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Pedagogy and education
Reference:

Evidence-based color: an explorative study of the quantity and quality of knowledge about the color of Russian design students

Griber Yuliya Alexandrovna

Doctor of Cultural Studies

Professor, Director of Color Laboratory at Smolensk State University

214000, Russia, Smolensk region, Smolensk, Przhevalskogo str., 4

y.griber@gmail.com
Other publications by this author
 

 
Ustimenko Yuliya Aleksandrovna

PhD in Pedagogy

Head of the Department of Design, Smolensk State University

214000, Russia, Smolensk region, Smolensk, Przhevalskogo str., 4


ustimenkoya@mail.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 

DOI:

10.7256/2454-0676.2023.4.69016

EDN:

WKTXRL

Received:

17-11-2023


Published:

04-12-2023


Abstract: The relevance of the research presented in the article is due to new trends in modern education related to the need for competent implementation of the results of modern cross-disciplinary color studies in the process of professional training of design students. The purpose of the work is to use the methodology tested in Sweden and the UK to establish the quantity and quality of knowledge about the color of Russian design students and to compare these parameters with the corresponding indicators of foreign students. The object of the study is the color competence of Russian students, the subject is cross–cultural differences in the principles and mechanisms of using color in everyday design practice. The authors consider in detail the main areas of research that have formed the scientific basis of evidence-based color design. To assess the quantity and quality of students' knowledge about color, a modified method of Janssens & Mikellides was used. The answers were collected during an online survey in which 187 students of the Design program (147 women and 40 men) aged 17 to 48 years took part (average age 20.43, SD=3.5). The main conclusion of the study is that Russian students have a fairly high index of knowledge about color and even surpass students studying in the UK and Sweden by this indicator. The value of the index of general knowledge about color is almost the same for first- and last-year students. A lower index of knowledge about the color vision of elderly people among students starting their studies compared to graduates correlates with differences in the choice of sources of information about color. Undergraduates are experiencing an increase in interest in evidence-based design and a change in the target setting for the use of classical color theory in the development of design solutions in combination with proven empirical data, which reflects the anthropological turn of modern design and urbanism in general. The results of the analysis have both practical and theoretical significance and will contribute to further understanding of art education in the world.


Keywords:

colour, color didactics, art education, professional education, color competence, evidence-based design, design, cross-cultural analysis, color vision of the elderly, methods of teaching color

This article is automatically translated. You can find original text of the article here.

Introduction

One of the most noticeable phenomena of our time has been the rapid change in the type of visual culture under the influence of the development of the production of synthetic pigments and dyes, the improvement of color printing devices and computer technologies [1; 2]. These processes led to the fact that in the XXI century, color became an integral part of social communication [3; 3], and polychromy moved from the category of passive to active [5]. In modern socio–cultural practices, from the sphere of service provision to marketing technologies, color is widely used as a tool for influencing a person - for manipulating impressions and emotions [6], managing consumer behavior [7] and creating a comfortable environment [8; 9].

All these events provoke an unprecedented increase in interest in evidence-based design based on evidence and scientific conclusions (from the English evidence–based design - evidence-based, scientific design). The paradigm of evidence-based design differs from the previous one by being less subjective in the development of design solutions and involves the meaningful use in practice of the results of the most convincing empirical studies (see, for example: [10].

In the field of color design, the scientific basis of evidence-based design is represented by several strategic lines at once.

First of all, these are studies of conscious reactions to the color of the anthropogenic environment – the psychological mechanisms of color associations and preferences [11; 12], the connection of color with emotions and feelings at various levels of human mental activity (see for example: [13; 14]), the effects of the coloristics of the anthropogenic environment on human well-being and mental comfort (see, for example: [15]). This line also includes studies of collective reactions to color of representatives of various social groups (people of different ages, men and women, representatives of different cultures) within the framework of a sociological approach and the emerging sociology of color (see, for example: [16; 17]), as well as significant experience in specific socio-, ethno- and psycholinguistic studies the color content of individual color concepts [18] and the mechanisms of color-related conceptual engineering (see, for example: [19; 20]).

