On Apr 17, 2014, at 8:05 AM, Terence Love <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Its interesting to ask which of the publications mentioned are scientific?
> For example:
> Is a set of structured examples (e.g. Albers) a scientific text?
> Does a text become a scientific text just because it has the word 'theory' in its title?
> Is a *history* of color a scientific text?
Yes. I hope, however, that nobody equates "scientific" and "valuable."
On Apr 17, 2014, at 3:00 AM, Jan-Henning Raff <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> admittedly my question is vague -- I was wondering if researchers did some work on questions like:
> - is orange perceived as "warning" in interaction design?
> - what cultural preferences exist?
> - a review on the psychologigal effects of color (green = calming?).
> (just examples!)
>
> -- backed with some empirical evidence. (maybe there is none, this would be a scientific answer for me too).
"Empirical" and "scientific" may not be the same but perhaps they're close. I'm willing to admit that empirical evidence is more likely to be valuable than [what goes here? non-empirical non-evidence?] Jan-Henning's examples are good ones and may have broad answers that can become part of pragmatic decisions but I doubt that full answers to these pragmatic questions will emerge in a clear and simple way.
Some perhaps-interesting ways to reconsider the questions:
Is orange more warning-like than, say, red or yellow in interaction designs [for some particular audience]? Does that vary from locale to locale? (Why? Does prevalent use of color in, say, traffic signage have an effect?)
How does that work in light of localized cultural meanings? (Does orange play the same in Holland, in Ireland, and in Southern California?)
How does that work in terms of the project context? (Does orange seem more warningish in a palette of cool colors where orange tones are otherwise absent than in one where incidental use of the color exists?)
Unfortunately, everything I've read that purports to answer "warning," "calming," etc. questions makes broad and misleading claims where "x means y in [insert culture here.]" Those usually seem naïve to me.
One way to look at meaning is the metaphor of the rings of waves from rock tossed into water. The waves are strong in the center but fade with distance. The combined force of multiple waves may increase or decrease the surface disruption at any given place. So the black rock thrown in the pond produces funereal waves in Western culture but the champagne glass dropped into the same pond produces celebratory waves that negate those waves while increasing the size of the formality waves, leaving us more inclined to think of fancy parties than sad goodbyes. Other waves may change that (leaving us at a wake rather than a gala.)
So orange may be a signifier of "warning" but the context may make it mean citrus fruit, the location of the original Disneyland, or tropical sunsets. The "warning" ripples may still be there someplace but they are overwhelmed by other forces to the point that they might not be identified as being "perceived" as such.
The metaphor is too much about rocks and not focused enough on those who are moving across the pond. I'll call for being human centric rather than wave centric even during surfing competitions in Orange County.
Gunnar
Gunnar Swanson
East Carolina University
graphic design program
http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cfac/soad/graphic/index.cfm
[log in to unmask]
Gunnar Swanson Design Office
1901 East 6th Street
Greenville NC 27858
USA
http://www.gunnarswanson.com
[log in to unmask]
+1 252 258-7006
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design
Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|