Journal of the International Colour Association
JAIC is the Journal of the International Colour Association (AIC) is a double-blind peer-reviewed not-for-profit journal and publishes multi-disciplinary work about colour. It is available online with free-access. You can review the most recent issue as well as access past issues dating back to 2007.
International Colour Association (AIC)
Lab Colour Sense: Visual and dermo-optical perception on colour magenta
Lab Colour Sense project aims to summarise and discuss the process that occurs in human perception: sensory impressions, the organising process, and the interpretative process of visual perception and dermo-optical perception (DOP). During the 4th Arts and Technology Forum of the Education College of the University of Coimbra (ESEC), Art and Design students were invited to analyse their cognitive process during the contact with the colour magenta with the intent to investigate the dialogues between body and colour during the painting practice, through self-experience and self-analysis. This class project attempts to abstract oneself from their own experience, wherein the methodological process is to investigate how participants create their methods which lead to their actions/experiences with colour. The writings of the participants are very critical to see what ‘colour thoughts’ might be in their insights in attempts to understand something more of the substance and nature of colour.
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the International Colour Association https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Relationship between the two-colour combination feelings evaluation of “kimono” and the visual contexts and observer attributes
This study aimed to clarify the effects of the presence or absence of visual contexts as “kimono” and observer attributes (knowledge of/interest in/frequency of contact with “kimono” and gender) on the colour combination feelings evaluation by deeming “kimono” as a two-colour combination of nagagi (ankle-length garment) and obi (sash belt). The observers were presented photographs of a two-coloured “kimono” with nagagi and obi coloured with different colours, illustrations of a woman wearing “kimono”, and rectangular shapes painted in proportion to the area ratio of nagagi and obi, and the observers evaluated “contrast”, “floridness”, “warmth”, “pleasantness”, “refinement”, “beauty”, and “lucidity” of the presented stimuli. In addition, the relationship between the evaluation results and estimation values obtained by the colour feelings prediction formulas was examined. As a result of the analysis, the following conclusions were obtained: (1) In the two-colour combination evaluation, observer attributes have a larger effect than visual contexts. (2) When two-colour combination stimuli are given visual contexts as “kimono”, aesthetic evaluation is significantly improved. (3) The evaluation of conspicuity and warmth of two-colour combinations shows slight differences between observer attributes, whereas aesthetic evaluation varies according to their attributes. (4) In simple figures without a context of “kimono”, the effects of the area ratio of colours that constitute a colour combination are limited. (5) The estimation values of “pleasantness” obtained by the colour feelings prediction formulas indicate the highest correlation with evaluation values of “lucidity”.
Quantitative analysis of colour harmony in living environments using VR simulations
This study investigates the quantitative assessment of colour harmony in living environments using Virtual Reality (VR) simulations. The primary objective is to develop a comprehensive model of colour harmony in three-dimensional interior spaces. Twenty participants were recruited to evaluate 36 different colour combinations of walls and furniture using VR technology. The experiment assessed colour harmony by varying lightness, saturation, and hue within spatial combinations. Key findings indicate significant negative correlations between both saturation and value differences and perceived harmony. The derived regression formulas for these relationships are CH=-1.27-7.02ΔS+2.46ΔS^2 (0≤ΔS ≤100, R^2=0.865) for saturation difference and CH=3.11-0.02ΔV (0≤ΔV≤100,R^2=0.705) for value difference. The results suggest that the spatial colour harmony model has some characteristic that are different with human perceived. This study bridges the gap between two-dimensional and three-dimensional colour harmony frameworks and provides practical guidelines for designing harmonious living spaces. Future applications may include automated systems such as painting robots and spatial colour design AI.
