The document discusses color psychology and its effects in architecture. It notes that color plays an important role in how humans perceive and react to their environment. Various studies have shown that color influences people psychologically and physiologically. As a sensory perception, color has symbolic, associative, emotional and synesthetic effects. When used properly in architecture, color can positively impact human well-being, productivity and mood. Architects must consider how color choices can influence the experience and function of various building types from homes to hospitals. A thorough understanding of color psychology allows designers to leverage color to enhance architectural spaces.

3. •
A good rule of thumb for many Westerners is this: wear black to a
funeral. Black, in this context, signifies solemnity; it’s how we show that
we’re grieving and respecting that of those around us. Weddings, on
the other hand, are known for white – but only for the bride! While the
bride wears white to symbolize purity and uphold tradition, wearing
white as a guest is often seen as an attempt at pulling attention away
from the ceremony, which can be considered gravely insulting
depending on one’s company.

4. • Wardrobe, of course, is far from the only place in our lives where color
comes into play. But the point still stands: color is vital to human
experience. Through color, we feel; we communicate; we heal. Those
in advertising use it to sell products; those in schools and offices use it
to increase productivity.
• When it comes to communication, color is unbeatable. Unconscious or
otherwise, color can evoke emotions, inspire reactions, and change
modes of thinking. It can excite or soothe your mood, raise or lower
your blood pressure, and even whet your appetite! Whether it’s innate
or learned, it’s undeniable that color has a vital impact on how we go
about our lives.

5. THE COLOR PSYCHOLOGY OF RED
• From the start of the rainbow to the ubiquitous advertising for Valentine’s Day, red
remains one of the most evocative colors on the visible spectrum. As a primary
color, red is a color entirely its own – that is to say, no other colors can come
together to form a perfect red. In RGB, red is comprised of 100% red, 0% green, and
0% blue.
• Associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as
passion, desire, and love.
• Enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure.
• It attracts attention more than any other color, at times signifying danger.
• Colors related to red: Magenta, Burgundy, Maroon.

6. THE COLOR PSYCHOLOGY OF GREEN
• Green is the primary color that hints to our primitive relationship with the first creation of the world –
nature. Considered the key color that represents purity, health, and freshness, green has been traditionally
associated with brands that encourage growth, vitality, and productivity (think Starbucks and EverNote!).
Gentle, invigorating and relaxing, green also represents connection. Connection to ourselves, to the quiet
moments in our lives, to nature itself. It is not a mere coincidence that people evade from the concrete
jungle of big cities to disconnect from the mundane and connect to the wilderness of nature. Green means
the return to the primal roots, to the pristine kingdom of inner peace and tranquillity.
• Color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility.
• Considered beneficial to the mind and body.
• Slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect.
• Strongly associated with tranquility and calmness.
• Used to symbolize piety and sincerity.

7. THE COLOR PSYCHOLOGY OF BLUE
In contrast to its sister primary color, red, blue is associated with a calm serenity over
intensity or passion. When asked to visualize a tranquil scene, chances are people will
immediately imagine a great deal of blue – usually in the form of a still body of water.
Thoughtful and still, blue represents a sense of inner reflection. A great deal of
research has indicated that this impact on the body is indeed inverse to red’s,
resulting in lower heart rates and even slower metabolisms.
•Unique and authentic
•Enthusiastic, sympathetic and personal; they seek meaning and significance in life
•Warm, communicative and compassionate; they care about what they do
•Idealistic, spiritual and sincere; they value unity and integrity in their relationships
•Peaceful, flexible and imaginative; they are natural romantics and nurturers

