Colour Psychology for Built Spaces

Influence of Light on Colour Perception in Built Spaces

Pragna Prasad (04864350) Jarrod Armor, GLA 612 – Research and Writing Capstone December 10th 2020

Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………02

Literature review………………………………………………….03

Observation report……………………………………………….28

Interview process………………………………………………….32

Next steps…………………………………………………………….37

Reflection………………………………………………………….….38

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Introduction Research, documentation and writing are such important and invaluable processes for designers. It is an extremely underrated process for the formulation of a holistic design solution.

According to ‘The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS), a survey shows that in today’s age and time, people spend almost about 90% of their time indoors. This makes the built space environments an important factor for the health and well-being of the people. As an interior architect, designing built spaces that resonate with users aesthetically and render a positive atmosphere on a physiological and psychological levels is a challenge. The interior architecture design is the harmonious symphony of the colours, textures, patterns and materials of the floor, wall, ceiling, fenestrations, furniture, furnishings and the décor. For any user to experience this symphony, lighting is imperative. Every element of a built space experience is a response to the lighting available at that moment in there.

Colour, an integral element of design, is the perception of the interaction of the light with the surfaces of the built spaces. According to environmental psychology, colours in a space influence the mood of the users and trigger different emotion. Taking this finding and trying to apply it in the design process (Evidence Based Design) led me to research further on how colours are perceived in built spaces and how lighting influences in perceiving it.

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Literature reviews 1. The physics Hyper textbook - Colour https://physics.info/color/ This reading source, a website is dedicated to physics and its laws and concepts. The information gathered from here were some factual proven information from the discoveries of several people over the years.

Colour is not an intrinsic property of any object but the function of the human vision system. No objects have a colour but the perception of colour is the mere reflection of a particular wavelength of light from the objects surface that corresponds to a colour. Though this wavelength light is an objective reality, the perception of colour is a totally dependent on the eye of the beholder. The physics part of the light and colour ends when the light radiation leaves the surface of an object and from there begins the biology and physiology. The light radiation is received by the human eyes from the iris and processed at the retina with the help of many optic cells – rods and cones. Rods are present in millions and help identify light, shadow, shade and no light or darkness condition. It is the cones which have the property of deciphering the wavelength of light and help decoding the colour. This decoding information is further processed in the brain and the after effect is the colour image of an object that we view. “A given wave of light has the same frequency no matter who is viewing it, but the person perceiving the color will call it a word appropriate to their culture”; this suggests that the processing of the information from the rods and cones in the brain involves some psychology and neurocognition from memory as well. Talking about wavelength, the light we see from the sun or the spectrum has a 3

combination of radiation, but the human eye recognizes a wavelength from 400nm to 700nm.

Lower the wavelength higher the energy of the radiation. On the low wavelength zone lies the dull red and dull violet at the higher end of the visible spectrum. Beyond these on either ends of the spectrum is just dark for us.

The cones are very powerful cells and help humans recognize around 7-10 million colours. There are three kinds of cones represented by the capital letters L (long wavelength or red cells), M (medium wavelength or green cells) and S (short or blue cells). When you see the spectrum, though the colours red, green and blue are almost equally spaced, the sensitivity of these cells is not the same. The peak sensitivities are:

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• 580 nm for red (L) • 540 nm for green (M) • 440 nm for blue (S)

Red and green cones have a response rate to nearly all visible wavelengths, while blue cones are insensitive to wavelengths longer than 550 nm. The total response of all three cones together peaks at 560 nm — somewhere between yellow and green in the spectrum which means that yellow and green colours are easily visible to all. short.

There are two colour mixing methods – subtractive colour mixing and additive colour mixing.

Additive colours are based on the wavelengths of the light and how the eye perceives it.

When there is no light, it is seen as darkness or black. Availability of light is perceived as colours.

When all the colours are seen together we perceive white light – hence additive. The primary colours for additive mixing are blue, red and green. The colour mixing is as follows:

The complimentary colors are halfway between the primaries — yellow, cyan, and magenta.

White is at the origin. The distance from the origin to any point on the color wheel is the saturation. White is completely desaturated. Colors with low saturation are often identified as

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pale or pastel. Colors with a high saturation are bright or vibrant. Colors with 100% saturation are said to be pure. When no light falls on retina it is black and when more than one light source falls on it, it perceives the resultant as a combination of the light sources based on the additive colour mixing.

Coming to subtractive mixing, the author gives an example of a sheet of paper under white light, it is perceived as white since there is no pigment there. When there is a pigment added on to it, the pigment absorbs the wavelengths and reflects the remaining which is perceived as colour. When white light is incident on a sheet of paper with red print, it just means that the rest of the wavelengths are absorbed and red is reflected off.

Apart from these, the colours that artists use follows the subtractive colour mixing but with different set of colours the primary red, blue and yellow. The colour range is limited compared to the red, blue and green. The resultant mixing of the primaries gives a brown and not black.

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This helped understand how colours are perceived on a basic level and the interaction of light and colours are different due to the inherent pigments and properties.

