Study of Colour Shifts in Various Daylights: Dominantly Reddish and Greenish Rooms Illuminated by Sunlight and Skylight

Abstract

The article presents a study on colour appearance in natural daylight from different compass directions in Sweden. The intention of the study was to forecast how certain colours in the red-green sector would appear in a specific room, to help architects and designers in achieving required results from colour schemes. The problem was to find trends between inherent colour and identity colour in rooms facing different directions and illuminated by different kinds of natural light. An empirical study of dominantly reddish and greenish colours was conducted using full-scale rooms facing towards and away from the sun. Identity colours were described using five comparative methods. Results were compared with a previous study in environmental colour design concerned with yellowish and bluish colours. The study shows a regular pattern in shift of hue and nuance, from inherent colour to identity colour. In general, room identity colours were more chromatic and less whitish than inherent colours. In the room facing towards the sun all identity colours increased in chromaticness, particularly yellowish colours while reddish colours showed the least increase. Colours with a yellowish attribute shifted towards elementary yellow. In the room facing away from the sun a hue shift towards bluish-red was observed, and all colours increased in chromaticness, except yellowish colours.