Weighting the Relevance of the Different Colours in Subjective Assessments of Colour Preference

Abstract

Observers made subjective colour preference judgements about different arrangements of coloured objects in different scenes. While doing so, observers had to assess the importance (so-called weight) of every one of seven colour groups or hue groups (skin tone, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple). The scenes were illuminated by high-CRI spectra at four different correlated colour temperatures (CCTs). Red and orange obtained the highest weights (this means that red and orange are the most important colours for subjective colour preference); yellow, green and blue were intermediate while skin tone had only a little weight. CCT had only a small effect while scene content (e.g. “office” vs. “painting”) had a strong influence. Objects of higher chromaticity in the same colour group obtained a higher weight across the different scenes. Latter finding resulted into a predicting formula of the weights.