2. The Science of Visible Light and Its Impact on Paint Specification https://continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com/courses/benjamin-moore/the-science-of-visiblelight-and-its-impact-on-paint-specification/5/ This source is an online continuing education academic coursework by Benjamin Moore a paint company. This part of the course is written by Juliet Grable an independent writer who is focused on building science, resilient design, and environmental sustainability. This reading has a more professional practical suggestions and knowledge about choosing paints for interior spaces and how the colour perception is influenced by different natural light and artificial light. This is an excellent way for me to understand how to apply and implement the information in actual projects.

The author begins the course work with an introduction to the basic of light and colour. She starts stating the obvious– “without light, there would be no color.” and goes on to say the less obvious is the impact certain types of light have on how we perceive colours. Another statement 7

worth hanging on to is “The colors that we perceive are determined in part by the quality and quantity of the light that illuminates them, whether it be natural, artificial, or a combination of both.” She talks about the different wavelengths in the light beam and the concepts of additive and subtractive mixing. She had a fact to mention that the warmer colours are easier to see in dim light than cooler colours which tend to disappear. She does not forget to touch upon the physiological response of humans to light and how colours are perceived.

Moving further into the relevance of the properties of light for interior designers, she explains a few terms and concept that are unique to artificial lighting.

CCT – correlated colour temperature: This is the measure of the colour temperature of the light when compared to a hot black body. It is measured in kelvins. Here she mentions how the perceived warm lighting and cool lighting is not actual temperatures of the light but the opposite - ‘The higher the temperature, the bluer or “cooler” the light; conversely, the lower the temperature, the “warmer” the light. Note that coolness and warmth are subjective terms that describe how we experience light. This can be confusing, as warmer light has a lower CCT than cooler light.” The market today has most artificial lighting ranging from 2500K – 5000K, another helpful fact for an aspiring designer. She also mentions the dynamic light quality of natural light.

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CRI- Colour rendering index: ability of an artificial light to render colours correctly when compared to the natural light. it ranges from 0-100 where 100 is the best quality. Lower the CRI higher the chances that colours will look unnatural under that light. she also explains how this number has many disadvantages and two light source of the same CRI with varying undertones of colours will impact different colour perception.

She concentrates her writing on the impact artificial lighting has on the interior colour perception. It is obvious that buildings are always a combination of different kinds of artificial lighting and sometimes with the supplement of daylight. Hence as designers it is an intuitive decision for choosing colours and lighting accordingly having analyzed the buildings orientation, function, use, the CRI and CCT of the lamps and the design intent. Talking about the different types of artificial lights in the industry, incandescent gives a warm light rendering warmer colours better; fluorescent lamps, functioning on the phenomenon of fluorescence, gives a cool look rendering blues and greens better while warm colours seem muted; halogen lamps are the ones closest to the daylight rendering. The new LED’s are a combination of monochromatic lights to render a particular CCT and the CRI, but again colours look different based on the proportion of the RGB used in them. Pastel colours are rendered pale under LED lighting. It is the most efficient one in the market in terms of energy, CRI, controllability and durability. An advantage that has made it popular is that even in lower illumination the CRI is unaltered.

Talking about natural light, she speaks of the dynamic everchanging colour temperature, illuminance and quality of the daylight. She recommends a few colour choices based on the lighting colour –

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North-facing, diffused light and cool. Hence, strong colors show well in these rooms, while lighter colors tend to look subdued.

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South-facing, receives the most light through the day. A range of colors, whether cool or warm are rendered well.

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East-facing, the light changes the most. They benefit from warm morning light, but colors cool of as the sun moves higher. Hence warm colors work well for these spaces.

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West- facing, the light changes the most again. These spaces enjoy warm late afternoon and evening light, but colors may appear dull earlier in the day. Hence, warm colors work well for these spaces.

Going further, she talks about the paints and the effects they have on how colours are rendered.

The factors that are to be considered are – •

The formulation of the paint from the manufacturer – since the CCT of light can alter the undertones of pigments, the components and density will render differently under different lighting conditions.

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Light reflectance value (LRV) – Ceiling is recommended to have the highest LRV value since it is the most important light-reflecting surface at 80. Reflectance values should be at least 50 percent for walls and at a minimum of 20 percent for floors. use. Dark colors absorb more light hence require more artificial light to light them. Lighter colors reflect more light back into the room contributing to better daylighting and lesser artificial light

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sources. Yellow family can achieve LRVs of up to 80–90 percent. and grow exponentially more intense the more area it is painted on.

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The paint sheen: it is the quality of the paint, not just the finish but the colour rendering as well. On glossy surfaces, light exhibits specular reflection, producing highlights and can make colors appear lighter. On darker glossy surfaces, the strong highlights create a strong contrast on the rest of surface rendering an overall uncomfortable darker surface.

Matte finish renders a diffused reflection with least variation but boring surfaces.

Lastly, she talks about metamerism a concept where two colours can appear same under one lighting while appear different under a different lighting. This is mainly because of the complex additive mixing of lights and the subtractive mixing of the pigments in the materials. This cannot be understood rationally but is extremely dependent on the context of the object, building, surrounding and the users. Metameric matches, or pairs, are quite common in near neutrals, grays, gray-blues, gray-greens, and mauve, and the having surprisingly dramatic differences.

Hence, she suggests as working professionals, all samples need to made of the same sheen and placed in the room that it is intended to be used to understand the condition of the space and lighting.