Interpreting colour semiotics in Hong Kong's MTR stations: An analytical study
Hong Kong is a place with abundant historical value that combines Western and Eastern cultures due to its unique historical background, such as its colonial history and ancient Chinese customs. And those regional cultural identities can be presented in the urban built environment. While colours are fundamental elements of our spatial perceptions and environmental experience, they are the substance of how we experience the physical world. The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) in Hong Kong exemplifies this with its vibrant mosaic colour designs featured across its stations. This article suggests viewing environmental colours as social semiotic resources to interpret the local characteristics and historical features through the colour selection in mosaics. This approach aims to deepen our understanding of these environmental colours' cultural symbolism and historical attributes. With a particular focus on urban MTR stations in Hong Kong, this study collected five MTR line station colour samples by applying the NCS colour system. The study identified five motivations for these colour practices from the perspectives of functionality, regional identity, cultural background, and colour regularities, illustrated with specific station colour examples. The research highlights how colour schemes in Hong Kong's MTR stations reflect regional cultural nuances and explains the significance of colours in spatial design and public interaction.
Investigating emotional perception in abstract art: The role of colour
We conducted an experiment in which participants ranked ten abstract paintings based on six emotional descriptors according to the circumplex model of affect, which proposes that affective states derive from two fundamental neurophysiological systems, and that each emotion can be understood as a linear combination of these two systems. The sample consisted of 55 Brazilian participants (mean age = 31; SD = 1.1; 29 women), who met specific inclusion criteria regarding age, education, medical and ophthalmological conditions. To analyse the ranking data, we combined two psychophysical methods, effectively mapping absolute ranking data onto points within a unidimensional continuum. Correlations among the six emotional scales were assessed using Pearson's coefficient, revealing negative correlations for tense-calm, enthusiastic-depressive, and exciting-boring, and a positive correlation for exciting-enthusiastic. We analysed the colour structure of each painting in the CIE Lab colour space, deriving three colorimetric dimensions: ellipse area, axis ratio and hue angle. We conducted a Multiple Linear Regression to investigate statistical relationships between the colorimetric structure of the paintings and the emotional intensity. The regression shows a tendency for saturation (ellipse area) in influencing some emotions. Our results suggest that abstract paintings can be mentally categorised into emotional continua, with these continua displaying a logical interval organisation within opposing emotional dimensions. The lack of a relationship between colorimetric structure and the emotional intensity of the paintings suggests that colour may not significantly influence emotional judgment, while other elements and attributes within visual perception may play a more significant role and require further investigation.
Exploring the effects of background colour and gender on cognitive performance of visual attention: a multimodal approach using fNIRS and eye-tracking
The interplay between background colour and individual characteristics such as gender significantly influences cognitive performance in visual attention tasks. While colour's role in cognition has been studied, the impact of low-saturation colours and their gender-specific interactions remains underexplored. This study examined the effects of nine background colours—seven low-saturation hues (red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple), standard grey, and standard white—on visual attention among 54 participants (27 males, 27 females) in a dark psychophysical laboratory. A multimodal approach combined cognitive performance data (accuracy and search time), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data (activation of brain regions associated with visual attention), and eye-tracking measures (fixation and pupil metrics). Results revealed that males exhibited higher accuracy and faster search times on cyan and yellow backgrounds, whereas females demonstrated greater neural activation on orange and cyan backgrounds. Eye-tracking data indicated longer fixation durations for females on orange backgrounds and higher cognitive load for males on blue backgrounds. Correlation analysis revealed contrasting cognitive strategies, females showed a positive correlation between search time and accuracy, while males exhibited a negative correlation. These findings underscore the nuanced role of gender-specific responses to background colour in shaping visual cognition. Insights gained have applications in human-computer interaction, educational tools, and tailored interventions for cognitive impairments.
Brazilian chromatic identity: Dorothy Draper’s work in Brazil
This research is dedicated to the work of Dorothy Draper in Brazil, considered the pioneer of the interior decoration profession in the United States in the early 20th century. Her office, established in New York City since 1925, remains operational to this day, making it one of the oldest design firms in the world. A proponent of colourful and extravagant interiors, she was recognised for creating a style known as "modern baroque." She published two books, “Decorating is Fun!” (1939) and “Entertaining is Fun!” (1941), both of which referenced the use of colours in interior spaces. Draper was invited by an influential Brazilian businessman to design the interiors of the Quitandinha Hotel in Petrópolis, located in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Initial contacts took place in early 1942, and the project was developed in her New York office but executed by Brazilian artisans, with the hotel opening in 1944. The hotel, which also functioned as a casino, became a landmark for the society of that time and preserved a significant example of Brazilian interior design history. This study analyses the colour scheme chosen by Draper for this endeavor, based on national and international literature, interviews, a technical visit to the site, and a chromatic survey. Considering the possibility of still accessing Draper’s legacy, this research examines her work to identify chromatic references in a palette that may highlight a Brazilian chromatic identity. According to some authors, the shapes of Brazilian baroque architecture and the vibrant local flora served as references for the project. Literature suggests that Draper’s work was, in some way, influenced by her experiences during her stay in Brazil. Later, Draper would go on to sign a line of products openly inspired by Brazil, such as chintz fabrics and accessories with cheerful prints.
