3. November 2010

Inspiration Particle Design: http://particledesigner.71squared.com/index.php?page=info Lighting: Colored lighting can enhance an atmosphere. Certainly color lights are heavily used in stage sets to create moods. In a home, however, they should be applied with much restraint—and be much less intense or saturated. When overdone, colored lights destroy the appearance of materials and people's coloring. A case in point: rosy-tinted lamps can flatter, but red lights wash out redness of lips and cheeks and undo the flattering effect, as can be noted in some nightclubs. To design a more solemn atmosphere, try using subdued patterns of light but do emphasize dramatic points in the room to avoid a monotonous effect. Use color sparingly. To achieve a restful effect, use low brightness patterns, no visible light sources, subdued color, dark upper ceiling, low wall brightness. By way of contrast, to develop a sense of alertness and activity, employ high levels of illumination with lighting focused over specific tasks or areas. For imparting a sense of warmth, use colors at the red end of the spectrum—pink, orange, amber, yellow. And for coolness, use colors at the cool end such as violet, blue, and green. Be aware that blue, blue green, and green detract from the human complexion and, when used indiscriminately, produce ghastly effects. For a mood of gaiety, utilize higher levels of illumination, perhaps with kinetic lighting elements. Positioning lighting fixtures so that rhythms are created by light and shadow, reflections and diffusions, can impart an active dynamic effect to the atmosphere. Color: Does Color Affect Your Mood? Color has been proven to affect mood. What is not proven is how and which colors do what. Though sky blue is often said to be soothing; leaf-green calming; silver and white airy; orange, red and yellow arousing; brown earthy; and violet royal or holy, it's a challenge to prove that specific colors cause significant, measurable changes in mood. What's Been Proven Since the 1970s, when the field of color psychology was born, a whole color industry has sprung up, advising governments to paint jails pink to soothe prisoners and fast-food chains to decorate in orange to get customers to eat quickly. However, scientists are not 100% sure that people always associate the same colors with the same moods. In 1973, Francis M. Adams and Charles E. Osgood, two scientists at the University of Illinois, interviewed people from 23 cultures about how colors made them feel. They also reviewed all the existing scientific color studies (there were 89). Red gave the most universal associations of strength, vitality and activity. Black was ranked "strong" and "bad"; gray was "bad" and "weak"; white, blue and green were generally ranked "good"; yellow was "weak." This study gave about a 70% rate of agreement and was the basis for modern color psychology. Same Color, Different Mood? Different cultures report different associations for certain colors. In Asia, mourners wear white. In India, brides wear red. In the United States, brides wear white, and black is the color of mourning. Also, some colors have double associations. In Catholicism, the pope often wears a red robe---but the devil often has red skin. Clearly, even if red does make most people feel vital, how they feel about that vitality might shift, depending on context. In other studies, scientists hypothesized that the wavelengths of color (short waves are red, long waves are violet) interact with people's hormonal systems to change their moods. This theory was called into question by the fact that the same colors can be produced in many different ways. Thus, the wave pattern for two seemingly identical patches of color might be different---even if they are felt by the observer to spark the same mood. Odd Colors Spark Mistakes Color affects efficiency. In one 2008 study, "The Effect of Appropriate and Inappropriate Stimulus Color on Odor Discrimination," people trying to perform a task under blue or green lights did much worse than people whose task was lit by white, orange or red lights. In another study, people presented with a glass of green-tinted cherry or strawberry juice could not identify the odor, though they pinpointed its odor if it the liquid was red. Scientific Scale of Color and Mood A 1994 study, "Effects of Color on Emotions," measured people's emotional reactions to color (hue, saturation and brightness) and put the results on a scale. "Brightness effects were nearly the same for chromatic and achromatic colors. Blue, blue-green, green, red-purple, purple, and purple-blue were the most pleasant hues, whereas yellow and green-yellow were the least pleasant. Green-yellow, blue-green, and green were the most arousing, whereas purple-blue and yellow-red were the least arousing. Green-yellow induced greater dominance than red-purple."