The Emotional Characteristics of White for Applications of Product Color Design

Nooree Na, Hyeon-Jeong Suk

This study aims to investigate the emotional characteristics of various shades of white. The study involved three experiments: Prior to the main experiments, the emotional characteristics of 13 basic colors were evaluated from which four factors, flamboyant, elegant, clear, and soft were extracted to facilitate the evaluation of white in the subsequent experiments. In Experiment I, white was identified to be dominantly more elegant in comparison to the other colors; in Experiment II, the emotional characteristics of 25 shades of white were assessed to derive an equation for predicting the emotional quality based on the color attributes of different shades of white; lastly in Experiment III, 1:1 scale mock-ups of mobile phones, coated with various shades of white as well as different levels of gloss and texture, were employed for further emotional assessment of white products in real-life situations. Consistent tendencies were observed in Experiment II and Experiment III, confirming the validity of the results. In addition, although color was the most dominant element that decided product emotion, gloss and texture were also found to influence the emotional characteristics of products. In conclusion, this study provides empirical evidence on the emotional responses of different shades of white, and supports designers to find an appropriate color for designing white based products.