Chromatic interventions in urban space paving: what are the possibilities?
Colours impact urban aesthetics, play a fundamental role in visual identity, influence individuals' relationships with spaces, and transform the way environments are used. Well-designed colourful spaces contribute to the positive user experience, visually attracting and facilitating the interpretation and appropriation of the city by its inhabitants. Thus, colour interventions can be understood as an urban design tool that supports orientation and wayfinding strategies, while conserving, revitalising, beautifying, and activating urban areas, contributing to the local identity. Although, in general, the colour image of the city is often associated with buildings, urban chromatics also involves other elements such as furniture, vegetation, and paving. The latter has currently become one of the urban components that stand out in this context. It is well known that the use of colour in paving is very diversified, but, despite the existence of many chromatic projects, the lack of systematic studies does not allow a deeper understanding of this urban renewal strategy. This research analysed 115 urban projects to categorise the different ways in which colour is used. The interventions were classified by the function of colour, such as aesthetic or utilitarian, and by the infrastructure involved, such as areas for vehicular or pedestrian traffic. The performed analysis revealed that colours can be used expressively and strategically to transform urban spaces, prioritising pedestrians and creating spaces for social interaction of the community.
Urban polychromy in inequality contexts: a critical-experimental methodology from the top view
Urban polychromy is determined by geographic, cultural, historical, social, and economic factors, and reflects a combination of natural and artificial elements. This article explores an urban chromatic analysis that relates the colours present in the urban environment to the socioeconomic and racial contexts and profiles of the population. To accomplish this, an experimental scientific-artistic methodology was developed, focusing on an analysis from the top view. The study is centred on Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The primary goal of this investigation is to analyse the urban polychromy of the city through the development of an experimental methodology. It also seeks to explore the relationship between urban polychromy and the city's social-spacial and interseccional dynamics. As resources, satellite images were associated with urban parameters and demographic data such as income and race of the population by census tract (from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) - 2010 Brazilian Census). Eight samples were selected to support the production of predominance graphs, using the Natural Colour System (NCS). Manual collages were also assembled to bring the human scale and urban dynamics not visible in satellite images alone. The samples from Belo Horizonte show that the colour scheme is made up of shades of blue, red, green, yellow and grey, respectively, as well as mostly dark and low saturated colours. The results were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively, and reveal that urban colour highlights and accompanies the inequalities present in the city, such as the relationship between the presence of vegetation integrated into the occupation and the quality of urban life, and the choices of roofs for residential buildings. The development of an experimental methodology made it possible to explore new perspectives – intersectional, environmental and decolonial-, in the field of urban chromatic analysis, addressing previously neglected perspectives, such as the top view. It is important to note that the quantitative data obtained from the images is not highly accurate. To increase accuracy, future research should adopt the most standardised conditions possible for capturing the images. Due to the size of the object of study, the next ideal step would be to test and evaluate the methodology’s performance in a smaller sample that can be analysed in its entirety.
Josef Albers (1888-1976) undoubtedly has outstanding achievements both as an artist and as a colour teacher. Even if these can hardly be separated from each other, it is primarily Albers's didactic work that is to be examined here and put in perspective. This seems to be appropriate especially in the current situation where a new orientation in colour education is increasingly being tackled on an international level - first and foremost by the Colour Literacy Project. With its approach based on perception and experience, the project rightly refers to Josef Albers and his Interaction of Color [1-2]. The work and its creator are widely perceived in a rather glorified way, but we should not lose sight of the fact that Albers also had his predecessors and that his work is by no means as original as it is often portrayed. Furthermore, certain aspects of his conception of colour are considered outdated today. The aim of this article is to show this and thus to give Albers's undeniably unique work its proper place within the framework of a contemporary didactic approach.
