COLOR PERCEPTION

BUILDING UTILITIES 3
Module 2 Lecture 3

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THE CONSTANCIES

When considering how we perceive the world, the overwhelming

impression is one of
stability in the face of
continuous variation.

This unchanging perception is called

perceptual constancy.

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 FOUR FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTES

SIZE
As an object gets further away, the size of its retinal image gets smaller but the object
itself is not seen as getting smaller.
Using clues, such as texture and masking, it is usually possible to estimate the
distance and compensate unconsciously for the increase in distance.

SHAPE
As an object changes its orientation in space, its retinal image changes.
But in most lighting conditions, the distribution of light and shade across the object
makes it possible to determine its orientation in space.
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LIGHTNESS
Lightness is the perceptual attribute related to reflectance.
In most lighting situations, it is possible to distinguish
between the illuminance on a surface and its reflectance,
that is, the difference between a low-reflectance surface receiving
a high illuminance and a high reflectance surface receiving a low
illuminance, even when both surfaces have the same luminance.
This perceptual ability to separate the luminance of the
retinal image into its components of illuminance and
reflectance makes the use of luminance problematic
as the basis of lighting design criteria.

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COLOR
Physically, the surface presents a stimulus to the visual system that depends on the
spectral content of the light illuminating the surface and the spectral reflectance of the
surface.
Large changes in the spectral content of the light source can be made without causing
any changes in the perceived color of the surface.
This phenomenon - color constancy – is the ability of the brain to compensate for the
color of light when judging color.
In color constancy, as in lightness constancy, two factors are needed to be separated:
the spectral distribution of the incident light and
the spectral reflectance of the surface.
As long as the spectral content of the incident light can be identified, the spectral
reflectance of the surface, and its color, will be stable.

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Color perception results from the complex interaction among
a light source,
an object,
the eye, and
the brain.
 The human eye detects a relationship among wavelengths rather than directly
detecting a single wavelength.
 Therefore, the relationship between colors does not vary with changes of the color
spectrum of light sources.
 When the color content of light changes, the color perception mechanisms of the
eye adapt to a new neutral point so that the object color remains nearly the same,
thus, color constancy occurs.

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All objects are chemically
oriented to absorb certain
wavelengths of light and A pure white object reflects
all wavelengths and absorbs
reflect others. none.

A red object being struck by

visible white light will absorb A pure black object absorbs
all wavelengths except red, all wavelengths and reflects
which is reflected. none.

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Few lamp types produce pure white light.
 Some lamps produce light that is saturated in blue and
green, others red and yellow.
 A red object struck by light that contains only blue and
green wavelengths would not appear red if it were under
sunlight.

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While lighting has an important role in preserving or eliminating constancy,
it also has a role in determining the perceived visual attributes of objects.

Objects can have five different attributes depending on their nature and
the way they are lit.

These attributes are defined as follows:

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Brightness
an attribute based on the extent to which an object is judged to be emitting more or
less light.

Hue
an attribute based on the classification of a color as reddish, yellowish, greenish,
bluish or their intermediaries or as having no color.

Saturation
an attribute based on the extent to which a color is different from no color of the same
brightness or lightness.

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Lightness
an attribute based on the extent to which an object is judged to be reflecting a greater
or lesser fraction of the incident light.

Transparency
an attribute based on the extent to which colors are seen behind or within an object.

Glossiness
an attribute based on the extent to which a surface is different from a matte surface
with the same lightness, hue, saturation and transparency.

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 The saturated colors red, green and
violet are located at the corners of the
triangle.

Going inwards, they become lighter

and diluted at the same time.

The color values are numerically

plotted along the right-angled x- and y-
axis.

Thus, each light color can be defined

by its x- and y-values, which are
called color points.

CIE = Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage

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 Black-Body-Locus

1000 K equals that of

red light of 610 nm.

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The properties of color inherently distinguishable
by the human eye are 
hue,
saturation, and 
brightness.
 While the spectral colors can be one-to-one
correlated with light wavelength, the perception of
light with multiple wavelengths is more complicated.
 It is found that many different combinations of light
wavelengths can produce the same perception of
color. 

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HUE
Hue makes up one of the
three distinct attributes of There are many different mixtures of
color. wavelengths which can produce the same
 Hue is related to
wavelength for spectral perceived hue.
colors.  The achromatic line from black to gray to
 Not all hues can be white through the center of the circle
represented by spectral represents light which has no hue.
colors since there is no
single wavelength of light
which has the magenta hue The distribution of hue around a circle is
- it may be produced by an
equal mixture of red and used in commercially available paint and
blue. pigment mixing guides like the Color
Wheel.
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SATURATION (or Chroma)
A fully saturated color is one with no mixture of
white. BRIGHTNESS (or Value)
 A spectral color consisting of only one wavelength is fully
saturated, but one can have a fully saturated magenta which The brightness of a colored surface depends
is not a spectral color.

upon the illuminance and upon its reflectivity.
A spectral color consisting of only one wavelength is fully
 Since the perceived brightness is not linearly
saturated.
 Quantifying the perception of saturation must take into proportional to the reflectivity, a scale from 0 to 10 is
account that some spectral colors are perceived to be more used to represent perceived brightness in color
saturated than others. measurement systems like the Munsell system.
 It is found that equal surfaces with differing spectral
characteristics, but which emit the same number
of lumens, will be perceived to be equally bright.

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Surface colors are ordered by
specifying
hue (basic family of colors),
value (lightness or darkness), and
chroma (saturation or vividness).