8. THE COLOR PSYCHOLOGY OF BROWN
Moving on to a more serious and imposing color, we arrive at brown, which no longer sends
us thinking of youthfulness and excitement. Traditionally associated with seriousness,
stability, and wisdom, brown is mostly worn by people who impose respect and
appreciation through their status. When you think of this color, you might envision a
paternal figure or a grandfather in the middle of the family. Because families are centered
on the stability and resourcefulness of the main male figure, most people feel secure and
stable when thinking about brown. Paternal figures who passed a certain age also exude a
sense of stability, but in the material sense – they have accumulated life experience which is
manifested in possessions and financial gain. Most people feel safe around people wearing
brown because they represent seriousness, reliance, and support.
•Associated with the traits of dependability, reliability, and resilience.
•Brown-lovers are most often reserved and not looking to attract attention to oneself
•While light brown represents honesty and stability, dark brown is considered mature,
predictable, and dull

9. THE COLOR PSYCHOLOGY OF ORANGE
• Bright and persuasive, orange results from the combination of yellow and red. As we
have seen in the previous section, yellow denotes optimism and cheerfulness, while
red can suggest intense feelings of love and even dominance. Orange sits in the middle
of those extremities: it promotes rejuvenation, communication, and positivism. This
color also enhances extraversion, allowing people to let go of their inhibitions and
express themselves more freely.
• Combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow.
• Associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics.
• Represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction,
success, encouragement, and stimulation.

10. THE COLOR PSYCHOLOGY OF YELLOW
• “He is so bright” – Have you ever wondered where the association of increased mental
capability and this particular visual adjective comes from? Yellow, the brightest color
of the spectrum, is commonly used in images depicting fresh ideas, creative projects,
or new business initiatives. You probably already know the prototypical image of
someone brainstorming ideas which is linked with a bright yellow bulb! This is not a
random association: yellow has been scientifically proven by studies to enhance
mental activity and heighten awareness and energy levels. The brightness of this color
unclogs mental blocks and encourages people to seek new perspectives by
abandoning the dull ways of looking at the world. You can think of yellow as the main
color of the morning time, when you are the most alert, insightful and analytical, and
when you have the chance to create a brand new day in your life. And do not just take
my word for it – studies have linked yellow with increased activity of the left side of
the brain, which is considered the powerhouse of rational thinking!
• .

11. THE COLOR PSYCHOLOGY OF YELLOW
• Associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.
• Produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and
generates
muscle energy.
• Bright, pure yellow is an attention getter, which is the reason taxicabs are painted
this color.
• When overused, yellow may have a disturbing effect.
• It is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms.
• Yellow indicates honor and loyalty. Later the meaning of yellow was connected
with cowardice.

12. THE COLOR PSYCHOLOGY OF PINK
• One of the gentlest and yet most contradictory colors out there, pink is a color that varies greatly
depending on its context. Making it, however, remains simple. Though it has a great number of
shades and undertones, pink is most commonly known to be a pale red mixed with white.
• This is a color that represents a gentle type of love
• Pink stands for tenderness, vulnerability and youth
• It is a calming, non-threatening color. It is linked to innocence, hope and optimism.
• Pink color also represents positive aspects of traditional femininity like nurture and kindness.
• Pink can be linked to childhood sweetness and innocence, appearing sometimes as naïve or silly

13. THE COLOR PSYCHOLOGY OF PURPLE
• And so we arrive at our first secondary color. A beautiful mixture of red and purple, purple sits exactly
halfway between the two on the color wheel, though varying each amount can result in new shades.
• True to its red parent color, purple is often associated with luxury and power. However, as opposed to
red’s tendency to reflect the material facets of power and ambition, purple errs towards royalty and
nobility. The blue tones bring in a sense of relaxation and stability, which alongside the energy of red
synthesizes to create a feeling of wisdom and good sense.
• Combines the stability of blue and the energy of red.
• Associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition.
• Conveys wealth and extravagance.
• Associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.
• Relevant colors: Indigo, Violet, Lavender, Mauve