Another strategic line of evidence-based design consists of psychophysiological studies of the mechanisms of perception and cognitive processing of color information, which are carried out using advanced hardware methods that allow recording galvanic skin reactions to color [21], electroencephalographic activity (see the review of studies in [22]), oculomotor data [23] and motor signals [24]. The practical potential of experimental studies of the socio-cultural specificity of the impact of color information on other sensory modalities of human perception (auditory, tactile, olfactory, vibrational, etc.) is also used (see, for example: [25; 26]).

In recent years, an important contribution to the formation of the scientific basis of evidence–based design has been made by works driven by the applied demands of artistic design - for example, research on the influence of color on the effectiveness of certain forms of activity (sports achievements [27], labor productivity [28], the educational process [29-31]). Within the framework of neuroesthetics of the color interior, its effect on the mental functioning of groups with certain psychological characteristics – people with autism syndrome [32], dementia [33], various neuropsychiatric disorders [34] is studied.

The current social order necessitates the competent implementation of the results of modern cross-disciplinary color studies in the process of professional training of future designers. In the system of modern professional education, evidence-based design is considered as an important methodological basis for the formation of the worldview of future color specialists. However, the growing amount of new and new experimental data makes researchers from around the world express concerns about the ability of modern color didactics to effectively adapt to a changing paradigm. This, in turn, cannot but affect the quantity and quality of knowledge about color of modern students, as well as the principles and mechanisms of using color in everyday design practice (see, for example: [35]).

It is also important that evidence-based design, having begun to develop actively in recent decades, has faced a number of problems caused by the implicit unreliability of existing publications on color (see, for example: [36]). Evidence-based medicine, which is based on similar principles, constantly deals with similar problems [37]. As a result, studies conducted in different countries of the world show a high degree of "contamination" of the knowledge of future designers and architects about color by the prevailing erroneous stereotypical ideas, as well as their skeptical attitude towards the possible use of color in everyday design practice [38].

The purpose of the research presented in the article is to use the methodology tested in Sweden and the UK to establish the quantity and quality of knowledge about the color of future Russian designers and compare these parameters with the corresponding indicators of foreign students. The object of the study is the color competence of Russian students, the subject is cross–cultural differences in the principles and mechanisms of using color in everyday design practice.

 

Methods

Participants

The study involved 187 undergraduate and graduate students of the Design program (147 women and 40 men) aged 17 to 48 years (average age 20.43, SD=3.5) (Table 1). All of them lived in various cities of the Russian Federation and studied at Russian universities during the study profiles "Modern Design", "Environment Design", "Architectural Environment Design", "Graphic design", "Interior Design", "Interior Decoration", "Industrial Design", "Design and Modern Art", "Advertising Design", "Media and Design".

Table 1

Gender and level of training of participants

 

Course

Total

Paul

The level of training

Zh

M

Bachelor course

Magistracy

First year

102

73

29

84

18

The last course

85

74

11

74

11

Total

187

147

40

158

29

 

The research procedure

To assess the quantity and quality of students' knowledge about color, a modified method for determining the index of J. Jensens and B. Michellides was used [38]. To diagnose the general level of knowledge, the index was calculated based on a scale of 9 questions, each of which allowed three possible answers ("yes", "no", "I don't know"). Each correct answer was rated at 1 point (Table 2).

Since an important area of applied projection of the new experimental data obtained is the improvement of the complex gerontological infrastructure (wellness, professional, leisure) and the necessary age-related "correction" of the color environment intended for elderly and senile people, we have expanded the format of the study. In addition to the scale of general knowledge about color, we developed a scale to measure the quantity and quality of knowledge about the color vision of older people, which included 9 more statements with the same set of possible options as the first scale.