3. Video - Light Fantastic: The Science of Colour Vukusic, Pete, Speaker. Light Fantastic: The Science of Colour. YouTube, uploaded by Institute of Physics, Jan 19th 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWhGmwUojBE. In the video recording of one of his lectures (2007), Pete Vukusic a Professor from the School of Physics at Exeter University, talks about light as an element of the three sciences - Physics, 11

Chemistry and Biology. He explains how the three sciences are involved in seeing colours. The process of perceiving colour, is the physics of light interaction with objects, the biology of the anatomy and physiology of the human eye and the chemistry of the pigments. He mentions fluorescence, a phenomenon where the pigments present in objects absorb the ultraviolet light, change colours and re-emit them as different radiation which we perceive as colours. Another concept that he mentions is interference of light. This is a property of light when it interacts with small structures; the thickness, distance between the structures causes a change in the energy of the light radiation which results in a new energy radiation or a new colour. This phenomenon can actually make objects look differently when seen from different angles and is commonly called iridescent colours. This is seen in butterflies and other creatures. They don’t have any pigments in them but just the arrangement of microscopic structures on the surface produce different colours.

Fluorescent colours, seen in many objects manufactured as glow in the dark uses the phenomenon of fluorescence and it is possible that some which aren’t marketed so will exhibit this phenomenon. When specifying interior items, it becomes critical to consider the materials behaviour. The iridescent colour phenomenon could be seen in minute was while using textures finishes and surfaces and natural material objects that have. It can also be implemented as a biomimicry design strategy to intentionally create variation of colours in a space. While explaining the connection of the biological aspect of perceiving colours, he describes the biological adaptation of the pupil to the brightness of the light in the environment. To protect the retina from damage, when the light is bright, the pupil’s aperture becomes small to allow

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less light and vice versa under low light. this means changing intensity of light can cause disturbance to vision and requires a lag time to respond to the new light condition.

This video gave me an understanding of how the perception of colour is beyond just the physics of light. Chemical composition of pigments and the physiology of an individual’s eye impacts how they perceive colour. Nature has an interesting way of producing light with no pigments but an organized arrangement of structures at a nano level, like a butterfly. This wonderful phenomenon can be adopted – biomimicry; to generate colours without pigments in spaces and can be an everchanging design element. This also means based on how a product is structured light may be manipulated in the layers of its textures and produce varying effects from different angles.

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4. Video - Color in Context: Revisiting Albers Faruqee, Anoka. Color in Context: Revisiting Albers. Uploaded by YaleUniversity, Oct 29, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YpZX0Xj9-Y A very interesting talk by Anoka Faruqee, a Professor of Painting/Printmaking at Yale University, giving her perspective of the bible of colour perception “Interaction of Colors” by Joseph Albers at the Yale Presidential Inauguration Symposia. She talks about how she could actually theorize her observations of colour interaction after reading the literature of one the great professors and color theorist.

This video had a similar effect the book had on Anoka. I could connect the dots I had plotted over the years about colours. “Albers let students experience colour first before he taught them the rules of colour” – this statement made me realize that colours are not the objective elements of an environment, but a sensory experience of the whole. She also says that Albers let his students see colours before he taught them pigment mixing. This statement helped me assimilate a few principles of environmental psychology; every individual is influenced by the colours in a space based on the extent to which they cognize the colours consciously backed by their connection to it sub-consciously. His theory of Factual Colours and Actual colours backs the psychological effect colours have in built environments. In everyday life, no colour is seen in isolation but in a context of other elements and colours. Hence relying on colour theories is a redundant process for colour design, especially in interior built spaces given that there is a factor of change with the elements in the space, users, lighting and function of the space.

Actual Colour

Factual Colour

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This is perceived colour in an integration.

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This is the colour seen in isolation.

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These are perceived in a context & referenced

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These are named, coded and seen in

to psychological connections and emotions.

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catalogues.

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These are fluid colours used on a trial and error and seen in practice.

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This is theory based colours and follow fixed rules.

Again, these are contingent in a context used by designers, artists, etc.

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These are absolute colours and only thought of.

Talking about this philosophy of teaching, Albers advocated that the function of colour is in the experience of the colour, which means as a designer for me to understand the interaction of influence of colour an observational study and documentation of different scenarios will equip me with more knowledge of how to use colours rather than depending on the research and studies made.

He said “colours cannot be seen independently”, which means a colour is always seen relation to its surrounding. Based on that statement, the colour interaction teachings of his that caught my attention was ‘Simultaneous contrast’ – a concept when two colours are placed side by side, one color can change how the other is perceived with respect to its the tone and hue of another. The actual colors don't change, but how we see them gets altered. The colours stretch towards their complimentary colours appearing as completely different colour.

Examples:

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1. One colour look like two Colours in context: The squares are the same colour, the eye adds the complimentary colour blue to the orange and alters it. The square against orange background looks paler and brownish while against the blue background it looks brighter.

This can be a useful tool while placing objects in the foreground against a coloured background to understand the colour shift that may be possible due to the interaction of the colours of objects with the background.

2. Two colours look like one The squares are different colours, but the stretching of the colours towards the other colours creates an illusion of appearing the same.

Colour subtraction theory: Comparing the squares against the opposite background, make the colours appear more saturated. This shows how a higher saturated object pulls saturation from a low saturated one making the less saturated one lesser saturated.

