In physical environments and cultural landscapes, we most often deal not with separate colors, but with color combinations. When choosing a color, we usually try to “fit” it into a preexisting color context, making the new color combination harmonious. Yet are the “laws” of color harmony fundamental to our shared cognitive architecture, or are they cultural products that vary from country to country? To answer these questions we conducted an experiment with 599 participants aged 18 to 76 from eight different countries, including Algeria (MA = 26.2 years; SD = 8.8; 49 men, 26 women), Belarus (MA = 19.8 years; SD = 9.1; 19 men, 63 women), Italy (MA = 29.0 years; SD = 12.8; 23 men, 67 women), Mexico (MA = 20.0 years; SD = 7.0; 34 men, 23 women), Nigeria (MA = 34.7 years; SD = 10.5; 29 men, 32 women), Russia (MA = 24.6 years; SD = 6.3; 17 men, 72 women), Saudi Arabia (MA = 24.5 years; SD = 8.6; 28 men, 38 women), and Chile (MA = 34.3 years; SD = 15.1; 35 men, 43 women). To create experimental stimuli, we used 10 color combinations composed by the Russian avant-garde artist Mikhail Matyushin and his disciples for the Reference Book of Color (1932) based on shades that were typical in architectural design—yellow ochre, light umber, light ochre, and burnt umber. We removed the “intermediary” linking color from each of the selected color triads and asked participants to adjust the color of this band according to their liking. Mapping 2995 color choices into CIELAB and CIELCh color space to identify their chromatic characteristics (hue, lightness, and chroma), we demonstrate graphically that color triads in different cultures have a different “geometry” in CIELAB color space and on the color circle. We conclude that the revealed patterns of these relationships reflect cross-cultural “shifts” in human perception of color harmony. The analysis presented in this paper will facilitate opportunities for architects, designers, and other color professionals to create culturally specific harmonic color combinations in urban environments.

中文翻译：

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“玩弄”色彩：各国CIELAB色彩空间中色彩和谐的“几何”有多相似？

在物理环境和文化景观中，我们通常处理的不是单独的颜色，而是颜色组合。在选择颜色时，我们通常会尝试将其“适合”预先存在的颜色环境，使新的颜色组合和谐。然而，色彩和谐的“法则”是我们共同认知架构的基础，还是它们是因国家而异的文化产品？为了回答这些问题，我们对来自八个不同国家的 599 名年龄在 18 至 76 岁之间的参与者进行了一项实验，其中包括阿尔及利亚（MA = 26.2 岁；SD = 8.8；49 名男性，26 名女性）、白俄罗斯（MA = 19.8 岁；SD = 9.1 岁；SD = 9.1 岁）。 19 名男性，63 名女性）、意大利（MA = 29.0 岁；SD = 12.8；23 名男性，67 名女性）、墨西哥（MA = 20.0 岁；SD = 7.0；34 名男性，23 名女性）、尼日利亚（MA = 34.7 岁；23 名女性） SD = 10.5；29 名男性，32 名女性）、俄罗斯（MA = 24.6 岁；SD = 6.3；17 名男性、72 名女性）、沙特阿拉伯（MA = 24.5 岁；SD = 8.6；28 名男性、38 名女性）和智利（MA = 34.3 岁；SD = 15.1；35 名男性，43 名女性）。为了创造实验性刺激，我们使用了俄罗斯前卫艺术家米哈伊尔·马秋申 (Mikhail Matyushin) 及其弟子为《颜色参考书》(1932) 创作的 10 种颜色组合，这些颜色组合基于建筑设计中的典型色调——黄赭色、浅赭色、浅赭色和烧焦的琥珀色。我们从每个选定的颜色三色组中删除了“中间”连接颜色，并要求参与者根据自己的喜好调整该带的颜色。将 2995 种颜色选择映射到 CIELAB 和 CIELCh 色彩空间中，以识别其色彩特征（色调、亮度和色度），我们以图形方式证明不同文化中的色彩三元组在 CIELAB 色彩空间和色环上具有不同的“几何形状”。我们得出的结论是，这些关系所揭示的模式反映了人类对色彩和谐的感知的跨文化“转变”。本文提出的分析将为建筑师、设计师和其他色彩专业人士提供在城市环境中创建文化特定和谐色彩组合的机会。