This experiment explored the effects of hue, saturation, and brightness on attracting people's attention. Colour can be used as a tool to emphasize or de-emphasize architectural and interior design features, since people cannot process every object within view at one time. Designers should understand the effects of hue, saturation, and brightness on "attention getting" as they select color schemes.

Findings

Use colours of maximum saturation and brightness to attract attention within a space.

Use cyan, magenta, red, yellow-green, and green to attract more attention than any other hues, no matter what the background color. The yellow-green, green, cyan color range attracted more attention overall than did the red-magenta range.

Use cyan on a red or yellow background, or red or magenta on a cyan background to attract attention.

Design color palettes with red in front and blue in the background for attention.

Use blue, white, black, yellow, and purple for a subdued effect, since these colors attract the least attention on any background color.

Be aware that men and women respond similarly to attention-getting colors.

Consider how surface texture, size of color application, and other factors influence the interpretation and reception of color in two- and three-dimensional environments.

Consider the long-term effects on the occupants of placing attention-getting colors in an environment.

Key Concepts

One observed effect was simultaneous color contrast, when two colors placed side-by-side appear different than when viewed alone.

Neither location of color on the computer monitor or gender had a significant effect on the amount of attention a color square received.