This can be used while arranging décor and furnishings against a background where the apparent colour of the object will be relative to the background colour saturation.

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Another phenomenon, seeing a colour for a lengthy amount of time results in a psychophysiological reaction where the eye gets tired and begins an “after image” with the contrasting colours of the former one. This generates new colours being perceived. This phenomenon is a major contribution for colour deception. This principle can be used in interior spaces; using large areas of a single colour in the field of vision can cause eye strain and change the effect of the intended colour on the user.

All the above colour interaction concepts were irrespective of the light quality under which all of these are experienced. Albers briefly has spoken about the optical instability of colours under different lighting conditions. He states that harsh lighting can make the contrast appear stronger while low light diminishes the contrasts. This can be a pointer while placing coloured surfaces or objects based on the lighting conditions of the space.

Further in the video, Prof. Anoka talks about her experiences of colour interaction through her works. A valuable information was that farther the surface the optical mixing is stronger and apparent colours are higher. The closer you are to it the factual colours are clearer.

The final take-away from this source of information - actual colours are considered as apparent and illusions, but it those actual colours are the ones we perceive and live with in reality. Hence every experience by every individual is different and understanding this experience is only through trial and errors in practice.

5. Learning the Dynamic Processes of Colour and Light in Interior Design Poldma, Tiiu. “Learning the Dynamic Processes of Colour and Light in Interior Design “, University de Montreal. Journal of Interior Design. 2009 17

This literature is a research paper proposing the need for a new syllabus for ‘colour and light theory’ classes for interior architecture students. The proposal is for a syllabus that supports the theories with activities and projects that give students a real time understanding of the complex interrelation of light, colour, forms and shapes. She advocates a reformed teaching model since the traditional theories are being challenged with complex and dynamic advancements in the lighting solutions and consequently the way in which people experience their immediate surroundings. She states – “Light and colour are ephemeral aspects of designing interior environments. They mediate space and add life and texture to the spaces we inhabit.”

This translates that these are subjected to be temporary not in operation as well as in design process. She has made many statements about teaching models in design schools, the design process followed by students and professional and some experiences of light and colour in spaces.

According to her, light and colour are integral elements of design which is required to be considered early in the design process. This is because they work with the form to create the spatial effect of an interior space and set the vibe for the function of the space. This final vibe of a space is the effect of the subjective and dynamic character of light and colour and their interaction with one another. There is an emphasis made that colour and light interaction in a space can be understood only by practical experience and not by just applying the theories. She argues in this paper that as students we are generally taught color theories with respect to colour mixing and colour wheel in separation to lighting solutions in a different class. This deters the opportunity to integrate the two dynamic elements in the design process in contrast an interior space is experiences by moving through it and perpetually absorbing it as a whole. She 18

suggests that as designer it is important to study light and colour as collective element of design and the theories must be applied in reality to understand the perceptive quality of the two under the inevitable changing conditions of built environments.

Coming to human aspect of colour and light interrelationship in built spaces, she adds in an element of ambiguity by saying that the ‘human response’ element is unpredictable. Users first react to the lighting and then the colour effects because of the lighting. This experience changes as the temperature of the light changes. “People experience light and colour as a series of multiple, complex, interrelated concepts and spaces and these experiences are subjective.”

The phenomenological study of colour and light in interior spaces according to the Merlau-Ponty (Phenomenology of perception) we respond to the form, light-colour0form in a space simultaneously in real time and react to it physiologically as well as psychologically immediately.

Upon reaction we accept the active interior environment which will have several visual cues of colour, material and light which are in constant interaction with each other and against each other. Varland (The color room) suggests the colour when seen in this interplay will be less noticed and users adjust themselves to the constant changing perceptions. And this experience cannot be assumed as same when encountering it individually and as a group of people. This factor of individual v/s a group changes the whole dynamics of the space experience. Hence, she suggests as designers we have make intuitive decisions and for that we need to factor in the subjective nature of human response in the learning experience. Our colour design decisions should be one that incorporates the dynamic nature of light and colour not with just the surrounding (interaction of colours) but the changing conditions and spectral quality of light (daylight), the reflectance quality of surfaces (not just the walls, floor and ceiling), active 19

movement of people and equipment. Quoting Miller (color for interior architecture) there is a mention of the intersection of users and light & colour in a space; the physical form of a space modulates the way in which a light source throws in light, the surface quality alters the reflected light from the objects and the final perception is the additive and subtractive interrelationships of all the interior elements including the materials, people and accessories.

Talking about artificial light, nowadays, the atmosphere of an interior space is altered by the use of LED lights that can change colours, luminosity and brightness at a touch of a finger making interior environments more dynamic and controllable. “Colour becomes light and light becomes colour.” - given the flexibility of LED lighting the interiors can be rendered colourless and coloured lights can play the role of colour in interior. They can also be interactive and integrated with activities taking place. She gives an example of a bar where the bar counter lighting colour changes depending on whether the glass in full or empty. These dramatic changes trigger emotional and physiological responses that influence the choices users make in built environments. This environmental psychology pointer can be applied to retail and commercial spaces for better business strategy using design. She also mentions how the lighting equipment and fixtures are so malleable that they can be integrated in the design and not seen as a separate design element like pendant lights. If the intended interior is required to be plain and hassle free visually, such design integrations will be a useful solution.

