color & light “The color of the object illuminated partakes of the color of that which illuminates it.”

–Leonardo da Vinci

Scientists have determined that the color of an object is determined by the light rays it absorbs. “Because objects do not absorb the same quantity of light at each wavelength, different colors are produced” (Halse, 1978, p. 1).

Halse (1978) also states, “since color may be thought of as reflected light, the kind of light that falls upon an object will affect the object’s apparent color” (p. 2).

Color is usually described as having three properties: hue, value, and chroma•hue is the term most often used to describe a color, e.g. red, green, blue, yellow, and refers to its dominant wavelength

•value is the brightness or degree of white or black in a hue.

•chroma, or saturation, is the purity of a color, or the extent of its departure from gray

developed by Albert H. Munsell in 1905 and revised in 1943

In the field of interior design, the relationship between light and color is essential to consider.

why?

A1 A2 A3 A4 A5

Imagine you are waiting in a room painted one of these colors.

Please rate your preference for each color on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the most preferred and 5 being the least preferred.

B3B1 B5B4B2

Imagine you are waiting in a room painted one of these colors.

Please rate your preference for each color on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the most preferred and 5 being the least preferred.

C3C1 C5C4C2

Imagine you are waiting in a room painted one of these colors.

Please rate your preference for each color on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the most preferred and 5 being the least preferred.

D3D1 D5D4D2

Imagine you are waiting in a room painted one of these colors.

Please rate your preference for each color on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the most preferred and 5 being the least preferred.

E3E1 E5E4E2

Imagine you are waiting in a room painted one of these colors.

Please rate your preference for each color on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the most preferred and 5 being the least preferred.

which do you prefer?

•halogen lighting •indoors under a skylight •outdoors on a cloudy day•outdoors on a sunny day •indoors with incandescent lighting

most preferred colors were under the light of outdoors on a sunny day least preferred colors were under the light of outdoors on a cloudy day

--Bunker-Hermance, (2007)

As an interior designer it is necessary to be aware of the light in which a color is to be used and viewed. •daylight

•different in the morning, at midday, and in the afternoon•also depends on the location in the world and the time of year

•electric light•flame

As an interior designer it is necessary to be aware of the light in which a color is to be used and viewed. •daylight•electric light

•variety of lamps will have different characteristics of color appearance

•incandescent—filament, warmer than daylight•fluorescent—gas in a tube, cooler than daylight•halogen—filament in a inert gas tube, intense light

•flame

As an interior designer it is necessary to be aware of the light in which a color is to be used and viewed. •daylight•electric light•flame

•used as an occasional accent to provide drama or create mood, warmer than daylight

solution?

A combination of incandescent and fluorescent may be an appropriate solution, as well as the use of dimmers, lenses, and filters to change the intensity and/or direction of the light.

Interior designers are often asked to create a space that makes the inhabitants more comfortable, or gives a feeling of pleasantness.

Because people view color as being so consistently connected with these aspects, it is important to consider the effects of light on color when designing a space.