Copyright (c) 2023 Journal of the International Colour Association https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Itten’s seven colour contrasts – a review: Part III. The influence of Itten’s contrast theory on colour education
In the first two parts of this article, we described the origins of Itten’s contrast theory, the road leading up to the seven contrasts as described in The Art of Color, and discussed in detail Itten’s seven contrasts, pointing out the fallacies of some of his statements. In this third part we shall present the danger for colour education (students and teachers alike) lying in blindly following his contrast theory without an introduction to the core concepts inherent in the theory.
Itten’s seven colour contrasts – a review: Part II. The seven contrasts as described in Kunst der Farbe (The Art of Color)
In the first part of the article, we describe the origins of Itten’s contrast theory and the road leading up to the seven contrasts as it took its final form in The Art of Color1. In the second part we shall discuss in detail Itten’s seven contrasts. Finally, in the third part, we shall present the problems caused by students and teachers mechanically memorising and then blindly following the colour contrast canon without consideration for the core concepts which underlie it.
Itten’s seven colour contrasts – a review: Part I. Early contrast theories and the road to Itten’s contrast theory
Colour harmony in the context of teaching
This paper addresses the problem of normative aesthetics and how it can play out in the teaching of colour in the creative field of art and design. A brief historical overview of a representative selection of different theories of colour harmony is given, showing clearly how heterogeneous such theories are. Some examples of critical voices and alternative views on the notion of colour harmony are provided, as well as an examination of the concept of colour harmony in the context of modern and contemporary art. The conclusions of this study are that objective and universally applicable criteria of colour harmony do not exist, and that most theories of colour harmony are restrictive and normative and therefore questionable in the field of art and design pedagogy.
The elements of colour II: the attributes of perceived colour
In most educational contexts, colour is presented as having a single set of three attributes or dimensions. Just three attributes suffice to describe colour as long as we consider only a single mode of colour appearance, such as colours perceived as belonging to light-reflecting objects, where the CIE-defined attributes of hue, lightness and chroma are sufficient, as are the three attributes used in the Natural Colour System (NCS), hue, blackness and chromaticness. But other attributes come into play when we consider colours perceived as belonging to light itself, including (1) light perceived to be falling on objects, or (2) light reaching the eye, whether directly from a primary light source, or by specular reflection, diffuse reflection or transmission by objects. More than three attributes are therefore required to fully describe the appearance of illuminated objects, which involves colours in multiple modes of colour appearance. This paper provides a discussion of the main modes of colour appearance followed by illustrated explanations of the six attributes of perceived colour currently defined in the CIE International Lighting Vocabulary, hue, brightness, lightness, colourfulness, chroma and saturation, along with the NCS-defined attribute of blackness and the related attribute of brilliance. Special consideration is given to the distinctions between brightness and lightness, and between colourfulness, saturation and chroma, and to the relevance of these concepts for understanding, describing and depicting the appearance of illuminated objects. Also of special interest is the influence of chromatic intensity on brightness and lightness perception (the Helmholtz-Kohlrausch effect), which I argue is connected with blackness perception, and which must be contended with in order to determine lightness in the Munsell system and CIE L*a*b*. A second issue relating to colour attributes in colour education is that, with some exceptions, hue is usually presented using just a single hue circle or “colour wheel”, very often in a form embodying historical beliefs about three “primary colours”. To address this issue, the section on hue discusses different kinds of simple hue circle that emphasise different relationships among hues and provide alternative hue frameworks.