The final consolidated take away is that the complex interrelation of colour and light and its interplay in a complex dynamic environment has an influence on the human and trigger responses that are subjective especially in todays advanced lighting solutions and control abilities. The only way to get around that would be to approach the design process in an 20

integrated holistic way applying the intuitive abilities over the rational one being compassionate the human responses to the changing perceptive environments.

6. Effects of Light, Illuminance and colour on Subjective Impression rankings Hegde L, Asha. Rogers, Jesse McCoy. “Effects of Light, Illuminance and colour on Subjective Impression rankings”, Texas State University. Design Principles and Practices: Annual Review, Volume 6, 2013. Common Ground Publishing This is an experiment conducted to evaluate the impression of incandescent lighting vs fluorescent lighting among undergraduate students. They evaluated it with specific feelings of liking/disliking, pleasant/unpleasant, beautiful/ugly and satisfying/frustrating. They chose four saturated colours – blue, yellow green and red and asked the subjects to evaluate the appearance of these colours under four lighting conditions – 2 illumination levels (200 lux and 700 lux) under fluorescent and incandescent lighting conditions.

This experiment was conducted on the basis that users gathered information of interior environments and its elements based on their perception of light and colour. They formulated hypothesis for this experiment based on prior findings from studies done in 80’s and early 90’s and conducted the experiment to compare and validate the impression in current age and time.

The hypotheses were: 1. Subjects have a color preference and evaluation will be based on that.

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2. Based on the light source, the apparent colour perceived due to interaction of light colour and object colour will be evaluated.

3. The evaluation for the preference of a colour will based on the illumination levels of the light in the space.

The experiment was conducted with a chart for the users to evaluate. They chose the commonly used light sources – incandescent light and fluorescent lamp SP30. Both have the same colour temperature of 300K with a Colour rendering index of 100 and 70 respectively. Two illumination levels of 200lux and 700 lux was chosen. The sample colour pallets were placed on a vertical plane about 5 feet away from the observer in a room with 10 feet ceiling height ang neutral gray wall, ceiling and floor surfaces. A dimmer was used to change the illumination levels. During the process for adaptive correction, subjects were given a break of 5 min to adapt to the new lighting conditions before evaluating the next sample.

The results of the experiment are as follows: As for the colour preference levels green was perceived as the most positive colour followed by blue, red and yellow. Yellow was marked as the most frustrating and unpleasant followed by red than blue and green palettes. Green was perceived as most liked and beautiful followed by blue, red and yellow.

As for the interaction effects of light, under fluorescent lighting, blue was perceived as the most liked, pleasant, beautiful and satisfying. Under incandescent light, red was evaluated as the most satisfying, beautiful, pleasant and liked. Green and yellow were not perceived nay different under fluorescent and incandescent lighting conditions.

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As for the effect of light illumination on the appearance of colours, red was perceived on a positive note under incandescent for both illumination levels. Blue was perceived most positive under low fluorescent compared to high levels where as under incandescent based on the illumination levels there was not much difference. Green was seen as most positive under low illumination levels of incandescent light while under high illumination levels for both light conditions there was no difference in the liking. Yellow was perceived as positive in the low illumination fluorescent lighting while it remained as the least liked colour.

Based on these results it would be beneficial to know that the colours appear to be more likeable under the lighting of the same wavelengths. The same can be applied for the daylighting. The predominant sunlight colour coming into a space should be considered before the color design process has been formulated. Based on the activity and the colour and illumination of the light required for the activity, the colour design for the space must be carried on. Though colour psychology says yellow is a happy and cheerful colour, it seems to be the least preferred colour and this can be a good pointer to not use solid yellow elements in interiors.

7. Daylight: What makes the difference?

Knoop, M. “Daylight: What makes the difference?”, Lighting Res. Technol, 2020. Society for light and lighting, Berlin.

This is a literature stating the basic differences between daylight and artificial light, and why the former is advantageous over the latter. The reading explains that daylight is the combination of the sunlight the direct sun radiation as well as the skylight the diffused solar radiation. Daylight is dynamic and changes every hour, day, year and weather and shows differences in its intensity, 23

colour, illumination, diffusiveness and direction. The science of bringing in this daylight into indoor spaces through fenestrations on the horizontal and vertical surfaces of a building is known as daylighting. Many research studies have shown that users have always preferred working in naturally lit spaces over artificial lighting whether be it the higher latitudes or the lower ones.

Talking about the connection of natural light and humans, there is a spiritual connection brought to light. they talk about many cultures worship the sun and there is an interwoven connection to the sunlight, light, shadows and shade and cultural influence. It also mentions about how an immediate transcended positive response to the natural stimuli has to do with a context related experience. Comparing, artificial light is a static source of light which is controllable and less attractive.

Talking about the visual aspect, daylight has the best visual quality with a flicker free and complete spectral range and is the basis for any comparison making it more preferred over artificial light. There are many health and well-being benefits of being under sunlight like better eyesight, vitamin D levels, hormonal regulation; basically, the sun is like a happiness capsule.

There are researched shown that people less exposed to sunlight have lower visual performance which means they see less colours and less precisely. Many people in arctic circle happen to have this disadvantage. Those artificial lights are being manufactured to mimic the sunlight, the radiation components cannot me mimicked. Talking more on the visual health, there are reports which have shown that people exposed to sunlight have a more precise vision or non-acute vision only because of the quality of the light with respect to the illumination levels and its colour rendering index.

