Color Preference Under Varying Lighting Conditions: A Comparative Analysis of Subjective Tastes and Spatial Contexts
Abstract
This study investigates users’ living room and subjective color preferences under two light sources with different technical specifications (4000 K, CRI 80 and 3000 K, CRI 100). A total of 94 color samples, representing 10 hues across various value and chroma levels, were presented to participants. SPSS analysis indicates that hue preferences are influenced by the light source's spectral distribution and gender, whereas value and chroma choices are primarily shaped by spatial function. Although participants favored highly saturated, medium-value colors subjectively, they prioritized low-chroma (Chroma: 2) and high-value (Value: 8–9) colors for the living room. Regarding hues, 5PB (Purple-Blue) was the most stable subjective choice regardless of color temperature, however, a light-induced spectral shift occurred in the living room context, where 5B (Blue) predominated under cool light and 5PB led under warm light. The 5G (Green) hue was largely excluded across both settings. On the demographic axis, male participants exhibited a highly consistent inclination toward the purple-blue spectrum, whereas female preferences demonstrated a context-dependent, more flexible, and balanced distribution across warm and cool dimensions. Overall, the study demonstrates the decisive impact of both spatial context and light source on color preferences.
Keywords
Color preference, lighting conditions, correlated color temperature (CCT), hue-value-chroma, spatial context
Ethical Statement
The article complies with national and international research and publication ethics. Ethics committee approval was not required for the study.
Thanks
The author would like to thank Dogus University for contributing to the provision of the experimental area and technical service support. The author also thanks the volunteers who participated in the experiment.
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