Influence of Basic Colour Parameters on Colour Memory

Abstract

We frequently need to compare two or more colours, and we can rely only on the colour impression from our memory. Colours are not stored in our memories in their actual state and they can gradually be erased. This paper addresses the subject of short-term colour memory. The approach is based on an experiment where subjects observed a given colour for a certain period of time. The purpose of the research was to determine the relation between the reference colour, time delay and the accuracy in recalling of the colour from the subject’s memory. The colours studied in the research were presented with no association to bodies, shapes or textures. The main variables in the observing conditions were the basic colour parameters which define the colour, i.e. hue, saturation and brightness. The analysis of the final results showed that colour is not stored in our memories correctly and that it loses its basic parameters after 10 s. As the time delay increases, the accuracy of the colour impression in our memory diminishes. Colour is stored in our memory as clearer and more saturated. Bright colours are remembered as even brighter, while dark colours are stored as darker. The sensation of hue is generally stored very precisely, while the deviation in hue depends on the observed colour.

Keywords

• colour memory
• simultaneous colour comparison
• colour perception
• hue
• saturation
• brightness