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2022.08.01

Column

Talking about color

In recent years, I have been given increased opportunities to deliver lectures at my former university. I taught CMF (color, material, finish) for a class of specialized course and color science for a class of liberal arts and culture. I would like to use this column to talk about color science.

How many different colors can humans tell apart when they are placed next to each other? Various studies have been carried out on this topic. Among them, the one led by a research team of Dorothy Nickerson and other scientists indicated in 1943 that human eyes can discern up to 7.5 million colors.

Then, a question arises as to whether every person can identify each of these 7.5 million colors in the same manner. Strictly speaking, every one of these colors appears differently to different people. There are some reasons for that: Iris and other eye functions differ from person to person; people recognize differently the visible light that ranges from 380 to 780 nanometers in wavelength; and gender difference in testosterone level leads to difference in color recognition. These considerations point to the fact that when we carry out a design project, each of us sees colors painted on a product a bit differently even though we manage to reach agreement in selecting colors to be applied to the product. Thinking like this might overturn efforts we made in the past to draw conclusions after heated discussions with our clients and fellow designers.

Eighty-seven percent of information gained through the five senses is said to come from eyes. Meanwhile, vision works differently from person to person when we see specific colors. That’s where a touch of humanity emerges, which is different from machine recognition. Furthermore, colors present different impressions to people depending on where they live and under what cultural background they work. There is no definite answer. That’s probably one reason why color-related projects attract designers and that provides settings for designers to prove their worth.

Kosuke Inoue

CMFG Design Dept.

Design Director