Chapter One: Understanding Colour and its Perception

Chapter One: Understanding Colour and its Perception

How individuals perceive and understand colour depends greatly on how one experiences colour through visual and physical existence. The way in which the human eye perceives colour, both artificial and natural, can be affected through the inevitable process of ageing and the age-related deficiencies which occur. With a rapidly ageing population, these deficiencies can greatly affect how one experiences their environment. Thus, special consideration must be undertaken into the choice of colours used within spatial design in order to create a comfortable and safe environment that promotes well-being and self-healing for our elderly.

What is colour?

It is universally understood that colour is a visual perception that exists only in our brain, through a reflection of light. Sir Isaac Newton first observed, that objects do not possess physical colour, rather they reflect different wavelengths of light which stimulate certain parts of the human brain (Mahnke 1996: 95). Each wavelength is intercepted at different lengths, creating various colours. Colour can be perceived and experienced both objectively and subjectively; through physical existence and individual perception. The way colour is perceived can be further influenced by an individuals range of visual perception, which as later discussed can be additionally affected by the process of ageing. Chemist and mineralogist Kurt Nassau synthesises our understanding of colour as ‘three subtly different aspects of reality’. Firstly colour refers to the visual property of an object, for example ‘green grass’. Secondly, colour refers to the properties of light rays, as in ‘grass efficiently reflects green light… while absorbing light of other colours more or less completely’. Finally, colour defines a group of sensations as a result of the human eye’s perception and the brain’s interpretation of light reflecting upon an object to create a certain colour (Nassau 1997). Our understanding of the concept of colour can be approached from different perspectives and disciplines, such as art, the science of physics, colour theory and psychology (Mahnke 1996: 6). The way colour is experienced and understood in art is different from how it would be approached in colour theory, with specific colour associations and their theoretic meaning differing from how primary, secondary, warm and cool colours are associated and understood through the colour wheel. Nevertheless, there are similarities between these various disciplines, with a general understanding on how colour and its properties (saturation, hue, contrast) can influence an individual and their perception of a space or object (Mahnke 1996: 84). Colour theory and psychology has long been used to describe the relationship colour and the human mind have, with advances and explorations into how colour can be used to benefit an individual. This led to developments in chromotherapy and health care, generated by the work conducted by Edwin D.

Babbit. However, this dissertation will focus on how colour is perceived through the emotional and physical experience generated from our understanding of colour theory and physiology.

How do our bodies perceive colour?

Through our understanding of colour being a refection of light, we can denote that the way in which an individual experiences colour depends of the intensity of light, the way it is reflected from a surface, and the colour surrounding the objects (Mahnke 1996: 95). When considering colour in the built environment, our bodies can perceive it physically through various means such as texture, materiality, and light. The way we perceive colour can be affected by the various properties which surround colour. The four elements which will be discussed in this chapter are hue, harmony, saturation and contrast.

A hue is a property of colour which refers to the difference in shade between colours, for example the hue of green is different to the hue of blue or yellow. Hues are distinguished by the different amounts of light at various wavelengths that objects absorb (Mahnke 1996: 84).

Colour harmonies are an important part of colour theory. Colour, similar to music, has ‘harmonies and discords deduced from the attributes of hue, luminosity and saturation’ (Murray 1952: 293). The two factors of interest and choice are incorporated into an individuals preference for certain colours as opposed to others as well as a preference for certain colour combination (colour harmony) and an aversion to certain other colour combinations (colour discord) (Murray 1952: 294). The way colour is used through harmonic and non-harmonic, otherwise known as related and contrasting, colour systems can influence the way an individual perceives those colours (Mahnke 1996: 88). Related colour harmonies can be divided into monochromatic and analogous, whereas contrasting colour harmonies combine hues that are separated on the colour wheel. Contrasting colour harmonies include complementary, analogous complementary, split-complementary harmony and double complementary schemes (Mahnke 1996: 89). According to Frank Mahnke, monochromatic harmonies refer to the use of one hue that varies in saturation and value whilst

analogous harmonies use no more than three hues adjacent to each other on the colour wheel. Complementary colour schemes refer to the use of hues directly opposite one another of the colour wheel, allowing for the introduction of ‘contrasting colours’. Analogous-complementary refers to ‘the modification of the complementary scheme’, by selecting two hues located next to each other and ‘combining them with a complementary of one of the two’. Split-complementary refers to one hue and the ‘two tones adjoining its complementary hue’, whereas double-complementary refers to the use of ‘two closely related hues and their complements’. (Mahnke 1996: 89).