The elements of colour I: colour perceptions, colour stimuli, and colour measurement
This paper presents an extended consideration of the question of what colours are from a scientific perspective by reviewing the connections between colour perceptions, colour stimuli, and colour measurement. The colour of an isolated light can be understood to be the way in which we perceive the overall balance of its spectral composition relative to that of daylight; “overall” here meaning at the level of its long-, middle- and short-wavelength components, as detected by the human visual system. Our ability to detect variations in this overall balance, first demonstrated by Newton, is now understood to rely on comparison of the responses of three receptor types by the process of cone opponency. The colour perceived as belonging to an object when it is freely examined in daylight, which we tend to think of as the (seemingly) intrinsic colour of the object, can similarly be understood to be the way in which we perceive its overall spectral reflectance, again at the level of its long-, middle- and short-wavelength components, as detected by the human visual system. Colorimetric measures are designed to quantify for practical purposes precisely these human-perceiver-dependent ”overall” properties of spectral distributions and spectral reflectances, by ignoring physical differences that we do not perceive as colour differences. In defining two senses of word colour, “perceived colour” and “psychophysical colour”, the CIE International Lighting Vocabulary in effect expresses a pluralist ontology of colour that acknowledges that we may wish to use the word “colour” either for our perceptions of colour, or for the measurable, human-perceiver-dependent properties that dispose physically different lights or objects to appear the same colour in the same context.
Before colour theory – learning to discriminate, describe, and order colours
From infancy, young children will experience a wide range of colours in their surroundings. The richness of these experiences can be diminished when they are first taught about colour. They are taught colour names, the order of colours in the rainbow, the concept of primary colours, and the association of colours with emotions. In each case the focus is on vivid colours only. This article is focused on an alternative to early colour education which begins with learning how to discriminate and describe colours in all their variety – not just the vivid colours but pale, muted, and dark colours as well. This first step is followed by activities exploring the attributes of colour in two dimensional exercises and then building three-dimensional colour models. All the activities are designed as ‘scaffolded’ steps toward understanding and visualising the relationships of the colours to each other. We argue that a well-developed awareness, combined with a framework for ordering and describing colours, should be in place before the introduction of more formal aspects of colour theory.
Contemporary axioms for colour reproduction
Colour is a complex subject that is inherently multi-disciplinary or trans-disciplinary. This can lead to misunderstandings in the way that the subject is taught. This paper is concerned with common misunderstandings of colour science, in the context of colour reproduction, that are widespread in social media but which can even be found in university-level textbooks. The misunderstandings are represented by four axioms that would need to be true to support the misunderstandings; these are critically evaluated using data (such as colour measurements) where possible or by reference to contemporary theory. None of the four axioms can be supported. Four new axioms are articulated that are supported by empirical evidence. It is suggested that these four axioms could form the basis of teaching material for colour reproduction in a 21st century curriculum.
Rethinking colour in design education through the human and social perspectives
The issues of colour education concerning the lack of consideration of this subject in creative and project disciplines' curricula have been documented by several scholars during the last 30 years. In the case of design, apart from the fact that colour is not taught or is taught very little, one of the main problems is that the few courses that teach this subject are structured almost exclusively based on colour theory and do not consider the application of colour to real and current design problems. One of the consequences of this is a lack of a culture of colour in design; the scarcity of training instances related to it in terms of specialised courses at the university level contributes to the lack of qualified professionals who know how to tackle colour design with the necessary skills. This article proposes to improve the teaching of colour for the design of the 21st century from a different approach: from content-centred education to human-centred learning. Six directions for colour design education are proposed and exemplified by placing the human being and the social perspective –the growing dissemination of ethical and social concerns – at the centre of the focus, a path that the design discipline has taken in recent years.
The Colour Literacy Project: Revitalising colour education foundations
An overview of the Colour Literacy Project’s revitalised colour curricula for elementary through to high school levels is presented. The Colour Literacy Project is working on identifying the basic concepts that are fundamental to learning about colour across all disciplines, in order to develop a foundational curriculum for colour for all students, not just art and design students. We recognise that a multi- and interdisciplinary approach is key for making colour education relevant for the 21st century. Colour is an ideal STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) subject, and also crosses into many other subject areas including social and cultural studies. Our approach is to ‘teach the teachers’. We have designed experiential and inquiry-based prototype exercises and resources for teachers that merge the current science and art standards related to colour. We aim to replace the common misconceptions and misinformation about colour with up to date, peer-reviewed information. Our two foundational series, the ‘Eye-opener’ and the ‘STEAM’ series, each contain a set of introductory exercises that begin with seeing and describing colour with all its attributes, a glossary that builds a unified vocabulary about colour from basic to advanced terminology, and explicit learning outcomes. We have begun beta-testing our prototype exercises aimed at revitalising colour education foundations. This paper discusses our approach and preliminary results of our teacher training sessions from elementary through to high school levels.
