Research areas

Highlights of Research

Outdoor vs. indoor colour appearance – as described in a paper published in Color Research and Application “A comparison of colour appearance for surface colours between outdoor and indoor environments” (2020), we found little difference in colour appearance between outdoor and indoor environments, with high correlation between the two lighting conditions.  Excellent predicted performance was obtained of CIECAM02 for hue, lightness and chroma for both outdoor and indoor environments.  Both outdoor and indoor visual data show strong Helmholtz-Kohlrausch effect.

Cross-cultural research of colour psychology – as described in a paper published in Color Research and Application “Universal models of colour emotion and colour harmony” (2018), we compared visual data of colour emotion and colour harmony between 12 regions across the world including Argentina, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand and UK.  Based on these data, psychophysical models were developed for colour emotion and colour harmony for various cultural backgrounds.

Alternative scales of colour appearance – as described in a paper published in Color Research and Application “New colour appearance scales for describing Saturation, Vividness, Blackness and Whiteness” (2017), based on visual data of British and Korean observers, we developed psychophysical models of saturation, vividness, blackness and whiteness, which are useful for applications in display, imaging, design and education.

Visual comfort for mobile displays – as described in a paper published in Color Research and Application “Visual comfort as a function of lightness difference between text and background: A cross-age study using an LCD and a tablet computer” (2015), we used CIELAB lightness difference as a measure of visual comfort for reading on a display.  The study used two age groups, young and older, to investigate the differences between the two age groups.  Based on the experimental results, psychophysical models of visual comfort were developed.

Design applications of colour harmony – as described in a paper published in International Journal of Design “Package design: colour harmony and consumer expectations” (2014), we used a colour harmony model previously developed as a basis to develop a more practical model for package design.

Aging research of colour psychology – as described in a paper published in Color Research and Application “Age effects on colour emotion, preference and harmony” (2012), we compared differences in colour emotion, colour preference and colour harmony between various age groups of observers, providing interesting findings useful for various application areas.

Psychophysical research of colour harmony – as described in a paper published in Color Research and Application “Additivity of colour harmony” (2011), we found the additivity of colour harmony for three-colour combinations for interior design.  Based on this study, a US patent was also published (US8427498 B2).