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Talking about the psychological impacts of daylight, the dynamic light pouring in at an angle from windows against the static artificial lights renders a mood of calmness and alter the ambience of the room. The shadows from artificial light are sometimes renders as noise while the shadows from sunlight is celebrated as a biophilic element, again connecting it to human’s connection to nature. there is a flipside to this daylighting, an uncontrolled light can cause too must heat and unnecessary glare which disturbs the users. Improper designing of the windows for the depth of a room can cause unnecessary shade and funnel effect which is unequal distribution of light that can cause unpleasant feelings among users. Saying this, studies also show that people are more tolerant to the discomforts caused by sunlight than artificial light. daylighting design given an additional advantage of connecting the indoors to the outside world providing users views that add to visual comfort and consequently a positive mood. Daylighting is a strategy adopted for a green building design since it reduces the cost for lighting and heating and adds to the well-being of the users.

Though daylighting sounds very simple, the process of efficient daylighting requires to bring in the advantageous and benefits of it while keeping away the discomforts.

8. Place, space, colour and light: Steven Holl McLachlan, Fiona. Architectural Colour in the Professional Palette, Chapter 6: Place, space, colour and light: Steven Holl, Taylor & Francis Group, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/academyart-ebooks/detail.action?docID=981718, accessed on 2020-10-29 16:41:29.

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This is a chapter from a book about architectural colour palette. In this chapter they have emphasized the use of light by the architect Steven Holl while many other architect works have been cited.

“Colour generated through the play of light is never static and has the capacity to be used as an instrument to tune and transform architectural space.” while this statement tells me that every space designer is aware of the ephemerality of colour under the influence of light. With this knowledge, Holl has designed all his buildings visualizing the dynamic effect of the light considering even reflection and the resultant spatial dimension of a space. He also states that any efforts made to modulate the effect of light in a space using software will not be able to give the final effect since the practical effect is unpredictable.

“The merging of object and field yields an unmeshed experience, an interaction that is particular to architecture. Unlike painting, we can turn away from, and music and film we can turn off, architecture surrounds us. We must consider space, light, color, geometry, detail and material in an intertwining continuum.” This was such an inspiring and an intimidating statement that made me realize that as designers we are going to bring to life a space that is not as ephemeral as the light and colour play within it. His designs. beyond a point are created with an intention to allow users to interact with the spatial dimension generated by the light and colour.

The design allows for an open interpretation of the space deepening on the mood and perception of the user. He lets go off control of space as designer and allow the multisensory architecture experience of the natural phenomenon to interact on personal levels with the users.

Halls designs have this signature feature of using coloured glass windows and he had some

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findings about how this feature has impacted users. Changing coloured light through the day engage users as well as calming them.

There is a mention of an observation made by a Canadian designer about the dynamic light effects. He had to say that moving of sunlight in a space goes unnoticed when the light is white colour but the awareness is elevated under coloured light. Another fact mentioned, as the light dims, the colours fade and the forms lose their structure. A chromatic adaptation a condition where we are used to seeing colour and perceive the existence of the colour even when it isn’t present. There is a mention of Joseph Albers colour interaction theory which can be applied to built spaces. There is a mention of how the interference of lights results in making corners or rooms the darkest. There is also a mention of how culture drives the use of colours and these colour are a part of the culture based on the kind of sun quality in that geographical location.

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Primary research Observation process - Image board The secondary research introduced me to the instability and fluid nature of colour. This ephemeral attribute refers to how colours seem to appear differently under different lighting, when placed in a context, surrounding elements, colour, size, shape and texture of the object and surrounding elements and lastly the perception quality of the observer. This appearance is subjective to the observer’s extent of observation as well as eye for detail. Preparing an image board and observing the images of a composition of simple furniture I use daily, at different hours of the day will give a better picture to analyze and draw inferences and conclusions.

A room of 12’x12’ with a window on the east will help gather a primary information about how colours of different elements in a built space shift or vary under contexts it is subjected to. This method also helps gather some insights about the interaction of different colours in different daylight conditions of eastern light and artificial lighting conditions.

I used an ochre yellow floor seat, a dark brown square coffee table, a red saree placed on a stool, a peace lily plant in a water hyacinth planter. All these were placed against a blue background or a mattress placed against the wall with bed cover. I took the shots on 16th December 2020, in Sunnyvale, California. The timings of the shots are mentioned on the images.

It was shot on an iPhone with no additional equipment. The climate was sunny with a few hours of overcast sky.

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Observation: The light in the first two images is warm, the next few are whitish and the last one is warm again. The first two and the last one is dull. The first one is the dullest. The length of shadows changes in every image. The fifth image has least shadows. There are sun rays in the seventh image on the table top. The blue background colour change is prominent. The blue backdrop tends to a redder colour in the first two images and the last one. The texture on the blue background is prominent in every light condition. The visibility of the planter changes with the brightness of the light. The plant leaves colours change distinctively in every image. The planter is not standing out against blue background. It is seen because of the red fabric. The seater is greyer in colour in dull light in the first two images. The red fabric has a shine and is reflected onto the table top. The fabric pleats have varying colours. It looks darkest in image one and brightest in the seventh. It is seen clearly in fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh. The table has the most reflections. In the seventh, the light ray’s region looks white on the table top. In the sixth image there is a reflection on the front leg surface. The carpet changes from grey in the first image to white in the fifth and seventh and to brown in the last image. There is a fluctuation of the colour from light to dark to light again.

