Interior Design and Color Interaction

 

Interior Design: Color Interaction

Our perception of color in space is relative.  It depends on the light, the time of day, the colors that are surrounding, and the size of the color area.  Each of these factors affects the way we perceive a hue.  This is often termed color interaction. The way we interpret color may change radically throughout the day without the changes being noticed.  Overhead sunlight is surprisingly blue and will affect what it is shining upon.  Sunset light is warm with hues of yellows and oranges and can make blue walls seem grayer.

Artists such as Claude Monet were especially interested in the quality of light in their artworks.  The expressionist tried to paint light.  Our eyesight has the ability to make color relationships appear relatively stable even when the light changes.  This is called color constancy and we rely on it regularly. Our eyes are able to compensate to a large degree.

Another phenomenon that occurs when we look at color is called successive contrast.  Our eyes will desensitize after prolonged exposure to a color.  As an example, staring at a green object for about 30 seconds will cause an effect called after image.  When you look away from the green to something white, you will see an altered image – generally a red-pink.  This is only temporary, and you might notice it more often once you have tried this.  It works with every hue and the afterimage will be a complement.  A color wheel will illustrate complementary colors. Try staring at the black dot below for about 30 seconds and then looking away or at a white surface.

The visual mechanisms that create afterimages are related to another sensation. Simultaneous Contrast.  Our vision helps interpret and differentiate we see.  When we place two complementary colors from the artist’s color wheel side by side, adjustments are made in hue, lightness/darkness, and intensity of each color making both colors more forceful.

 

It is possible with skillful selection of hues to make two colors appear nearly as one.  It is easy to be fooled!  There is an internet game app that I play with that illustrates how tricky this can be. It is not as easy as it first seems.  Let me know your experience.  I will continue to share more about color interaction in an upcoming post.