Evaluation of color impression using abstract and color-related semantic words and selection of suitable colors that express the word impression of these words

In this study, we investigate two hypotheses for determining color impression. Color impression can be directly determined by color appearance, especially in the case of the paired comparison, or by the combination of semantic impressions defined by words [especially in the semantic differential (SD) method]. We measured the color impression of 12 chromatic colors, black, gray, and white, using seven paired semantic words related to color properties and impressions and eight paired abstract words in the SD method. We also asked 10 observers to select the appropriate colors from the 15 colors in the paired comparison method for each word. Principal component analysis was applied to the data. In the results of the SD method, the coordinates of the colors on the space of the first and second principal component axes are basically spread as the hue circle but are more clustered than in the results of the paired comparison because the semantic words at higher grading points of the SD method are similar between neighboring colors. In the results of the paired comparison, the coordinates of the colors as loading values maintained the hue circle, and the color selection rates for the words in the paired comparison showed strong correlations with one of the color properties (<i>L</i>^∗,<i>a</i>^∗,<i>b</i>^∗, and <i>C</i>^∗), except for Murky, as do the grading points for the colors in the SD method, showing that color appearance can mostly determine color impression using words directly and relatively related to colors (except Vivid and Murky), but not using some of the abstract words (such as Clean, Magnificent, and Deserted). The direct comparison between the two methods suggests that the evaluation of color-related words is not directly determined by the color appearance and color category of the stimulus colors. Instead, the color image and color impression that have already been obtained through daily life and experiences influence color impressions more in color-related words. Color evaluations using words directly and relatively related to colors in the SD method is a more complex process and can be influenced more by the interaction between the semantic meanings of the words and the color appearance. In contrast, the evaluation of the paired comparison suggests that color appearance simply and directly determines word evaluation.