Colors that soothes the eye
November 10, 2015 3:20 PM Subscribe
Are there any existing research surrounding the impact of colors on eye strain and mood?
Articles, journals, or books would be helpful.
With gratitude as always!
Articles, journals, or books would be helpful.
With gratitude as always!
I can't point you to any specific research but I do know the US navy funded research by Canadian psychophysicists into eyestrain and colour of sonar displays in the late eighties (I was a party pants (the typo every psych major knows by heart) in one of their studies ).
posted by srboisvert at 4:01 PM on November 10, 2015
posted by srboisvert at 4:01 PM on November 10, 2015
Pure primary colors are dark, even yellow, because they only reflect the color. For indoors it is good if the light reflecting wall, across from windows, is white, or a high tint of a color you like to maximise natural light. It is also good if ceilings are also light. It costs a lot more to light a darkly painted room, and that can cause eyestrain being in the dark. Being indoors without natural light all the time is depressing and hard on vitamin D levels. The shadow wall, around the windows is a good wall for strong color accents. Color, what keeps you happy is personal and tagged to memory and psyche. Some people want cool hues or cool hues are good in hot climates for a sense of escape. Some people especially in way northern climates want warm colors, brilliant variety of colors because the landscape of long winter is largely blue and white.
posted by Oyéah at 4:05 PM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 4:05 PM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Faber Birren was the guy behind a lot of institutionalized color schemes.
posted by StickyCarpet at 4:15 PM on November 10, 2015
posted by StickyCarpet at 4:15 PM on November 10, 2015
A few citations, I don't know how reliable some of these journals are (and they aren't properly formatted, sorry!):
Valdez, P., & Mehrabian, A. (1994). Effects of color on emotions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 123(4), 394.
Marilyn A. Read, Alan I. Sugawara, and Jeanette A. Brandt. Impact of Space and Color in the Physical Environment on Preschool Children’s Cooperative Behavior. Environment and Behavior May 1999 31: 413-428, doi:10.1177/00139169921972173
K. Dijkstra, M.E. Pieterse, A.Th.H. Pruyn. Individual differences in reactions towards color in simulated healthcare environments: The role of stimulus screening ability. Journal of Environmental Psychology. Volume 28, Issue 3, September 2008, Pages 268–277. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2008.02.007
The emotional connotations of color: A qualitative investigation. Color Research & Application. Volume 33, Issue 5, pages 406–410, October 2008
A review of experiments testing physiological metrics with respect to color response (old):
Physiological response to color: A critical review. Color Research & Application. Volume 9, Issue 1, pages 29–36, Spring 1984
"This report is the fourth in a series from a large scale study that examines the effects of three office color interiors (white, predominately red, and predominately blue-green) on worker productivity."
Work week productivity, visual complexity, and individual environmental sensitivity in three offices of different color interiors. Color Research & Application. Volume 32, Issue 2, pages 130–143, April 2007
The effects of color and light on indoor wayfinding and the evaluation of the perceived environment. Journal of Environmental Psychology. Volume 32, Issue 1, March 2012, Pages 50–58
Seeing red: Affect modulation and chromatic color responses on the Rorschach. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic. Winter 2013, Vol. 77 Issue 1, p 70-93.
posted by ArgyleGargoyle at 4:36 PM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Valdez, P., & Mehrabian, A. (1994). Effects of color on emotions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 123(4), 394.
Marilyn A. Read, Alan I. Sugawara, and Jeanette A. Brandt. Impact of Space and Color in the Physical Environment on Preschool Children’s Cooperative Behavior. Environment and Behavior May 1999 31: 413-428, doi:10.1177/00139169921972173
K. Dijkstra, M.E. Pieterse, A.Th.H. Pruyn. Individual differences in reactions towards color in simulated healthcare environments: The role of stimulus screening ability. Journal of Environmental Psychology. Volume 28, Issue 3, September 2008, Pages 268–277. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2008.02.007
The emotional connotations of color: A qualitative investigation. Color Research & Application. Volume 33, Issue 5, pages 406–410, October 2008
A review of experiments testing physiological metrics with respect to color response (old):
Physiological response to color: A critical review. Color Research & Application. Volume 9, Issue 1, pages 29–36, Spring 1984
"This report is the fourth in a series from a large scale study that examines the effects of three office color interiors (white, predominately red, and predominately blue-green) on worker productivity."