14. THE COLOR PSYCHOLOGY OF WHITE
• Making a radical shift right to the opposite end of the color spectrum, we finally arrive at white. In contrast to its darker
precursors who exuded mystery, white is the universal symbolic color for purity, wholeness, and innocence. It makes us
think of new beginnings, perfection, but also of elegance and serenity. When you have a blank canvas free of any
imperfections, you have the freedom to start something new, to let your ideas take contour and to move in any direction
you want. White is highly creative, and it invites reflection, openness, and awakening. It is a great color for those who want
to declutter their minds and spaces, hence why it is often associated with cleanliness and order. The bridal dress and the
doctor’s uniforms are also white because they represent purity, order, and offer comfort and hope. Similarly, white is also
largely found in doctor’s offices because it gives a sense of efficiency and perfect cleanliness, which helps patients build
trust in the services offered by doctors.
• Associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity.
• Considered to be the color of perfection.
• Signifies safety, purity, and cleanliness.
• Usually has a positive connotation.
• Can represent a successful beginning.
• Depicts faith and purity.

15. THE COLOR PSYCHOLOGY OF BLACK
• Moving on to black, one of the most complex in meaning colors of the spectrum, we realize that there is
no set-in-stone interpretation when it comes to this color. Black is highly versatile and, depending on
which angle you approach it from, you can see it as elegant, mysterious, or downright depressing. For
this reason, we will dedicate some time to explore the abundance of meanings that have been
historically bestowed upon this color.
• Associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery.
• A mysterious color associated with fear and the unknown (black holes).
• Usually has a negative connotation (blacklist, black humor, ‘black death’).
• Denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious color.
• The symbol of grief.

16. MORE ABOUT COLOR PSYCHOLOGY AND SYMBOLISM
• Color is, simply stated, broken down white light. This is a dissection of light at different wavelengths
and each wavelength is perceived as a separate color. Objects tend to absorb or reflect these
wavelengths, so when we see a yellow lemon, it is the yellow wavelength that is being reflected while
all others are being absorbed. Now that we have understood what color means, let’s explore some of
the ways it influences our mood.
• We feel color. How or what we feel about it varies from person to person. Some colors give us a sense
of serenity and calm;these usually lie within the blue side of the spectrum-that consists of purple and
green too, known as the cool side. Others induce rage and make us uncomfortable , or signify passion;
these lie within the red spectrum-which includes orange and yellow, known as the warm side.

17. • Color perception is subjective, and certain colors have a very universal significance. This is coded
into our reptilian brain, giving us that instinctive feeling of fire being dangerous and the beach
being relaxing.
• Color psychology is a very important tool used by artists, interior decorators, and as a marketing
mechanism in many industries. It is the palette used by Dali that makes his artwork bizarre, and
amplifies the hyperrealism he intends to create.
• When we visit a museum to appreciate a work of art, we take it in through the colors we see
because they invoke within us certain emotions, making the claim that everyone sees it
differently a reality. Interior decorators survey the effect of colors when deciding what color (Or
rather color associations) the walls of a certain area in a building will be painted.

18. • The reason that many offices have a lot of greys, blues and browns incorporated in their décor is
because these colors tends to increase productivity. Yet, this is not a rule of the thumb. This does
hold true for a corporate environment, but if one were to work say for example in the fashion
industry, or the media, the use of brighter and more “colorful” paints would help encourage
creativity.
• Many car commercials show black as their model, because this certain color is associated with
affluence and seriousness. This leads the consumer to believe that the product is worth buying.
Even the food and drink industry uses color to attract more people to certain brands. The purple
and gold packaging of a certain brand of candy bar is a technique to lure the consumer into
believing that this is chocolate royalty, and why would one not want to buy the best of best.
Culturally speaking, colors have different values attached to them too. A bride in the western
world wears white, where as it is what a widow wears in South Asia.