Inference: in the image 7, there seems to an overcast sky making the interior feel dull in between two bright images 6 and 8. Every material seems to show changes in their apparent colours.

Lower lights seem to lower the visibility quality of objects. The image 9 has a reddish effect on the blue background, it could be the reflection from the red fabric.

Conclusions: the light quality is dull in the east direction up until around 10:00 am on this winter day. The dull quality light makes everything look dark, not interesting and drab. Up until around 3 pm on this day the light quality is good and pleasing. The changed colours changes the way 30

look of the interior. Before sunrise everything looks extremely dull in image1. The sunset image 9 is comparatively duller than all images except 1 which means sunset light quality is more pleasing than sunrise. All colours show changes. Blue background has the most textures and shows additional shadows due to it. The yellow seater has grooves inset with added shadows especially in image1 making it look dirty. Red fabric has smooth surface and reflects all its light. the red fabric reflected colour does not show prominently on any object other than the table.

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Interview process Based on the secondary research findings and my primary observation process, I have understood that perception of colours is a triple process of physics, chemistry and psychology.

And since this perception process involves psychology, it is a subjective response depending on every individual’s thoughts, beliefs and experiences. Hence, through the interview process I would like to learn and gather, thoughts and opinions of users about their psychological connections, preferences and opinions about residential and office spaces in relation to lighting conditions and the colours used. My interview process had 2 interviewees, one engineer and an architect. I would like briefly give a background of my interviews only because it will help streamline the basis of their responses.

My first interviewee was Tejas Krishna a 32year old software engineer with a keen eye and interest for engineering field. Of my relationship with him I have noticed how he has a sharp eye for details and variations or differences. When I opened the interview posing a question about what a built space meant to him, he was perplexed and began responding, unsure of his understanding of the same. He gave some technical response about what a building is and how a space within it would be a built space. Further into the interview, he had a blank expression when asked about his experiences in a built space. when I further prompted him about what it meant to experience a space, a few things that he mentioned was that, lighting played a very important role in any space. For him symmetry played a crucial role to keep the space feel comfortable for him. He specifically mentioned that looked for angles in space and would be more relaxed and feel safe when all the elements had right angles. Talking about the ambiance of the space, he was aware that the light, colour, furnishing, music and crowd all together gave 32

the ambiance of a space. when I further probed him about colours, he said that saturated bright colours would be an off-putting element in any space. He was aware that colours in space is not just the building envelope but the décor and furnishings as well. He had no preference of colours, neither pleasing nor non-pleasing. A pleasant experience in a built space for Tejas was a brightly lit preferably natural light and a space that would be able to manage the crowd in it without making it feel congested or chaotic.

Coming to the preference of lighting, he said any day he would opt for a naturally lit space and moreover would always look for a space with a window through which he can get a visual break by looking outdoors. With respect to artificial lighting, he said an efficient design would be the one that would be bright but not affect the eye, especially while working on a screen, if not the screen would have to be made brighter than the ambient light and that would be an unfavourable setup for the eyes. He had a choice of warm white lighting while working and warm lighting while relaxing. He preferred warm lighting only while relaxing because that makes him feel lethargic and lazy which are not the right moods for productivity.

He had observed how the light changes through the day and impacts the colours of the walls lit by sunlight, but this phenomenon didn’t seem to bother his activities. He had no experience where this interaction of colour and light and the shift of colours specifically made a difference to him or something that marked his memory. He was very specific that a work environment and home environment needed to feel different. He wanted his work space to be bright, white and free of distractions for productivity. He preferred adjustable sit-stand table with white table tops for flexibility in working conditions and brighter space respectively.

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My next interview was with Manasa Krishna, an architect currently pursuing her masters in Interior Architecture at the Academy of Art University. She has about 4 years of work experience in built space design and has designed her residence from scratch in her hometown in India.

On a similar note, I introduced to her the topic of the interview and began asking her perspective on built space environments and how it triggers her. Since she is a designer herself, I posed a lot more of follow questions enquiring about her design process for the same.

I was surprised to see Manasa give a blank expression when I asked her what a built space meant to her. But later I understood that she thought she needed to answer the question as a non-designer and that had gotten her thinking. Once I clarified that I wanted the designer perspective to this we had a free-flowing conversations further on. For Manasa, a built space meant something with a roof, walls, and windows. When asked how she reacts in a built space, her immediate response was that she tries to soak in the energy and the vibe the space has to give her and then the look of the space. It looked like she mainly looks at criticizing and learning from the space she is in. She was more inclined on understanding the elements, the structure, the circulation, the aesthetics and finally how it is functioning. Then upon asking her about the light and colour of a space, she had to say that she has always been inclined to spaces that are more subtle and muted that loud and bright with respect to the lighting and colours. An interesting finding was that, she took the colour and perception class last semester, and only after that has, she been more sensitive to the interplay of light and colour and up until then she always looked at the two elements differently. Talking about the look and feel of a space, she thinks that they are a married couple. As is the look of an interior space, so will be the feel of it.