Table 2

Scales for assessing the level of knowledge about color

The scale of assessment of the general level of knowledge about color

Yes

No

I don't know

Most people consider blue to be the most beautiful color

 

 

 

Additional colors always make a harmonious impression when used together.

 

 

 

The human eye can distinguish about 10 million color nuances

 

 

 

If the walls of a cold room are painted red, it will seem warmer in it

 

 

 

Hospital rooms painted green accelerate the recovery of patients

 

 

 

The size of the room can be optically reduced if you paint it dark

 

 

 

Most people will like a room with red walls more than a blue room

 

 

 

Light-colored objects appear to be less heavy than dark-colored objects

 

 

 

Men prefer dark colors, while women prefer light colors.

 

 

 

 

A scale for measuring the level of knowledge about the color vision of older people

Yes

No

I don't know

Older people like orange more than young people

 

 

 

Older people see red and yellow colors best

 

 

 

With age, color preferences change and, unlike young people, older people begin to like light shades less

 

 

 

Older people often confuse colors that look completely different to young people, for example, blue and green

 

 

 

In old age, all shades are perceived as less saturated

 

 

 

Older people are several times worse at seeing color contrasts

 

 

 

Rooms with dark walls are poorly perceived by older people, because they create a feeling of an enclosed space

 

 

 

All colors seem darker to older people than to younger ones

 

 

 

Most older people will like a room with yellow walls more than a blue room

 

 

 

 

The answers were collected during an online survey. The structure of the questionnaire included 4 blocks of questions.

Block 1        Socio-demographic characteristics

                   Education

Block 2        The main source of color information

Block 3        Color Knowledge Index

Block 4        The index of knowledge about the color vision of the elderly

 

Results

General knowledge of color: Russia vs Sweden and the United Kingdom

An analysis of the answers to the questions of the modified methodology by J. Jensens and B. Michellides [38] showed that Russian students are quite well informed about research related to color. The index of general knowledge about color averaged 4.79 and turned out to be higher than the same indicator recorded for students from the UK and Switzerland (Fig. 1).

 

 

Fig. 1. Index of general knowledge about color

students from Russia, Great Britain and Sweden

 

General knowledge of color: students of different courses

The differences in the index of J. Jensens and B. Michellides [38] among first- and last-year students turned out to be insignificant and amounted to 4.76 and 4.82, respectively (Fig. 2).

 

Fig. 2. Index of general knowledge about color

Russian students of different courses

 

Knowledge about the color vision of the elderly: students of different courses

At the same time, the index of knowledge about the color vision of the elderly among first-year students turned out to be one and a half times lower than the same indicator recorded among undergraduates (2.91 and 4.33, respectively) (Fig. 3).

 

 

Fig. 3. Index of knowledge about the color vision of the elderly

Russian students of various courses

 

Sources of knowledge about color

The survey showed that students starting and completing their studies receive information about color from fundamentally different sources (Fig. 4). For first-year students, the main source of information about color (75%) is the Internet (sites and messages in social networks). In addition, they read popular science literature and glossy magazines (57%), watch videos and TV shows (53%). Undergraduates focus primarily on the content of lectures (67%), personal experience (55%) and information posted on various Internet sites.

 

Fig. 4. Sources of knowledge about color

Russian students of various courses

 

Evidence-based design: theory vs practice

The overwhelming majority of the study participants answered in the affirmative to the question of whether the results of the most recent experiments with color should be included in the content of the designers' educational program (Fig. 5 on the left). Both senior students (78%) and freshmen (86%) agreed on this issue. However, as in previous studies (cf.: [38]), graduate students in general turned out to be quite critical of the possibility of applying experimental data in practice. When asked whether it is worth using the results of recent experiments when choosing the color of the interior, almost 40% of graduates answered negatively, another quarter (25%) found it difficult to answer. For comparison, more than half of the first-year students believe that this is necessary (56%).