Prologue: one artist's journey from traditional colour theory to the Colour Literacy Project
This is an account of my evolution as an artist, colour theorist, and educator, an experience which may serve to inform a new 21st century paradigm for colour education. Here’s how it happened.
Special Issue on Contributions by the Colour Literacy Project Team
Kubelka-Munk model of full-gamut oil colour mixing
Kubelka-Munk theory (K-M) describes the spectral interaction of light with thin permeable media such as paint [1]. It has found widespread use as an accurate model of colour mixing. Usage often involves characterising a set of base paints1 by measuring the concentrations and reflectance spectra of standardised mix samples, deriving absorption and scattering spectra for each base paint, and using these spectra to predict the colour of new mixes. This paper demonstrates an efficient, accurate application of K-M to a limited palette of five Winsor & Newton oil paints applied in an opaque or alla prima2 method, achieving an average error of 1.49 ΔE00 with 33 mixes. A mix sampling technique is proposed such that the mixed colours comprising the K-M dataset are minimal in quantity, and well-distributed throughout the colour gamut accessible with the base paints, or “full-gamut”. K-M concentration is specified by proxy of base paint mass; accounting for the different oil absorptions and mass densities of the base paints was not found to give any improvement. Model generality was confirmed by holdout cross-validation.
Contemporary teaching materials on colour theory in Germany: Eckhard Bendin’s Kreiselscheiben zur Farbenlehre (2010)
A colour teaching material Kreiselscheiben zur Farbenlehre (Rotating discs for understanding the theory of colour), published in 2010 by the German colour scientist Eckhard Bendin (1941-), provides a comprehensive demonstration of the history of special visual phenomena on rotating discs. Also, it newly thematizes the aesthetic value of visual phenomena occurring on rotating discs, which have mostly been regarded as a means of measurement and experimentation. These 18 discs and tasks set by Bendin show us two facts. First, the simple and ordinary hand-spinning top is the only means by which we can continuously experience the process of transformation of phases and phenomena according to the speed of rotation and the elapsed time. Second, as colour is a visual phenomenon, it is not only "to be read" but also "to be done" (Goethe), and in this process, there are still unknown visual phenomena, such as those discovered by Bendin, as well as latent possibilities for new research.
The compass and the map: colour meaning and the colour design process
Colour Theory in the design world generally refers to topics of interest to a designer, such as colour combinations and colour interaction. The first addresses various options for assembling a palette (analogous, complementary, etc.), and the second involves structured observations about both subtle and striking effects that occur when placing colours next to each other, information which is useful to know. However, neither of these explain, in an evidence-based way, how palette choices will affect the recipients of the design. Further complicating matters, colour is frequently taught as a standalone subject, not presented within the context of a design thinking process, so there is little tangible guidance for the designer as to how to apply this knowledge in a project. This is especially true in the field of interior design, which is the primary concern in this paper, but it applies to other design specialties as well. We have been asking designers to map a colour direction for their projects without the benefit of a “compass” to point the way forward, and without this compass, colour interaction and colour relationships become a series of academic exercises rather than useful tools for design. At the core of the issue is Colour Meaning, usually presented as colour associations and symbolism, but which is considerably more complex and dimensional. In recent years, a new paradigm has emerged that offers designers an intuitive and evidence-based approach to navigating colour. This article presents this paradigm as a Colour Compass and illustrates how incorporating these topics into a human-centred design model can facilitate the colour design thought process.