Work week productivity, visual complexity, and individual environmental sensitivity in three offices of different color interiors. Color Research & Application. Volume 32, Issue 2, pages 130–143, April 2007
The effects of color and light on indoor wayfinding and the evaluation of the perceived environment. Journal of Environmental Psychology. Volume 32, Issue 1, March 2012, Pages 50–58
Seeing red: Affect modulation and chromatic color responses on the Rorschach. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic. Winter 2013, Vol. 77 Issue 1, p 70-93.
posted by ArgyleGargoyle at 4:36 PM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Mary Roach's "Stiff" described the pastel purple plastic table coverings in the Med school cadaver room as being a research-based color selection for calming/soothing mood.
posted by childofTethys at 5:02 PM on November 10, 2015
posted by childofTethys at 5:02 PM on November 10, 2015
Google Feng Shui Colors for mood.
I suffer from eye strain and I have painted every room in my house a medium color, so that I have something solid to rest my eyes on. Shiny walls and white walls are my enemy.
posted by myselfasme at 5:32 PM on November 10, 2015
I suffer from eye strain and I have painted every room in my house a medium color, so that I have something solid to rest my eyes on. Shiny walls and white walls are my enemy.
posted by myselfasme at 5:32 PM on November 10, 2015
The history of Baker Miller Pink (another link here), which has been most famously used in jails to reduce aggression amongst inmates, might be of interest to you, although I personally don't find it all that soothing!
posted by gemutlichkeit at 6:04 PM on November 10, 2015
posted by gemutlichkeit at 6:04 PM on November 10, 2015
Anecdotally, I have heard that because institutional buildings were traditionally whitewashed at a time when homes were papered with patterns people associated being in a whitewashed room with the stresses of being in an institution.
As a result, some kindly administrators came up with the idea of painting hospitals and schools in light neutral colours such as a pale green with a little grey in it, or a pale peach. This was done in the early part of the previous century, and was received so positively that it spread to orphanages and hospitals all over the continent.
Some ten years later of course people so thoroughly associated institutional green and surgical gown blue with institutions, so that having to spend time in rooms painted those colours made them stressed. There is even a colour described as depression green, although the name comes from its ubiquitous use during the thirties, not its resulting effect on people's moods.
In the late seventies and eighties the neutral colour found in offices and institutions and hotels was beige. I find that colour deeply depressing. It is the perfect colour to disguise dingyness with the result that it looks grubby even when brand new. This association delineates my demographic.
Sorry, no studies to cite this, but apparently there were studies at those times which pre-dates the internet.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:07 AM on November 11, 2015
As a result, some kindly administrators came up with the idea of painting hospitals and schools in light neutral colours such as a pale green with a little grey in it, or a pale peach. This was done in the early part of the previous century, and was received so positively that it spread to orphanages and hospitals all over the continent.
Some ten years later of course people so thoroughly associated institutional green and surgical gown blue with institutions, so that having to spend time in rooms painted those colours made them stressed. There is even a colour described as depression green, although the name comes from its ubiquitous use during the thirties, not its resulting effect on people's moods.
In the late seventies and eighties the neutral colour found in offices and institutions and hotels was beige. I find that colour deeply depressing. It is the perfect colour to disguise dingyness with the result that it looks grubby even when brand new. This association delineates my demographic.
Sorry, no studies to cite this, but apparently there were studies at those times which pre-dates the internet.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:07 AM on November 11, 2015
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Very US specific I recall. I think the most recent results from this work is "The Environmental Psychology of Prisons and Jails: Creating Humane Spaces in Secure Settings", Richard E. Wener. (0521452767, 9780521452762)
A part of the work was filming violent offenders in different coloured rooms.
posted by clvrmnky at 3:48 PM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]