Research Description:

Lamps and Their Effect on Color Perception

I am conducting an investigation into how people perceive color under two different lighting conditions. The purpose is to determine if different types of light sources cause change in color perception. I am reviewing the existing literature on color, perception, and light in order to compare it to my findings.

I am working with the six colors of the color wheel: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. A white 1’ cube simulates an enclosed environment with an aperture to allow viewing into the cube. Alternating light sources shine from an aperture above the viewing level. Each color is applied to the cube’s interior vertical face seen when looking straight into the cube. Participants view the colors under both incandescent lighting and the new “true light”. After viewing each color, they are asked to choose the closest match to the color in the box from eight color chips of varying shades and values of the same hue. One of the samples is the exact color viewed inside the cube. Choosing the exact match indicates that the light source does not alter that color. The choice of a different color shows that the light source tends to change the perception of that color.

A preliminary analysis suggests that green, blue, and violet tend to change under both lamps. Red and orange are being perceived under both lights as mostly true to the original color. Yellow is causing more difficulty to the participants. Although the samples presented are significantly different, all yellows seem to look the same to the participants.

Participants include men and women in a broad age range, some working within the design field. The research results will allow designers of any field a better understanding of how colors may change when actually applied to an environment.