Traditional colour theory in design context: A focus on value
Traditional colour theory, a branch of colour theory that is relevant for architects and design professionals, is characterised by conceptual colour models and constructs which occur in the literature on colour, design education, and professional practice. While the origins of traditional colour theory date back centuries, it is a branch of colour theory that has attracted criticism, which tends to focus on hue-based colour models and constructs, and a lack of correspondence with colour science. Despite this, many constructs that abound in traditional colour theory have come to represent colour strategies commonly used across applied design and design of the built environment. While hue-based constructs and colour strategies are common in traditional colour theory, design education, and design practice, this paper focuses on value-based constructs and related colour strategies for two key reasons. Firstly, to corral information about value-based constructs and colour strategies. Secondly, to highlight the important role that value-based contrasts and colour strategies play in achieving specific aims relating to legibility, differentiation, perceptions about ambience and atmosphere, and environmental visual literacy. Value-based constructs are explored via a survey of traditional colour theories using archival and desk research. Outcomes summarise and discuss the role of value in design praxis.
Teaching colour in art and design: A documented history
The article briefly surveys what has been taught about colour from the mid-sixteenth to the mid-twentieth century, primarily to students of art, design and crafts. Its selection of publications starts with Lomazzo’s manual of 1585 that appraises almost all the skills and guidance that artists of the time needed to know, including the theory of the four humours. After 1704, Newton’s investigations into optics and vision influenced such artists and authors as Le Blon, Hogarth and Harris. Newton’s findings were resisted in Germany and France but important contributions to colour theory and practice were made by Goethe, Runge and others, and by Chevreul in the 1830s. Following publications by Bezold and Rood, the inclusion of basic colour science becomes standard in most educational manuals, such as those published by Prang and Bradley in Massachusetts. Fewer than 100 instructional books on colour were published in the twentieth century; among the most comprehensive earlier examples were those by Weinberg (1918), Sargent (1923) and Guptill (1935). Innovative courses at the Bauhaus later led to the inclusion of basic-design and colour-theory modules in many educational institutions. The article concludes with a proposal of how investigation of colour in relation to form might offer a pathway for the future teaching of colour in the visual arts.
Colour theory: Definition, fields and interrelations
“Colour theory” is a widespread expression, but its meaning remains unclear due to a lack of discussion on its definition, as it is often interchangeable with “text on colour”. In this paper, I will a) propose a definition of colour theory, b) describe three of the main fields where it is used (philosophical, scientific, artistic) and c) discuss how they interact with each other, stressing what they can share but also their own specificity.
The effect of the colour temperature of morning light exposure on wellbeing
This study investigates whether changing the colour temperature of indoor lighting can help improve the health of healthy adults’ emotions in life. Some studies have confirmed the effects of night-time lighting on alertness and sleepiness, but the jury is still out on what parameter range of light is used in the morning to have a lasting effect on mood changes. This study (N=16) investigated the effect of correlated colour temperature (CCT: 2500k, 5000k, 8500k, 18000k, 500lx) on individuals exposed to specific light sources for one hour in the morning. The scores are based on two levels psychological experience and physical performance. PANAS was used to perform mood scores as a psychological level of monitoring. The study found that except for the positive change of emotional PA-P under the condition of 8500k light in the morning, the results of other light parameters showed no noticeable activation effect. It can be seen from the score of PANAS-P that with the increase in colour temperature, PANAS-P has a positive effect. However, it will not improve because of the continuous increase in colour temperature. It will reach a relative peak at around 8500k, but because there is no more detailed classification of lighting parameters, it is impossible to get a precise change interval. Furthermore, a correlation between tympanic temperature and alertness was also found. 2500k light can make people feel sleepy, but there is a slight increase in tympanic temperature. This contradicts the claim that body temperature decreases during sleep. The guess might be that the body is not completely dormant, so the visually warm low colour temperature may affect the body. The data results for both PA-P and PA-N were less positive for participants at 2500k. In addition, at the level of physical changes, although the 8500k lighting parameters have a relatively positive impact on mood, the changes in tympanic temperature are not as stable as those under the other three sets of lighting parameters. A strong correlation was also found between tympanic temperature and KSS score under the four different light parameters, confirming that core body temperature and sleepiness level interacted with each other. Therefore, it is questionable whether universal lighting solutions are suitable for the use of lower CCT in daily life.
Copyright (c) 2022 Journal of the International Colour Association https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0