It is widely suggested that people react favourably to environments that use harmonious systems (Mahnke 1996: 88). Colours that are non-harmonic can influence the way an individual experience’s the space, often at times creating an environment that is unpleasant or unbalanced. When considering the use of colour within a healthcare environment it is important to note that ‘a monochromatic colour scheme… may be perceived as institutional… it can become monotonous and boring when viewed for an extended period, contributing to sensory deprivation, which leads to disorganisation of brain function, deterioration of intelligence and an inability to concentrate’ (Leibrock 2000: 82).

Saturation refers to the colour attribute that like hue distinguishes one colour from another. Saturation can also be ‘referred to as strength, intensity or chroma’, effectively designating ‘the purity of a given colour, the quality that distinguishes it from a greyed or weaker colour’ (Mahnke 1996: 85). An example of saturation within the built environment is exhibited in Figure 1.1 and 1.2, demonstrating how a contrast in saturation can alter an environment and the atmosphere it creates. It is generally suggested that the use of highly saturated bright colours within health care environments should be used as accents and visual contrast elements such as grab rails, door frames and levers. This allows for easier recognition, rather than less saturated colours which may blend into the background (Leibrock 2000: 82).

Figure 1.1 Interior Colour Application, The Home for Dependent Elderly People and Nursing Home, Orbec, France, Dominique Coulon and Associates, Photographed by David Romero-Uzeda 2015, accessed 14 November 2019, <http://coulon-architecte.fr/en/projet/577/ orbec>

Figure 1.2 Interior Colour Application, ‘André Malraux’ Group of Schools, Montpellier, France, Dominique Coulon and Associates, Photographed by Eugeni Pons 2015, accessed 14 November 2019, <http://coulon-architecte.fr/en/projet/535/ montpellier>

As noted by Mahnke, ‘the principles or effects of colour contrasts determine how a colour is perceived, how a colour scheme is developed, and how objects are highlighted or partially concealed’. When considering the principles of contrast, it must be understood that contrast can be applied to other colour principles also, for example hue contrast or saturation contrast (Mahnke 1996: 85). Similar to harmonies, colour contrasts may be helpful or harmful to the perception of an environment, thus careful consideration must be undertaken when selecting colour for a design. Colour contrasts should be selected and used within the built environment in order to assist in

clarifying and defining volumes, forms, edge changes and planes which is particularly important in aged care environments (Spivack 1984).

When considering how our bodies perceive colour through the built environment it is primarily through visual and physical experience, however colour is not limited to artificial colour and built objects. The environment and natural landscape in which the building is situated can provide individuals with natural colour. Natural colour can refer to the plant life, natural light, and organic elements of the landscape such as stones, bodies of water and the sky. In the design of the built environment, it has been widely expressed that ‘equal attention must be devoted to the psychological, physiological, visual, aesthetic and technical aspects of both colour and light (Mahnke 1996: 2). However consideration must also be given to the environment in which a structure is built, the colour and light that is generated from those surroundings and how they will interact with the space. It must also be understood that ‘colours exits in… places that have height, length, width, light and shadow’ and thus, ‘each of these factors affects a colour value and intensity’, ultimately influencing how one can perceive a certain colour (Bush-Brown, Davis 1992: 179).

How does our perception of colour change as we age?

Ageing is an inevitable process that all individuals will face throughout their lifetime. The impacts of ageing can affect both an individuals perception of colour both psychologically and physically, affecting the way they move through and interpret their surroundings. A deficiency in colour vision does occur with ageing, with most major eye diseases being age-related. The most common agerelated vision deficiencies are the yellow tinting of the lens and colour blindness, which both affect how an individual physically perceives and experiences colour. Furthermore, our perception of colour can also be influenced by psychological factors such as dementia.

