The influence of color to people's emotion

Generally, colors influence our mood. For example, red stimulate, excites and warm body, yellow help people in remembering. This idea have been proved by many scientific experiment. As Dr. David S. Kantra mentioned, light converted into colors through our eyes, and light stimulates the pituitary and pineal glands, which regulate hormones and other physiological systems in the body.

There is a article i found on the internet, writen by Kendra Cherry. She said color is a powerful communication tool and can be used to signal action, influence mood, and cause physiological reactions.  And also, your feelings about color can be deeply personal and are often rooted in your own experience or culture. For example, while the color white is used in many Western countries to represent purity and innocence, it is seen as a symbol of mourning in many Eastern countries.

Even in these days, people use the color affection to people's emotion as a holistic or alternative treatment. For instants, 

• Red was used to stimulate the body and mind and to increase circulation.


• Yellow was thought to stimulate the nerves and purify the body.


• Orange was used to heal the lungs and to increase energy levels.


• Blue was believed to soothe illnesses and treat pain.


• Indigo shades were thought to alleviate skin problems.

But science experimental results show in many cases that the mood-altering effects of color may only be temporary. Such as a blue room may initially cause feelings of calm, but the effect dissipates after a short period of time.

David, S., 2011. Color Influence Mood [online]. Psych Digest. Available at: http://psychdigest.com/color-influence-mood/ [Accessed 4 Feb 2011]

Kendra, C. Color psychology [online]. About.com psychology. Available at: http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm

Color of room affects mood

I read some articles about color of room decoration and the personality of color. ( Tonya, L.)
They are all mentioned personality of color change people's feeling. It separate colors into three warm color, cool color and neutral color.

Warm color located on one side of the color wheel, include red-orange, red, yellows and yellow-green. These colors are radiant and cozy. Because warm colors seem to advance, they make small rooms appear smaller and large rooms more intimate.

Cool color located opposite warm colors on the color wheel, such as purples, blues and blue-green. They make a room feel colder and appear larger.

There are special colors called neutral color, they are white gray and black. Especially gray, it is either warm or cool and often change based on the lighting and decor in the room. grays can also appear green, purple or blue. So it is very popular and fashionable.

Those color have effects on mood, designers use this character to make rooms with different feelings



Reference:
Tonya, L., The personality of color: How Room Color Affects Mood [online] About.com Available at: http://budgetdecorating.about.com/od/DecoratingColorPattern/a/The-Personality-Of-Color-How-Room-Color-Affects-Mood.htm

continue with corridor idea

ln the former entrances I talked about my frame idea "the reflection pattern lighting". Following my study, there are some issues related to the idea need to be solved. Such as: psychological factors etc.

To study psychology, the influece of colour to the psychological is important. For this reason, i have look at several journals about it. (it will be write in following entrances)

Psycho physiological method plays an important role, in my opinion. It will give a evidence about how color and environment influence people's emotion.

And also, environmental design need to be study as well.

These are all related to the corridor project, also this is the list that I will study.

processing

David recommened me to learn processing. In my opinion, it is like a software to me to make things work, but it is a computer program. To be honest, I know nothing about computer program, even what's the different between software and computer program.

Looking at processing.org and openprocessing.org

First i looked at the exhibition, to find out what exact it does. I can probably find some ideas through some projects that people finished, because only through the computer program I couldn't understand if it is helpful or not. Later, i find something useful to my project, such as: soundmachines

                                                       http://vimeo.com/35014340

which is very interesting, we can create a simple music by use this. And this is also cool work http://vimeo.com/25224777 (I can add the video, so i just add the link). And many other cool opuses.

From what i saw,"processing" is necessary, but i am also scared. Bucause it is to difficul for me to write the computer program. Maybe, i can learn some simple ones in this short time but impossible for me to do a work like any of this. Contrast with many situations, I may give up learning computer programs for now. If l need, l will let my friends help. When l have time, I will still let my friend to look at it first, then teach me, make sure I grasp the basic then study myself.

Interested in pattern

 This is a artwork of mirror, creat a feeling that is "limitless" or "never-ending". it is very interesting becuase it is not the normal way for doing mirror around people, it also expand lengthway visual. And this is three dimensions, so far i am not thinking three dimensions, because it is to difficult to implement, two dimensions is better compare with three dimensions for me. But it is very good design that i can learn from it or find some ideas from it.

Finally, i am interested in the "pattern". I have saw a short movie of reflection which is related my idea. I have tried to find the video but i forgot where i saw it.

