Light dominates colour preference when correlated colour temperature differs

Colour preference for lighting is generally influenced by three kinds of contextual factors, the light, the object and the observer. In this study, a series of psychophysical experiments were conducted to investigate and compare the effect of certain factors on colour preference, including spectral power distribution of light, lighting application, observers’ personal colour preference, regional cultural difference and gender difference. LED lights with different correlated colour temperatures were used to illuminate a wide selection of objects. Participant response was quantified by a 7-point rating method or a 5-level ranking method. It was found that the preferred illumination for different objects exhibited a similar trend and that the influence of light was significantly stronger than that of other factors. Therefore, we conclude that the light itself (rather than, e.g. the objects that are viewed) is the most crucial factor for predicting which light, among several candidates with different correlated colour temperatures, an observer will prefer. In addition, some of the gamut-based colour quality metrics correlated well with the participants’ response, which corroborates the view that colour preference is strongly influenced by colour saturation. The familiarity of the object affects the ratings for each experiment while the colour of the objects also influences colour preference.