Color preferences in terms of value and chroma in university students’ dormitory rooms

Abstract

Environments are considered as interior and exterior, both of which color is a vital part. The existing preferences studies mainly focus on hue and not enough on value and chroma which of three is the perceptual variables of color. Value has shown to be a more prominent factor in affecting color preferences than hue. The main goal of this research is to explore the relation of chroma and value to the preferences of university students. In this regard, university students expressed their preferences for 12 different surfaces taking place in the interiors of a dormitory room. Each surface was analyzed separately and the results showed that university students prefer high value in their color selections for dormitory rooms, except for two surfaces. The relationship between chroma and preferences have shown significant correlation except for the cabinet. Chroma and value were found to have a weak negative correlation. In the final part of the study, the role of gender was analyzed, considering the fact that dormitories are designed based on gender. The results indicated that gender and color preferences have a significant relationship regarding specific surfaces, differing among genders. Two surfaces were found to have statistically significant relations to males, namely, the walls, the floor and two surface showed significance for females, that are, the floor and the cabinet. All in all, the results indicate a common propensity for high value and low chroma with chromatic colors as well as a minor role of gender, effective in color preferences studies.