Visual perception is reduced through the yellowing of the lens, which sees the yellowing and thickening of the lens, effectively slicing the shorter wavelengths of colour (blues, greens and violets) from reaching the optic nerve (Berg, Bergman, Steen, Wijk 2002). This can affect up to

85% of older people, thus generating a greater need for understanding the way in which colour should be used to effectively create a safe and comfortable environment in contemporary aged cared facilities (Leibrock 2000: 81). The yellowing of the lens reduces an individuals perception of cream colours and yellow tones which range from highly saturated bright colours to pastel hues. Hues of similar saturation and value that are used together can become blurred, thus making it difficult to interpret environmental information such as depth and contrast of objects (Marberry, Zagon 1995). The yellowing of the lens can further impact an individuals perception of ‘blue, bluegreen or violet colour schemes’, particularly during natural daylight or fluorescent lighting, ultimately causing the hues to appear grey. However, the use of tungsten lighting or standard lightbulbs can assist blue tones to be easily distinguished, particularly at night (Leibrock 2000: 82). As previously mentioned this inability to perceive certain tones such as blue or yellow can create substantial risks for aged care patients, for example the placement of a blue chair on blue carpet makes it impossible to see the edge, thus contributing to the risk of a fall (Leibrock 2000: 81). Unlike individuals who suffer from colour blindness however yellowing tinting of the ‘lens has little effect on red tones’ (Leibrock 2000: 82). It is recommended that when designing an environment that caters to patients with visual perception deficiencies as a result of yellow tinting of the lens, colour schemes which involve not overly saturated reds and greens should be used (Leibrock 2000: 82).

Colour blindness is a genetically inherited condition, which mainly affects men. The gene liked to colour vision is the X chromosome; men only have one X chromosome whereas women have two, thus both X chromosomes would have to carry the defect to result in lack of colour vision (Mahnke 1996: 96). Although, individuals maybe be born colourblind, the process of ageing can lead to acquired colour blindness. However acquired colour blindness can also be generated as a result of diseases that damaged the optic nerve or retina of the eye. People with colour blindness can experience difficulty distinguishing between the hues of red and green (Leibrock 2000: 82). When designing spaces suitable for individuals who suffer from colour blindness, Leibrock suggests using colour combinations such as blue and red, brown and blue and blue and orange. However caution should be demonstrated when using blue, as colour blind individuals have trouble discerning blue light, similar to red and green hues (Leibrock 2000: 82).

Dementia is a psychological illness which affects an individuals memory and development process. It affects one in four people over the age of 65 (Feddersen, Lüdtke 2009: 30). The illness is developed in the brain, with protein deposits called ‘plaques’ disrupting ‘the transmission of information between the nerve cells, causing them to successively die’ (Feddersen et al. 2009: 30). The illness generally progresses through several stages and eventually leads to helplessness and hospitalisation. People with dementia first begin to suffer memory loss, then become disorientated

and unable to recognise people, places or objects. In later stages the illness can lead to a loss of identity and social isolation. Sufferers are aware of the developing symptoms of dementia from an early stage, particularly as their interactions with their environment change (Feddersen et al. 2009: 30). The cognitive limitations that are brought on as a result of dementia can ‘lead to errors in one’s memory of place and a reduced ability to spontaneously adapt to new spaces and unknown situations’ (Feddersen et al. 2009: 30). The impact of dementia on an individuals perception of colour is closely linked to their memories. It is important to consider the colours that may have been associated with an individuals past, using reflective colour schemes to assist individuals ‘to feel comfortable and settled within a space, as well as helping them to recall past events’ (Mahnke 1996: 164). Brawley (1997) notes that when designing for people with dementia the following principles should be adhered to. Differences between foreground and background colours should be exaggerated for easier recognition and colours of similar lightness should be avoided. Dark hues such as blue, violet, purple, and red should be used with lighter hues of blue-green, green, yellow, and orange. This allows for effective contrast for people with ‘partial sight and/or colour deficiency’. Hues from adjacent sides of the colour wheel should be avoided, colours should contrast to allow for easier recognition of colour for individuals with colour deficiencies (Brawley 1997).

How colour is perceived develops as a result of ageing, allows us to generate an understanding of visual and psychological conditions which may alter an individuals experience of colour and space. By considering the physical and mental afflictions of yellow tinting of the lens, colour blindness and dementia, architects and designers can create an environment that caters to the needs of these ageing individuals in order to produce a space that is comforting and safe (Mahnke 1996: 146). It is important to consider colours that allow for universal usage, regarding the different deficiencies and the intersecting properties they may have towards certain colours.