Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Functionality of Color

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology

  • 201 Accesses

Synonyms

Color effects to humans and the environment; Color roles; Color uses

Definition

The use, informative, and aesthetic impact of color on humans and the environment.

Color and Function

Human environment may be considered as a system, since man and environment elements are mutually determinant in any sense – an interrelation concerned with demand of man for his environment. The function of the built environment is based on social demand, necessity raised to a social level.

Within the system of man and elements of his environment, structural relations are defined and sustained by complex functions. This complex is composed of three types of functions: utility, aesthetic, and informative ones. Utility function is understood as the designation and purpose of environment elements. Aesthetic functions bring about properties of environment elements which enable one to experience utility functions. Informative functions involve properties of environment elements by which their functions,...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Pickford, R.W.: Psychology and visual aesthetics. Hutchinson, London (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Birren, F.: Science and art, objective and subjective. Color Res. Appl. 10, 180–186 (1985)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Nemcsics, A.: Colour dynamics. Environmental colour design. Ellis Horwood, New York (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Nemcsics, A.: The coloroid colour system. Color Res. Appl. 5(2), 113–120 (1980)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Frieling, H.: Farbe in Kultur und Leben. Battenberg Verlag, Munich (1963)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Nemcsics, A.: Das Farbenpraferenz-Indexzahlensystems im Dienste der farblichen Raum-gestaltung. E’KME Tud. Kozl. 13(1/2), 21–261 (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Minah, G.: Color as idea. Colour Des. Creat. 2(3), 1–9 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Rao, J.: Introduction to camouflage and deception. Metcalf House, Delhi (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Swirnoff, L.: Dimensional color. Birkhauser, Boston (1989)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  10. Lenclos, J., Lenclos, D.: Colors of the world, the geography of color. W.W. Norton, New York (2004)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Architecture, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 3 Mûegyetem rakpart, Budapest, Hungary

    Antal Nemcsics

  2. Architecture, Landscape and Color Design, Arquitectura Paisajismo Color, Lima, Peru

    Malvina Arrarte-Grau

  3. College of Built Environments, Department of Architecture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Galen Minah

Authors
  1. Antal Nemcsics
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Malvina Arrarte-Grau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Galen Minah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antal Nemcsics .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Modern, Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    Ming Ronnier Luo

  2. School of Design, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Ming Ronnier Luo

  3. Graduate Institute of Colour and Illumination, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Ming Ronnier Luo

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this entry

Cite this entry

Nemcsics, A., Arrarte-Grau, M., Minah, G. (2016). Functionality of Color. In: Luo, M.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8071-7_237

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation