyzing fixations of visual attention. Based on the hue‐saturation‐brightness color system, a 5‐by‐5 matrix of 25 color patches was adopted to generate 21 color stimuli. Part I of the study focused on hue and indicated that warm colors are perceptually more eye‐catching relative to cool and neutral colors. Part II of the study investigated tonal influences and revealed that highly saturated colors provoked the greatest visual magnetism against a black background across all hue groups, although there was an alternative tendency for a blue hue. Contrary to expectations, no distinctive patterns were observed among brightness groups. With regard to color combination, Part III of the study provided empirical verification that high contrast between a foreground and a background generates a more dominant conspicuity. The results of the present study can be applied in designing electronic interfaces that display icon matrices to create effective communication by guiding visual attention and increasing aesthetic satisfaction. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 40, 429–436, 2015     

Impact of environment color on individual responses in public spaces of shopping malls

This study aims to explore the specific impact of a color's hue, saturation, and brightness value on people's evaluation, behavior, and emotions in the public space of existing shopping malls. Following a field investigation, color composition and distribution characteristics in the public spaces of shopping malls are summarized. In the real scenes, the hues of colors are mainly warm colors, with some supplemented by blue. The saturation of the majority colors, which are almost grayish colors, is lower than 33% and their brightness is very wide and evenly distributed. An experiment was then conducted in the laboratory, wherein photos taken and sounds recorded on-site were shown to participants; the participants were then asked to answer questionnaires based on the pleasure-arousal-dominance emotion and approach-avoidance behavior theories. The results showed that hue has a weak effect on individual responses, whereas saturation was found to have a significant effect. Moreover, the brightness difference between colors can cause a change in satisfaction, behavior intention, and emotion. Additionally, in the public spaces of shopping malls, the red color is more associated with embodied meaning, whereas the green color is more associated with referential meaning, in which different objects have significantly different influences.     

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     

Color appearance and color connotation models for unrelated colors

The purpose of this research is to investigate the color appearance and color connotation of unrelated colors. To investigate color appearance (i.e., brightness, colorfulness, and hue) for unrelated colors, 22 observers have answered their color appearance for 50 unrelated color stimuli using the magnitude estimation method. Perceptual data obtained by the experiment is compared with the color attributes data estimated by unrelated‐color appearance models, CAM97u and CAM02u. It is found that both models perform reasonably well but the performance of CAM02u is better than that of CAM97u. For investigating color connotation for unrelated colors, 32 observers have judged their color connotation for the 50 unrelated color stimuli using the 10 color connotation scales (i.e., “Warm – Cool,” “Heavy – Light,” “Modern – Classical,” “Clean – Dirty,” “Active – Passive,” “Hard – Soft,” Tense – Relaxed,” “Fresh – Stale,” “Masculine – feminine,” and “like – Dislike”), and semantic differential method is used for measurement. It is found that the color connotation models developed for related colors perform poorly for unrelated colors. Experimental results indicate that brightness attribute is confusing to estimate and does not affect color connotation significantly for unrelated colors. Based on the psychophysical data, new models for “Warm‐Cool”, “Heavy‐Light”, “Active‐Passive” and “Hard‐Soft” were proposed using CAM02u hue, brightness, and colorfulness. Color connotations for unrelated colors are classified into three categories, which “Color solidity,” “Color heat,” and “Color purity.” © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 40, 40–49, 2015     

The representation of colors in spherical space

Color scaling experiments have established that perceived colors are distributed on the surface of a hypersphere in spherical space. A formal mathematical model of the color space is defined. Color differences as estimated by an observer are equal to the chord distance between corresponding points on the surface in spherical space. In one mathematical model are united: brightness, saturation, and hue as expressed in the empirical Munsell and NCS systems; complementary colors; large color differences; and contrast effects that are not represented in other models. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 33, 113–124, 2008.     

Effects of hue,saturation, and brightness on preference

A study was done to investigate preference responses for foreground–background color relationships. To do this, 123 university undergraduates in Ankara, Turkey, were asked to view eight background colors selected from HSB color space on which color squares of differing hues, saturations, and brightnesses were presented. Subjects were asked to show the color square they preferred on the presented background color. Findings showed that colors having maximum saturation and brightness were most preferred. Blue was the most preferred hue regardless of background. The findings for preferences for foreground–background color relationships are also included in this article. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 27, 199–207, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.10051     

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.     

Hue,saturation, lightness,and building exterior preference: An empirical study in Turkey comparing architects' and nonarchitects' evaluative and cognitive judgments

This study investigated architects' and nonarchitects' evaluative and cognitive judgments of color on building exteriors. Thirty architects and 30 high school teachers living in Izmir, Turkey participated in the study. The experiment had two phases. First, participants viewed eight images, in which the color of a building exterior was manipulated with hues selected from HSB (hue, saturation, and brightness) color space. Participants were then asked to rate each image on 7‐point semantic differential scales measuring preference (like–dislike), arousal (arousing–sleepy), naturalness (natural–artificial), and relaxation (relaxing–distressing). Second, participants viewed the same building in nine saturation and lightness levels for each hue and picked the most preferred lightness and saturation level for each hue. Findings showed that for a building exterior: (1) yellow and blue were the most liked colors, (2) some hues were rated as more arousing, more natural, and more relaxing over the others, (3) gender had an effect on color preference and semantic ratings of naturalness and relaxation, (4) architects and nonarchitects differed in their color preference and semantic ratings of arousal and naturalness, and (5) full bright and moderate to low saturated colors and full saturated and moderate to high bright colors were preferred more. The results have practical implications for architects and urban designers. A successful coloration of a building exterior may increase its use frequency and economical value. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 33, 395–405, 2008     

Perceived density,a further attribute of color,revealed by the colors favored in Japan

Colors can be characterized by three main attributes: hue, value, and saturation. But colors also exhibit other phenomenological qualities. In this study, we identify one such secondary attribute of color: perceived density. We discuss the prevalence of dense colors in Japan starting from the “48 Teas and 100 Mice” colors of the Edo period, and develop the concept of perceived density through this aspect of Japanese color preference. When vivid colors were forbidden to commoners during the Edo period, subtle variations of brownish and grayish colors were created. These colors with base tones were not salient, yet they looked dense. Muted colors with paradoxical richness are still common in Japan today. Japanese commodity design often uses muddy colors with white or gray undertones, and deep colors with black undertones. Together they form distinct groupings of relatively dense color. The perceived density of color corresponds to how dense and filled, or thin and airy a color appears. Colors of higher perceived density appear to be more packed and to have mass. Perceived density of color is unusual in that it does not have a monotonic relationship with one of the primary perceptual attributes. High apparent density is observed in a central region of an equi‐hue plane where value or saturation are at intermediate values. We consider two possible explanations of how high values of density can coincide with middling values of value and saturation: characteristics of the spectral reflectance curves, or the complexity of the neural signals that underlie the emergent property.     

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     

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     

Effect of chromatic components on facial skin whiteness

Although the color measurement of facial skin becomes more common in dermatology and cosmetics, little is known about the relationship between subjective color perception and colorimetric values in facial skin. In this study, the possible relationships among perceived whiteness and the metric lightness, chroma and hue angle of Japanese females' facial skin color were investigated. First, the perceived brightness of the facial skin of Japanese females was evaluated visually and compared with metric lightness, chroma and hue angle, and the effect of hue and chroma on the perceived brightness was discussed. Second, a psychophysical experiment on the whiteness of the facial images and synthesized skin color plate images was conducted for examining the effect of hue and chroma on the perceived whiteness more precisely and independently. The results of two experiments showed that in regard to the facial skin color of the Japanese female, metric lightness disagrees with perceived whiteness or brightness in a narrow lightness range. The reddish facial skin color appeared brighter or whiter than that of a yellowish one in high lightness regions, and the low‐chroma facial skin color appeared brighter or whiter than a high‐chroma one. However, in the color plate images, a change in perceived whiteness by hue could not be confirmed, and the change in perceived whiteness by chroma was weaker than that from facial images. These results indicated that a higher‐level process of face recognition affected whiteness perception, and the criterion of facial skin whiteness was determined by facial skin color distribution. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2011;     

Investigating the personality associations evoked by single colors: An exploratory study

Despite the crucial role of color appearance in forming first impressions, it is still not clear how color evokes personality associations—that is, a color‐personality association (CPA). This study aims to propose a method for quantifying the relationships between color attributes and CPAs for single colors. Specifically, we first collected the CPAs of five traits evoked by single colors (i.e., extraverted–introverted, moody–unemotional, agreeable–disagreeable, organized–disorganized, and wide interests–narrow interests) in a carefully controlled experiment. Then, multiple linear regression (MLR) analyses were adopted to predict these CPAs based on three color attributes (lightness, chroma, and hue). Our results showed that (1) the personality associations could be evoked by colors and perceived consistently by observers; (2) the relationships between the color attributes and the CPAs could be well quantified by separately conducting MLR analyses in different regions of hue (i.e., red, green, blue, and yellow regions); and (3) both lightness and chroma were significant predictors in almost all predictive models and they might have different relative importance or directions of effect when predicting the CPAs in different regions of hue, even for the same trait. This study improves the understanding of how color evokes personality associations and takes the first step toward developing the method for predicting the CPAs for multicolor combinations. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 42, 388–396, 2017     

An adaptive approach to create on‐demand color schemes for mapping quantitative geographic data