19. • Color stimulates our brain, and from the ancient times has proven to be useful
alternative psychotherapy. The Egyptians and Chinese used colors to heal, a process that is known is
chromotherapy. Colors were used to in order to help the body function better.
• However there is a lot of doubt that prevails today as far as the effectiveness of color therapy is
concerned. Since every human being has different emotions attached to different colors, the universal
significance of colors may or may not work in these cases.
• Bottom line being, color psychology and associations are an interesting part of the complex working
system of our brain, yet with so many scientific questions about it still left unanswered , and differences
in cultural attachments to colors, it can only be utilized through observation and experience of how
color has influenced brains over the years.

21. The Perception of Color in
Architecture
https://medium.com/studiotmd/the-perception-of-
color-in-architecture-cf360676776c

22. • Color is an integral element of our world, not just in the natural environment but also in
the man-made architectural environment. Color always played a role in the human
evolutionary process. The environment and its colors are perceived, and the brain
processes and judges what it perceives on an objective and subjective basis.
Psychological influence, communication, information, and effects on the psyche are
aspects of our perceptual judgment processes. Hence, the goals of color design in an
architectural space are not relegated to decoration alone.

23. • Especially in the last eleven decades, empirical observations and scientific studies have
proven that human-environment-reaction in the architectural environment is to a large
percentage based on the sensory perception of color. These studies include the
disciplines of psychology, architectural psychology, color psychology, neuropsychology,
visual ergonomics, psychosomatics, and so forth. In short, it confirms that human
response to color is total — it influences us psychologically and physiologically.

24. • Color is a sensory perception, and as any sensory perception, it has effects that are
symbolic, associative, synesthetic, and emotional. This self-evident logic has been proven
by scientific investigation. Because the body and mind are one entity, neuropsychological
aspects, psychosomatic effects, visual ergonomics, and color’s psychological effects are
the components of color ergonomics. These being design goal considerations that
demand adherence to protect human psychological and physiological well-being within
their man-made environment.

25. • The color specifier/designer has the task of knowing how the reception of visual
stimulation, its processing and evoked responses in conjunction with the hormonal
system, produces the best possibilities for the welfare of human beings. This is of utmost
importance in varied environments, such as medical and psychiatric facilities, offices,
industrial and production plants, educational facilities, homes for the elderly,
correctional facilities, and so forth. Each within themselves having different task and
function areas.

27. • Color has not always been so detached from architectural design. Historically, the artist’s
profession encompassed all, but not exclusively: painting, sculpture, and architecture.
Color was used lavishly in architecture, because of the desire to glorify gods or kings or
to celebrate the marvel of the building itself. The thought-to-be bare and neutral stone
temples of ancient Greece have recently been proven to have been richly painted with
deep jewel — toned pigments. The cathedrals of medieval Europe were also painted, as
well as the palaces and temples of China, which were filled with color symbolism.

28. • The architect must consider the color effect of every element of a building’s
construction, from the earthy colors of primary construction materials like wood, stone,
brick, and marble, to the expansive variety of colors available for paint, doors, windows,
siding, and trim.

29. COLOR PSYCHOLOGY
• One of the most striking results concerning color connotations and color mood
associations is its consistency cross-culturally from one individual to another and group
to group. The great number of studies comparing human subjects worldwide, such as
men to women, children to adults, laymen to architects, and even monkeys to humans
show that color is an international visual language understood by all.
• The impression of a color and the message it conveys is of utmost importance in creating
the psychological mood or ambiance that supports the function of a space.

30. • During the 1960’s the psychological and even physiological impact of color started to become
a consideration. Following in Goethe’s footsteps, Faber Birren (1900–1988) was one of the
first people to do extensive research on the human perception of and response to color. He
wrote over 20 books and 200 articles on the topic. Today contemporaries such as Frank and
Rudolf Manke and Carlton Wagner are picking up where Faber Birren had left off. This section
of human color response will first cover the functions color can have in our everyday
environments, then it will expand on the different levels of experience we have, and finally it
will discuss the primary and secondary hues and their specific effects on people and in
spaces. In his book ‘Tbe Wagner Color Response Rebort” Carlton Wagner thoroughly talks
about the functions of color in our environment.

