The color of lighting has a physiological as well as psychological effect on individuals, similar to physical color psychology. Color comprises a significant element in all lighting applications, according to a poll of lighting professionals, and it is often more essential than light efficacy. A range of influences, like cultural, personal, and evolutionary impact, can be traced back to the association between color psychology and emotion. Obtaining a close insight into how one gets affected by the color lighting can help us decide on the right ones for a particular space or even get them customized as per need.
Orderly Natural light patterns that maintain a predictable pattern have proven to help regulate innate circadian rhythms. Everything from cellular function to hormone production and sleeping behavior is influenced by our exposure to environmental cycles of light and darkness. Irregularities and lack of natural light can ultimately impair one's mood; hence, understanding color psychology can help designers enhance user wellbeing.
Unplanned Artificial light, on the other hand, causes uncontrolled exposure, which can disturb these processes. Despite our most commendable efforts, our indoor generation is forced to carry out jobs within buildings where natural light alone is insufficient to meet our demands. To overcome this, Artificial light exposure during the day has to be employed so that it can efficiently dwell into a system that regards our fundamental physiology. The full-spectrum fluorescent lamps provide relief from numerous glandular problems, sleeplessness, weariness, and mental ailments by emitting fierce light that matches the white sunlight of the day.
The Color Rendering Index (CRI) is the only formally acknowledged color rendering metric system in the world. It is a statistic that describes how accurately a source of light can depict the “real” color of an object on a scale of 1-100. The maximum rating on the index is 100, which depicts a render as if it were lit by natural light. The lower the render on the scale, the less “natural” the result. On this scale, light sources below 50 are considered poor or unnatural renderings.
Color is a primary property of light. The essential hues, represented by all seven colors in the spectrum, are known to be useful in healing. The numerous ways that colors affect human health have expedited color therapy research and, as a result, the relevance of colors in current architectural and interior lighting. We've all experienced a deep sense of warmth and calm upon entering our living rooms accented by yellow lights after a tedious day of working in blue-enriched white light at work.
Blue-enriched white light or cooler-colored light has been demonstrated to boost employee attention, optimistic moods, work performance, and reduce eye strain in work environments where natural light is not accessible.
Warm and mid-toned bright colors, such as yellow, can be employed to create a welcoming, intimate, or calming environments. These can be effectively implemented as accent lights or controlled ambient lights for living rooms, retail spaces, boutique hotels, and resorts, etc.
Furthermore, red light has been demonstrated to help with memory and attention to detail. These are predominantly used for highlighting walls at recreational areas like clubs or cafes with custom-made LED lights which often overwrite a quote, phrase, or the name of the place.
Pink color light has been discovered to possess relaxing and tranquilizing properties.
Violet is a stimulant that promotes relaxation, stress relief, and the relief of chronic pain.
Color perception can be influenced by lighting: Some colors are “washed out” by dim light, while others are “intensified” by bright light. Improper use or Overuse of color can lead to Color Fatigue. When intensely contrasting colors follow one another, the retina can become fatigued, causing some cones in the eye to become more receptive than others. This requires us to be more careful with our choices as we aim to deliver a soothing experience.
