The effect of surface colour on apparent surface distance

Abstract

Colour selection is an important aspect in the design process of any building; to be purposeful, selection must take into account several aspects of colour. The investigation reported in this paper was concerned with the influence of colour on perception of the spatial form of the environment. The apparent 'nearness' of colours of different Munsell hue, value and chroma, selected according to a factorial design, was studied using thirty observers drawn from the general population ; samples subtended an area 12°×10° at the eye. The effects of hue, value and chroma on apparent distance of the test surfaces were all highly significant and some two-factor interactions were also significant. The implications of the results for the use of colour in interiors are discussed.