31. • As you can see, color has many influences in our everyday lives. We have learned to
respond to certain colors in certain ways. For example, red
means caution/ stop / blood, but there are also reactions that are subconscious. The
book ‘Mensch, Farbe, Raum”(“Human, Color, Space”) outlines an interesting breakdown
of the different levels in which we sense and experience colors:

32. BIOLOGICAL REACTION TO A COLOR STIMULUS
• Biological reactions to color are solely physical in nature. Instead of the obvious optical
reaction to color, it is in fact a reaction to the energy of the light waves. Tests show that
even if a person is blindfolded his or her pulse will noticeably increase when exposed to
the color red and decrease when exposed to blue.

33. • Subconsciousness
• This reaction to color is also not governed by the intellect. It is a reaction that originates
out of our genetic imprinting. In some cases it might also be triggered by a former
personal experience. For example, after an accident, a person might dislike the color red
without consciously making the connection to the color of blood.

34. • Conscious Symbolism Association
• Conscious Symbolism develops through personal experiences. There are some universal
associations that are surprisingly uniform from culture to culture. Blue for example is
usually associated with sky and water, yellow with sun and light, and red with blood and
fire.

35. Cultural Influence
• There are also cultural influences on our experience of color. For example,
in the English language, if a person is said to be green he/ she feels sick; in
German, on the other hand, if a person is said to be green he / she is hopeful.
Trends, Style, and Fashion Influence
• Almost every year there are new color trends, especially in fashion. Even though color trends
are short-lived they still influence our associations. However, it is not useful for the architect
to follow these color trends since they hardly ever consider psychology or visual ergonomics.

36. • Personal Relations
• Our personal relations to color vary
greatly. It is a field that the designer
has hardly any control over. Generally
speaking younger people prefer more
saturated and primary colors
• Where older people prefer less saturated
and
subdued colors. The same logic exists for
extroverts and introverts.

37. • As we have just learned, a person is affected both personally and universally
by the colors in their environment. Studies have traced certain patterns in color
preference that are related to age, socioeconomics, and character traits. The younger a
person is, the more likely one is to prefer more saturated colors, but as one gets older
one will begin to prefer lighter and less saturated colors. The diagram to the left shows
how character traits and socioeconomics might influence a persons color preference.
However, since one cannot affect the individual’s personal history in relation to color,
the designer is forced to design toward the experiences of color that affect the vast
majority of people in the same way.

38. • RED
• Effect: exciting, stimulating
Association:
Positive: passionate, fervid, active, strong,
warm
Negative: intense, aggressive, raging, fierce,
bloody
Character: Red is the most dominant and
dynamic color. The eye actually has to
adjust focus, since the natural focal point of
red lies behind the retina. Consequently
red appears closer than it is.
Ceiling: intruding, disturbing, heavy
Walls: aggressive, advancing
Floor: conscious, alert

39. • ORANGE
• Effect: exciting, stimulating, cheering
Association:
Positive: jovial, lively, energetic, extroverted
Negative: intrusive, blustering
Character: Orange is less masculine than red. It
has very few negative associations. However, it
may appear cheap or without vigor if low in
saturation.
Ceiling: stimulating, attention-seeking
Walls: warm, luminous
Floor: activating, motion-oriented

40. • YELLOW
• Effect: cheering
Association:
Positive: sunny, cheerful, radiant, vital
Negative: egocentric, glaring
Character: When pure, yellow is the happiest of
all colors. In radiates warmth, cheerfulness, and
inspiration and signifies enlightenment, and
communication.
Ceiling: light (towards lemon), luminous,
stimulating
Walls: warm (towards orange), exciting to
irritating (highly saturated)
Floor: elevating, diverting

41. • GREEN
• Effect: retiring, relaxing
Association:
Positive: tranquil, refreshing, quiet, natural
Negative: common, tiresome, guilty
Character: Contrary to red, when looking at
green the eye focuses exactly on the retina,
which makes green the most restful color
to the eye. Green can symbolize nature but
also mold and sickness.
Ceiling: protective, reflection on the skin
can be unattractive
Walls: cool, secure, calm, reliable, passive,
irritating if glaring (electric green)
Floor: natural (if not too saturated), soft,
relaxing, cold (if towards blue)