 

 

 

Fig. 5. The opinion of Russian students of various courses on whether the results of experiments are needed in the content of the educational program of designers (left) and in their practical activities (right)

 

The color designer's mission: "synthetists" vs. "idealists"

After analyzing the ideas of Swedish students of the Faculty of Architecture about their future profession, E. Odmann came to the conclusion that, depending on the target setting, they can all be divided into three groups: "heirs", "idealists" and "synthetists" [39]. The "heirs" rely solely on their own imagination and experience. The "idealists" are determined to be "submissive" to customers and are going to focus on their specific requests. Finally, "synthetists" consider abilities and knowledge to be the most important components of the profession and plan to be guided by them in their future professional activities.

In relation to the analysis of the results obtained by us, E. Odmann's classification shows noticeable differences in the reception of the designer's mission in the process of searching for a color solution by novice students and graduates (Fig. 6). According to more than a third of first–year students, the designer is rather an "idealist": he must, first of all, take into account the wishes of the customer (38%) and try to implement his requests as much as possible. On the contrary, senior students in color design see themselves primarily as "synthetists". They are convinced that when choosing a color in their projects, the designer, first of all, should rely on the classical theory of color in combination with the results of the most convincing empirical studies (68%).

 

 

Fig. 6. The opinion of Russian students of the first (left) and last courses (right) on the mission of the color designer

 

Conclusions

The modified methodology of J. Jensens and B. Michellides [38], which we used to determine the existing level of knowledge about color among Russian students and identify attitudes towards their use of color in future design practice, allowed us to draw a number of important conclusions for our study.

Firstly, Russian students have a fairly high index of knowledge about color and even surpass students studying in the UK and Sweden by this indicator. This is largely due to the fact that the modern training program for designers in Russia necessarily includes at least one color-related course, the topics of which go far beyond the theory of color and are related to color psychology, color sociology and other areas of practical application of knowledge about color (see, for example: [40]). Another possible reason may be the fact that research in other countries was conducted earlier, and since then, the results of experiments that were used in the development of a scale to measure student awareness have become much more famous.

Secondly, the value of the index of general knowledge about color is almost the same for students of different courses. This result may be due to the fact that the majority of students enrolled in various design training profiles in Russia already have a general, secondary or secondary professional art education in the form of courses, an art school or even an art school and, accordingly, have basic knowledge in the field of color theory and color psychology.

Thirdly, a lower index of knowledge about the color vision of older people among students starting their studies compared with graduates correlates with differences in the choice of sources of knowledge about color. First-year students mainly focus on popular science sources – videos posted on the Internet, articles in glossy magazines, TV shows and messages on social networks. All these sources often publish unreliable data about color, which, under the guise of scientific facts, "wander" from one publication to another.

Fourth, the more skeptical attitude of future senior designers towards the prospects of using the results of experimental research in their own practice of color design is partly due to the fact that the vast majority of modern works on color are focused on the physiology and phenomenology of color. Such studies only casually concern color in the anthropogenic environment and the mechanisms of color influence on humans.  On the contrary, the authors of psychological research do not always draw conclusions about how practitioners whose professional activities are directly related to color (architects, designers, color consultants, etc.) can use the results they have obtained.

Fifthly, the growth of interest among senior students in using classical color theory in the development of design solutions in combination with proven empirical data, in our opinion, reflects the anthropological turn of evidence-based design and urbanism in general (see appendix: [41]). In the modern world, the main motivation for the formation of a color environment is human orientation. Such a change in optics inevitably entails a noticeable restructuring of the methodology of color didactics. Modern designers are taught not just to create technically verified and aesthetically significant color solutions, but, based on scientific facts, to do it in such a way that residents of different social characteristics really feel comfortable and comfortable in them.

In general, the results of the analysis have both practical and theoretical significance and will contribute to further understanding of art education in the world. The research should be continued with regard to expanding the geography of the survey and using the index of special knowledge about the color vision of older people in the study of foreign students, which has not yet been used to analyze the experience of learning color in other countries.