Now, let me explain the "pattern". A single pattern is not strong to catch people's eyes, but if a single pattern can be mirroring by several times, it may be interesting. like some fashion design used.

                                                           pictures from google

These patterns used in fashion design by mirroring several times are very colourful, eye catching and rich of changes, isn't it?

Color psychology

I found a better article in a professional Chinese civil engineering website. It has more specific details 
And deeper research about color temperature. (I try to do my best to translate.)<color psychology> available at : 
http://www.civilcn.com/jianzhu/jzlw/jcll/1197482255537.html
The other articles are not valuable as this article. This article make a deeper study on many aspects.

First it explains why people's mood is affected when they see colors. It says we have physiological reaction when we see colors. For example: red make our pulse quicken, blood pressure higher. So mentally, it make us feel warmer. Every psychological effects related physiological factors. But when we stare at red for a long time, makes us irritated mentally, need see green physiologically. Color psychology also relate age, career, culture and social society. Although different people has different backgrounds, but basic on human gene, and similar society (compare to animals), most of us have the same feelings to color.

Second, it shows the results of a scientific experiment of color effects to people on several aspects. Include warm and cool of color, light and heavy of color and soft and hard of color etc. For instants, the warm and cool of  color not only depends on what color it is, it is also relates to bright, dark and colored, less-colored. Same color, if it is brighter and less-colored will has cooler feeling, darker and colored may has warmer feeling.

Where the idea come from

One of my ideas that i think it is interesting is also i tend to do. for now i call it " corridor". it is the work with corridor or passageway of a public place, such as schools business buildings. what i thinking is a lot of people pass corridor everyday, but corridor is just a corridor, pass it is the same as wear clothes everyday. but people spent time to choose the clothes they will look good on, they never pay attention to corridor. so i think it is possible to add some emotion to a corridor, let people at least have some feeling to it, maybe will enjoy the time of pass it.

I decided the create area it the wall of corridor, use the lights  create patterns to attract people. the pattern can followed people's movements becuase it create from a part of body shape, and it changes all the time by people pass the corridor. I expect when people passby, they can realize there is a abstract pattern changes by their movement. after they realize, they will explore  with it by wave their arms and move their bodies to see what kinds of patterns it can transform.

the corridor idea is from mirroring (or mirror image)

                  pictures from google and baidu

 I was thinking reflection may be interesting. But i am not doing a real mirror, just the same form as mirroring. It is not someone or something stand in front of the mirror, but give the feeling that  like a mirror. of course the key point is how to create the reflection. For example:

                                                            pictures from google

LED light researches

Here are some researches i have done from LED light.

First i looked the introduction of LED, but not spend a lot of time on this, becuase i was focus on how LED lights become an art work.

this is LED lights used for architecture in world Expo.

this is the entrance of the architecture.

this is a case for using LED lights decorate inside the building to give a feeling to people.

this is also using LED to make textures to create an atmosphere.

it is a building with LED lights, but also is a facility and an artwork.

but LED used in products still give me the most inspiration.

there are some works that done before are really attractive to me. i hope i can find some ideas from them. such as the tunnel,
the table,

i don't know why, i stare at last two picture a long time. i think the designer try to give a emotion to audience. although it is very simple now, but it could be submit in several diffrent ways or in several different focuses.

And LED is popular than i thought. it also can be used in

clothes.

these are the reseaches that i have done in LED lighting. i escaped the technique thing of LED light, for example: i secaped how differend kinds of LED light work. keep focus on what can they use in different things. and it really help me with my ideas.

My First Idea About Project

My project title is "How can modern lighting be used to affect an emotion response with in an interactive environment" but it was not first idea about my project. The first thing i was interesting in is semiotic and signage, i thought it is fun to creat something to attract people, catch their eyes. But affter i did some research i found that was difficult. Because of two main reasons, one is if i tend to do this, my project will be a semiotic work, not interaction work. The other one is the whole project can not only be cemiotic it needs other elements such as lighting. becuase i want to do some thing is valuable to my future career or my major before. i tend to be doing interior design. So i accept David's suggestion, to built up some light effection. And i am also interesting in lights. So from here, the framework of my project has been cleared.

Research about emotional design

For researching emotional design, i have seen a video of Donald A. Norman from Youtube.

 Basically, from the video, my understanding is emotional design not only identify the things but also make things clear and neat. I don't know have I get the point or not...anyway...except this video, I also looked 《houghtful Design》

 

And 《TED》 which is I like better.