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COLOR METRICS
To understand how a lamp's light will affect
the color of objects in the space, three metrics
are used:
 Spectral power distribution
 Color temperature 
 Color rendering

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SPECTRAL POWER DISTRIBUTION 

Shows the visible light

spectrum and the
wavelength composition for
the light from the lamp.
The spikes indicate that the
light is stronger in revealing
certain colors.
*Parabolic Aluminized Reflector
It is the key to how a light
source renders colors.
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 IESNA Definition
A pictorial representation of the radiant power
emitted by a light source at each wavelength or
band of wavelengths in the visible region of the
electromagnetic spectrum (380 to 780
nanometers).
 Lamp manufacturers publish SPD curves of
specific light sources. The spectral make-up
of a light source affects its ability to render
colors "naturally", as seen in the following
examples:

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The incandescent light source depicted has more
power in the longer wavelengths (above 650
nanometers) of the visible spectrum and,
therefore, renders red colors most effectively.

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The fluorescent lamp has more power in the
short wavelength of the visible spectrum
(below 450 nanometers) than the
incandescent lamp shown previously,
therefore, blue colors appear more vivid.

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Combining wavelengths in different amounts can
produce light that appears white to the eye.

It is possible that the light from two lamps can have

different wavelength combinations and yet appear
exactly the same color but their effects on objects may
be very different.

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COLOR TEMPERATURE
It is a description of the
warmth or coolness of a light
source. When a piece of metal
is heated, the color of light it
emits will change.
The temperature of this metal
is a physical measure in
degrees Kelvin.

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While lamps other than incandescent do not
exactly mimic the output of this piece of metal,
the CORRELATED COLOR TEMPERATURE
(or Kelvins), is used to describe the appearance
of that light source as it relates to the
appearance of the piece of metal, specifically a
blackbody radiator, while being heated.

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 IESNA defines color temperature as "the
absolute temperature of a blackbody
radiator having a chromaticity equal to that
of the light source.”
 For incandescent lamps, the color
temperature is a "true" value; for
fluorescent and high-intensity discharge
(HID) lamps, the value is approximate and
is therefore called correlated color
temperature.
 The color temperature of lamps makes
them visually "warm," "neutral" or "cool"
light sources.
 Lamps with a lower color temperature
(3500K or less) have a warm or red-
yellow/orangish-white appearance.
 Lamps with a mid-range color temperature
(3500K to 4000K) have a neutral or white
appearance. The light is more balanced in
its color wavelengths.
 Lamps with a higher color temperature
(4000K or higher) have a cool or bluish-
white appearance. Summer sunlight has a
very cool appearance at about 5500K. The
light is saturated in green and blue
wavelengths.
 Once a color temperature is specified, use
the spectral power distribution data to aid
in selecting a specific lamp.
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 By convention, yellow-red colors (like the flames of a
fire) are considered warm, and blue-green colors
(like light from an overcast sky) are considered cool.
− Cool light is preferred for visual tasks because it produces
higher contrast than warm light.
− Warm light is preferred for living spaces because it is more
flattering to skin tones and clothing.
− A color temperature of 2700–3600 K is generally
recommended for most indoor general and task lighting
applications.
 Color Temperature is NOT an indicator of lamp heat.

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COLOR RENDERING
 Expressed as a rating on the Color Rendering Index
(CRI), it describes how a light source makes the color of
an object appear to human eyes and how well subtle
variations in color shades are revealed.
 The higher the CRI rating, the better its color rendering
ability, the better the visual perception of colors.
 It generally ranges from 0 for a source like a low-pressure
sodium vapor lamp, which is monochromatic, to 100, for a
source like an incandescent light bulb, which emits
essentially blackbody radiation.

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 According to the IESNA, color rendering is
the "measure of the degree of color shift
objects undergo when illuminated by the light
source as compared with the color those
same objects when illuminated by a
reference source of comparable color
temperature."
– CRI is related to color temperature, in that
the CRI measures for a pair of light sources
can only be compared if they have the
same color temperature.
 Standard incandescent lamps enjoy a CRI
rating of 100. Fluorescent lamps are in the
52-95 range, depending on the lamp.
 As stated in the IESNA definition, to compare
any two given lamps, they must have the
same color temperature for the comparison
to have any meaning.
 Lamps with CRIs above 70 are typically used
in office and living environments. A standard
"cool white" fluorescent lamp will have a CRI
near 62.
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COLOR CLASSIFICATION OF LIGHT SOURCES
MINIMUM LAMP CRI APPLICATIONS
 50  Non-critical industrial, storage and
security lighting
 50-70  Industrial and general illumination
where color is not important

 70-79  Most office, retail, school,

medical, and other work and
recreational spaces
 80-89  Retail, work, and residential
spaces where color quality is
important
 90-100  Retail and workspaces where
color rendering is critical

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SPECIFYING COLOR
When specifying color characteristics for a lamp,
numerous psychological factors must be considered
depending on the lighting goals for the space. Here
are a few general tips:
In retail applications, color is a critical design decision because
buyers need to choose products of the correct color, before
they get outside and see them under sunlight.
 Warm light sources are generally preferred for the home,
restaurants and retail applications to create a sense of
warmth and comfort. In applications where the occupant
needs to see the right color, good color quality is essential.
 Neutral and cool sources are generally preferred for offices
and similar applications to create a sense of alertness.
 In other applications such as parking lots, color is not an
important factor, thus, low-color-rendering lamps can be
specified.
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