42. • BLUE
• Effect: retiring, relaxing
Association:
Positive: calm, sober, secure, comfortable, noble
Negative: frightening, depressing, melancholy, cold
Character: Blue appears to be transparent, wet, cool,
and relaxing. Opposite to red, blue will decrease a
person’s blood pressure and pulse rate.
Ceiling: celestial, cool, receding (if light), heavy and
oppressive (if dark)
Walls: cool and distant (if light), encouraging and
space deepening (if dark)
Floor: inspiring feeling of effortless movement (if
light), substantial (if dark)

43. • PURPLE
• Effect: subduing
Association:
Positive: dignified, exclusive
Negative: lonely, mournful, pompous,
conceited
Character: Purple is a mixture of red and
blue (the two colors that are
psychologically most opposed). Purple can
appear delicate and rich, or unsettling and
degenerate.
Ceiling: disconcerting, subduing
Walls: heavy, overpowering
Floor: fleeting, magical

44. • PINK
• Effect: lively (bubble-gum pink), calming
(light pink)
Association:
Positive: lively, calming, intimate
Negative: too sweet, weak
Character: Pink must be handled carefully.
It is generally considered feminine, but
depends much on the nuance used
(bubble-gum pink, or old rose)
Ceiling: delicate, comforting
Walls: aggression-inhibiting, intimate, too
sweet if not grayed down
Floor: too delicate, not used very often

45. • BROWN
• Effect: subduing
Association:
Positive: warm, secure, stable
Negative: oppressive, heavy
Character: There is a great difference between
wood and brown paint. In certain institutions
brown should be avoided since it evokes fecal
associations. Wood and stone on the other hand
appear very comfortable, and warm.
Ceiling: oppressive and heavy (if dark)
Walls: secure and assuring if wood, much less so if
paint
Floor: steady, stable

46. • WHITE
• Effect: disconcerning
Association:
Positive: clean, crisp, bright
Negative: empty, sterile
Character: There are a lot of psychological and
physiological justifications for not using white
as a dominant color.
Ceiling: empty, no design objections-helps
diffuse light sources and reduce shadows
Walls: neutral to empty, sterile, without energy
Floor: touch-inhibiting (not to be walked upon)

47. • GRAY
• Effect: neutral to calming
Association:
Positive: neutral
Negative: boring
Character: Gray fails to have much
psychotherapeutic application. Thus, the
current fashion of using it with various
accent walls defies all logic.
Ceiling: shadowy
Walls: neutral to boring
Floor: neutral

48. • BLACK
• Effect: ominous
Association:
Positive: deep, abstract
Negative: dungeonlike, night, grief, death
Character: Black is associated with
oppressive power, darkness, and the
unknown. In architecture it is often used to
make something appear as receding, such as
the HVAC in a ceiling.
Ceiling: hollow to oppressive
Walls: ominous, dungeonlike
Floor: odd, abstract

49. • Of course the effect of these colors also depends on their position and context, since
colors are almost never seen in isolation. Our perception of and reaction to a hue will
change if it is on the interior or exterior of a building, whether it is located on a ceiling, a
wall, or the floor, and what the current light condition is. The attributes of the different
hues should not be handled as end results to the designer, but used more as a starting
point

50. NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS
• A part of neuropsychological investigation is to discover how the brain processes and
reacts to sensory information coming from the external world and how this affects
humans.
• Especially important for the color specifier is the research concerning the presentation of
two perceptual extremes within the environment known as sensory deprivation and
sensory overload, also termed monotony (or understimulation) and overstimulation.
Involved is the reticular formation which always seeks to maintain a level of normalcy,
but it can (and will) malfunction. Stress research has shown that states of sensory
monotony or overstimulation can trigger dysfunction in the organism.

51. NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS
• Architectural Environments — Emotions and Psychosomatics
• The environment produces emotions which in turn is linked to psychsomatics.
Psychosomatic medicine emphasizes that physical disorders may originate through
psychological factors, be aggravated by them and vice versa. It is common knowledge
that stress may cause headaches, anxiety makes the heart beat faster, and anger and
distress may affect the stomach, to name the most common occurrences. Of course the
list includes high blood pressure, heart palpitations, migraine headaches, eczema,
impotence, and so forth.

52. • Scientific research has also established the link to PNI — Psycho-Neuro-Immunology
which clearly shows that networks of nerve fibers and molecular bridges connect the
psyche and the body with each other and that emotions penetrate completely into the
cells of the organism. Henceforth, research indicates that a positive emotional mood
strengthens the body’s defensive system against illness, whereas a negative emotional
frame of mind has a weakening effect.

53. VISUAL ERGONOMICS AND COLOR
• Probably one of the least known factors of appropriate color specification is its role in
safeguarding visual efficiency and comfort. The eye’s adaptation process involves the
immediate reaction of the eye to changes in the degree of illumination. Lower light
reflectance causes the pupil to dilate, and the reverse is true for higher reflectance. The eye
sees luminous density and not the intensity of illuminance. Luminous density is what the eyes
receive when light is reflected from a surface (floors, walls, furniture). If the differences
between the luminous densities within view are too great, the iris muscle is strained due to
constant adjustment, thus causing eye fatigue. Studies have shown that appropriate
differences in luminous density can prevent eye fatigue and raise visual acuity, and thus also
productivity.

54. • The colors of surfaces absorb and reflect a certain amount of light. These measurements are
referred to as light reflection values. Practically all paint companies show them on their color
fan decks under LR or LRV.
• The international norms are the 3–1 light reflection ratio within a space. This suggests that
floors should reflect about 20%, furniture 25–40%, walls 40–60%. The 3–1 designation means
the lightest color (60%) divided by the darkest (20%) is a ratio of 3–1. However, visual
ergonomists are not color designers. A yellow wall at 60% is not a yellow anymore but a tan.
The only solution is if the walls are raised to 75% light reflection for example, so must then be
the percentage of floor and furnishings also be raised to insure that there still exists control
of extreme contrasts in dark and light. Interesting fact is that if these rules were known by
the design community, white walls would not exist — only ceilings are where 80–90% is
accepted.

55. • Color and Perception
• In order for us to understand the complex relations between the human and
color we have to understand some of the concepts of color science and vision. Color
vision is always dependant on the three suppositions that there is light, that the person’s
eye has the ability to see color, and that the person’s brain has the ability to process the
color stimulus from the eye.

57. • In contrast to additive color, subtractive color mixing combines pigments
rather than light. When mixing pigments the more colors that are added the closer the result
comes to black. The primary colors of additive and subtractive color mixing can be seen to the
left. In additive mixing, the primary colors are green, blue-violet, and orange-red, while in
subtractive mixing the primaries are red, yellow, and blue.
• With our present scientific knowledge there is still debate about the exact
process of color perception as color registers in the eyes, the inputs are classified, and
transferred to the brain. In very simplified terms the eye works similarly to a camera. Light enters
the human eye through the cornea, the outer covering of the eye, the muscles of the iris control
how much light is entering the eye through the pupil. The light is then focused on the back
surface of the eye: the retina. The retina is made of the photoreceptor cells called rods and
cones. Rods allow us to see forms in dim light, but are limited to black and white, while cones
work better in brighter lighting and
allow us to perceive hues.

58. • Without doubt, the assumption that color is no more than decoration and color
specifications can be satisfied or solved by personal interpretations or the following of
color trends and design idioms in current fashion is absolutely false and
counterproductive. Humane design places the human being in the center of its concern
and purpose. Therefore, it should show interest in human welfare and dignity.