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The paper "Color based on facts: an exploratory study of the quantity and quality of knowledge about the color of future Russian designers" is submitted for review. The subject of the study. The work is aimed at studying the color competence of Russian students, identifying cross-cultural differences in the principles and mechanisms of using color in everyday design practice. The work carried out made it possible, using the methodology tested in Sweden and the UK, to establish the quantity and quality of knowledge about the color of future Russian designers and compare these parameters with the corresponding indicators of foreign students. The research methodology is based on an approach developed and tested in Sweden and the UK, evidence-based design. The paradigm of evidence-based design differs from the previous one by being less subjective in the development of design solutions and involves the meaningful use in practice of the results of the most convincing empirical research. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that there is a high degree of "contamination" of the knowledge of future designers and architects about color by the prevailing erroneous stereotypical ideas, as well as their skeptical attitude towards the possible use of color in everyday design practice. The scientific novelty of the research. The conducted research allowed us to obtain a significant number of results, which are described in the next section. Style, structure, content. The style of presentation corresponds to publications of this level. The language of the work is scientific. The structure of the work is clearly traced, the author highlights the main semantic parts. In the introduction, the author noted the relevance of the problem raised. It was highlighted that evidence-based design, which has begun to develop actively in recent decades, has faced a number of problems caused by the implicit unreliability of existing publications about color. In this regard, there is a problem of a high degree of "contamination" of the knowledge of future designers and architects about color by the prevailing erroneous stereotypical ideas, as well as their skeptical attitude towards the possible use of color in everyday design practice. The introduction identifies: the purpose, object and subject of the study. The next section is devoted to the review of the research program. The author describes a sample that included 187 undergraduate and graduate students of the Design program aged 17 to 48 years. The respondents live in different cities of the Russian Federation and study at different Russian universities. The training profiles are different: "Modern Design", "Environment Design", "Architectural Environment Design", "Graphic Design", "Interior Design", "Interior Decoration", "Industrial Design", "Design and Modern Art", "Advertising Design", "Media and Design". To assess the quantity and quality of students' knowledge about color, a modified method for determining the index of J. Jensens and B. Michellides was used, and a scale for assessing the level of knowledge about the color vision of older people was also determined. The survey was conducted in an online format. The following section presented the results obtained and analyzed. The data is indicated in the article in the form of figures with graphs and a detailed description of them. The author paid special attention to the description of general knowledge about color (Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom), general knowledge about color among students of different courses, knowledge about the color vision of older people. The section defines: the sources of knowledge about color among Russian students of various courses: their opinion on whether the results of experiments are needed in the content of the educational program of designers and in their practical activities; the opinion of Russian students of the first and last courses about the mission of the designer in color. The article ends with a summary. Special attention in the results is devoted to the discussion of the following issues: - the existing level of knowledge about color among Russian students has been determined and attitudes towards their use of color in future design practice have been identified; - a high index of knowledge about color has been identified, this indicator surpasses students studying in the UK and Sweden; - the value of the index of general knowledge about color practically coincides with students of different courses; - a lower index of knowledge about the color vision of older people among students starting their studies compared with graduates correlates with differences in the choice of sources of knowledge about color; - the growth of interest among senior students in using classical color theory in the development of design solutions in combination with proven empirical data reflects the anthropological turn of evidence-based design and urbanism in general; - the results of the analysis have both practical and theoretical significance and will contribute to further understanding of art education in the world. The conclusion, in general, contains reasonable and generalizing conclusions. Bibliography. The bibliography of the article includes 41 domestic and foreign sources, most of which have been published in the last three years. The list contains mainly articles and abstracts. In addition, there are monographs, textbooks, and online sources. The sources are designed, in general, correctly and uniformly. Appeal to opponents. Recommendations: - to carry out a more in-depth theoretical analysis of sources on the affected problem; - to determine the prospects for further research of the affected problem. Conclusions. The problems of the article are of undoubted relevance, theoretical and practical value; it will be of interest to specialists who deal with the problems of training designers in Russian education. The article can be recommended for publication taking into account the highlighted recommendations.