Colorimetric Factors Affecting the Evaluation of Impressions of Chromatic Shadow Letters

Abstract

Shadow letters refer to subjectively-perceived letters that lack actual contours, but have illusory contours acquired as a result of shading. This study aims to examine the colorimetric factors affecting the evaluation of impressions of chromatic shadow letters on the basis of the corresponding relationship between psychological evaluation and colorimetric values. In the impression rating experiment, twenty participants rated the impressions of - conspicuousness, legibility, and three dimensionality - of each letter string on a 7-point scale. It was inferred that the rating values increased when the participants observed differences in hues or tones between the colors of the shadow and background. Further, the colorimetric values of the stimuli between the colors of the shadow and background were evaluated based on the color measurement. An analysis of the correlation between the psychological rating values and the colorimetric values of the stimuli revealed that the impression strength of the shadow letter strings was largely dependent on the color difference.