Creating a satisfying quantitative color scheme is challenging for both novices and experts. Geovisualization often suffers from the misuse and misunderstanding of quantitative color schemes. This article presents an adaptive method to create ready‐to‐use quantitative schemes. A probability‐based method for color selection is presented to quantify the selection of quantitative colors from learning samples of varying popularity. To shape the color transitions, a regression analysis is performed to fit the mathematical curves for the transitions of hue, saturation, and brightness. Finally, the problem of creating satisfying quantitative schemes is translated into a multiconstraint optimization problem. A discretize‐and‐filter method is also presented to solve the optimization problem of globally identifying a suitable scheme in a continuous color space. The proposed method is evaluated with a case study, and the results indicate that the proposed method can derive satisfying schemes. In addition, the proposed method is adaptive to mapping feature, target reader and target device.     

Scaling procedures for specifying color appearance

Colors of objects are often specified by color matches in some standard colorimetric system. While color-matching allows a color to be reproduced accurately, it does not specify what the color actually looks like. Color appearance (i.e., hue, saturation, brightness) can be measured by direct psychophysical scaling techniques; however, these methods have not been standardized and have been confined mostly to the laboratory. We have examined several variants of continuous, numerical scaling of hue and saturation to find a procedure that is usable, even by untrained observers. Appearances of monochromatic, equal-luminance light flashes were scaled along the dimensions of the unique hue sensations (red, yellow, green, blue) and apparent saturation. These functions were obtained for various stimulus conditions, including changes in stimulus luminance, size, and eccentricity. Multidimensional scaling methods were used to derive metrically uniform color appearance diagrams from the hue and saturation scaling data. Validity of the scaling procedures was assessed by deriving well-known visual functions, such as wavelength discrimination, from the color appearance diagrams. The direct scaling method was shown to be generally useful, and both trained and untrained observers readily and reliably used the technique.     

Effects of hue,saturation, and brightness on color preference in social networks: Gender‐based color preference on the social networking site Twitter

Account information for over 1 million Twitter users was downloaded and analyzed to determine color preference. Blues were found to be the most preferred color, whereas greens were least preferred. Distinct gender‐specific differences were found. Males preferred blues to a greater extent than females, whereas females preferred magentas to a much greater extent than males. Males preferred darker colors to a greater extent than women. Density plots within hue, saturation, and brightness space summarize the distribution of color choices and illustrate color preferences for both males and females. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 38, 196–202, 2013.     

The appearance of colors produced by a minimum-energy stimulus and two pairs of fundamental colors

This article presents the results of experiments designed to measure the color appearance produced by a minimum-energy stimulus within very small color fields and exposed for a very short duration. The experiments also revealed the common nature of colors in both spatial and temporal reductions. The hue is shifted toward either red or green and then toward a line connecting yellow and blue on the chromaticity diagram. The decrease and increase in saturation and brightness, respectively, correspond to this variation in hue. The nature of the results pertaining to the mechanism of color perception led to the assumption that a color-sensation mechanism consisting of two pairs of fundamental colors acted functionally. These fundamental colors were calculated from the variations of the results obtained in color space, and were defined respectively as 513C, 510, 585, and 484 nm.     

Hue cycle described by graphs and color names

The color appearance of the hue cycle in equal radiance is described in hue, saturation, and brightness/lightness. The latter does not resemble CIE luminance Y (peaking at 555 nm green), but peaks near 570 nm yellow with minor peaks near 490 nm cyan and 530 c magenta. Saturation per watt peaks near 450, 530, 610 nm (blue, green, red). Newton's choice of seven spectrum colors, and particularly his two bluish colors, is explained as major colors rather than merely different hues.     

Analyzing a decade of Colors of the Year

The Color of the Year was first introduced by Pantone in 2000, and recently (the last decade) we saw the trend of introducing a Color of the Year being picked up by more and more companies. Paints and coatings companies typically select their colors of the year by extensive research by designers and trend experts, resulting in a plurality of colors being introduced as Color of the Year, every year. In this article, we collated colors of the year of 15 different paints and coatings companies published in the past decade and we show that most colors of the year can be described as neutral or off‐white color (ie, the median value for NCS Chromaticness is low, 20%) although occasionally colors of the year have high NCS Chromaticness. We demonstrate that the distribution of colors of the year follow a certain narrative from year to year: The average Lightness and Chroma (averaged over all companies, per year) appear to follow a wavelike pattern, where the average Lightness appears to repeat itself every ~8 years and the average Chroma approximately every 4.5 years. Similarly, we can see a cyclic pattern in the hue: From mostly yellowish red or greenish blue in 2015, towards predominantly blue in 2017, to a wide variation in hues in 2020 suggesting a fragmentation in colors of the year preferences. In addition, we demonstrate that the colors of the year differ significantly from what can be expected if the colors would have been selected randomly. This could reflect the fact that paint companies use similar raw data to identify their color trends.