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She leaned towards connecting how the function and circulation was interlinked with the aesthetic elements of a space. Specifically, about lighting she said she is sensitive how illuminated the space feels. Colours were not her primary concern unless they were stark vibrant colours in adverse contrasts because she is a more subtle person. As a designer her perspective of lighting was based on how well the natural light is introduced into the space and consequently how well the artificial lighting is integrated to create no discomfort zones. Going into the detail of the dynamic changes of natural light, she had been observant too of this particular brick wall in her previous workplace that changed from yellowish orange to dark brown colour through the day. She didn’t find it annoying until the inefficient artificial light were functioning. She enjoyed the natural light ambiance but the artificial lighting was not well equipped to provide an even illuminance during the later hours. This did alter her work performance and disliked the workplace in those situations. She also notices how her home with a south window has a bright environment from almost 10 am to around 2:30 pm even in these winter days; from around 3 the brightness reduces and feels less exciting.

She had strong opinions and design solutions to differentiate a residential or commercial space. she had more to talk about how her workplace would like vs a residence. There was a formal and disciplined factor that she would like to introduce in commercial spaces to cater to a volatile crowd. Natural light would be the first choice and focus while designing. It would be preferred with bright light to keep the mood uplifted and alert for a productive environment that not only activates you but inspires you. She had these wallpapers come in as wall treatments, comfortable chairs, tables, efficient lighting. A residential space for her would be more informal, personalized, more colourful, a little playful and relaxed than a workplace.

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Though she gave me a sense of the ambiance she liked and looked forward there weren’t much details I got about her eye for colours. She definitely was drawn to spaces that had good lighting, be it natural or artificial.

From these two interviews I gathered that generally users do not pay attention to tiny details consciously. They are always looking for the symphony of the elements of a space rather than just the lighting and colours used. Function of a space was more important irrespective of how the aesthetics were. Tejas, an engineer, as a user was inclined to look how the space functions for him as a whole. But Manasa as a designer looked at how the designer of the spaced managed to orchestrate the design elements and what she can learn from it.

As for the interview process, I felt my questions were too vague while asking them. It would have been better to pick a space and ask questions so they would have a reference. In their mind they kept swapping from spaces and found it difficult to communicate what exactly they were looking at. Hopefully I progress for the future with better interview process and more interviewee.

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Next steps The research process on light and colour perception was so intriguing and informative. I was surprised to see many fields depending on the aspect of colour perception for their product end result and success. This has generated a realm of colourists who specialize in referencing a space or a product to a colour context based on the client requirements.

To take this forward I would definitely prepare a better interview questionnaire and conduct more interviews to get a better picture about how people perceive interior spaces with respect to colours. My research question would be – “How does an individual’s personal colour preferences is grasped by them in a built space?”

Survey sounds like another step I would like to conduct to gather some colour preferences of the people in built spaces. A research question I would put in here would be “Will a user dismiss a built space because there is a use of the not preferred colour?”

I would like to continue my observation research to understand for myself how each colour shifts under different lighting conditions. I would pick some commonly used flooring materials and paint colour samples and conduct an observation report of its behaviour under different lighting.

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Reflections GLA 612 was a very different class for me so far. I enrolled for this class with an intention of developing my writing skills for better communication of my design and thoughts. I had aa wonderful experience, thank you Jarrod.

Coming to the research part of the class, I really learnt a lot on the process of research. In my bachelors, for my dissertation and thesis it was all about the formality of the research report and less importance given to the actual processing of information and synthesizing it. The reading process was a very helpful part of the syllabus for me particularly. I never made a habit of noting down or marking parts of literature unless it was notes to be studied. I found that part particularly helpful. In general, I had imagined the research process to be a rigid one, where you fixate on a research question and go out of the way to answer it. But through this class I realized sometimes when you get into working on it, the research question could handle some tweaking to serve my purpose of the research process. I looked at it as a process that should have a volume large enough to get a doctorate, but the examples you showed how you did a research on the mathematician just as a hobby. This was inspiring since I believe that finding information to learn more about a subject is my strength and an activity, I don’t feel burdened to do.

My secondary research was a successful one for me. I did spend a lot of time looking for different validated literature sources. The course did teach me efficient methods of looking out for information.

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The challenging part for me was formulating an observation study plan. I was unsure how to carry it forward. But with suggestions and ideas from peers and Jarrod I could come up with a good plan within the given available resource situation. Given the COVID-19 situation and nonavailability of many e-books, I did initially struggle a bit in gathering literature for secondary research. But as time passed, I could put together a pretty good number of sources which gave good quality information.

As a researcher I am looking forward to conduct these timely small research every time I’m intrigued with topics related to light, colour design as well as yoga which is my hobby. I realized creating a plan and a framework really helps moving forward and put information together in a legible manner.

Thank you, Jarrod, for making the class feel like cruised in calm waters. The activities planned for every class were very helpful in grasping concepts and was easier to work on assignments and other submissions. Apart from this, I did have a great set of classmates who were friendly, motivating and good at work which helped pushing me to reach better quality of work. Since most of them were from graphic design background, I did learn a few new things about the design world. Their research questions were informative about a variety of topics. Thank you and grateful for a wonderful class amidst that chaotic outside world.

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