 

  I get more point from this video. Norman mentioned that emotion is all about acting...

some articles, such as 《Affordances and Design》— Donald A. Norman. Which is available at http://wenku.baidu.com/view/e97004fbaef8941ea76e057d.html and 2 chinese articles.


And also, I am interesting in several books:
《Thoughs》— jon kolko
《The design of everyday things》 — Donald A. Norman. A famous designer named Liu Guanzhong in China, I have read one of his book called 《Science of human affaris》，that Norman's 《The design of everyday things》 influence his theory a lot.

Reflection of last tutorial

From the last tutorial, I was suddenly realized I made a big mistake.I was try to create a atmosphere or a thing with the emotion make people who experience it feel the same as me. I ignored veryone's experience is different, even when they face the same thing, they will act differently. This is the biggest mistake that I made, also some students even designers may made. Thanks David very much for pionting out my problems, it will be a very important or a good advice for me. And it will impact my design as well in the future.

As can be seen from above, i can not find the problem myself, which means i can not think independently. I was trying find how to solve the problem, and during i was thinking, i find if a thing that i am familiar with, i can tell what is the strength and what is the weakness by my self. Maybe it is not all strengthes and weaknesses, but at least i can find one of each. So, i need enlarge my experience. This is the conclusion that i find as so far, it probably too simple and even childish, but i do think seriously. Some simple sentences expain the truth that we try to find even use our whole life, isn't it? The same as when we design something but ignore the feelings from other people who will experience the design, it is a simple truth that everyone knows, but we always forget.

About the Christmas session(an optional group project)

On Tuesday our porfessor give us a session about create a workshop. We should give some ideas about it, and create the workshop in one and a half week.

Finally, we decided to use the telephone buttons + 12 short videos which are match the phone buttons. And the videos will be 12 different people say "Merry Christmas" when they are in different situations.

Compare with the idea that we decided to use and my idea, I prefer my idea, to be honest. The only one reason my mates dosen't like is it will be too much work for them to make videos during a week. They want something simple and interesting. After we starting doing that, i am glad that the final idea wasn't mine, becuase "the telephone" idea is quite suit for a week work. But i won't let my cute idea hiden in somewhere, then i will talk about my idea.

What am I thinking is to create a room like a living room as a family has, not complex but simple. There is a table and a couch, sevral screens on the wall, but no othere things, try to make the atmosphere simple, let people can focus on the screens. A cup, a beer bottle, or a toy on the table......any way, there are a lot things on the table and the couch. When the things be picked up, the screens will show different people in useing these things in different situations. It can be different videos on each screen, or also can be the same video on all the screens, but the same time. Or people pick the things up, sevral sounds will come out which are related to the thing was picking up. For example: when a cup was picking up, we may heared a cup broken, or heared a kid running around us and suddenly broke the cup……make you sitting there like a ghost around u but not scary atmosphere, or make you feel you are in the different space with others, don't know what will happend in next second. this idea come from the word "lonely".

I like to let people explore themselves rather than "telling" people to do something.

books 3

the second book i read is Orientation & Identity which is include symbols to match the former subject about semiotic.

from what i read, i find out symbols can give people infuence about their thinking and attract their attentions.
i wrote down several sentencese to prove it.

• three options come to bear inthe assessment of symbols_where do we feel safe, where do i recognize danger and where do i see aims and possibilities.
• signage play adecisive role here: it visualizes the character of the place and its offerings. this makes it possible to experience these things.
• signage translates the functions and/or the contents of the architecture visually and makes them understandable.

books 2

From the book interaction design that i read. I find I have a clear feeling about what i like and what I don't want to do. this is a picture describe the area interation was related.

because of my future career i tend to do interior design, i guess if i choose the classic interation design doing human-computer, i will not get a lot help from it. so i decided to do something close to interior design. then i choose elements such as light, colour. but i was thinking like the public environment semiotic chould be a interesting direction.

books

Looking backwards, at the begining of my course, I am confused and anxious about what am I doing. Because before I came here I just have a vague concept of interaction design, I don't know what can it do and what area dose it contribute to. But after I talk to my professor and do some research on my own, I got some framework about it.


the first book i read is Interaction Design, (3rd edition 2011)

i read fast, work very hard, only use 2 weeks i finished this book, but i was not read word by word. so from it, i understand what is interaction design, what it will do, it will include what kinds of skills and knowledge. before, i think interaction design is make products are used freindly, but it not only use friendly, it also include many area, like enmotion design.