Titanium Nitride and Titanium carbonitride films deposited by the hollow cathode discharge (HCD) process using N_2, C_2H_2 and H_2 gases as reactants are examined. The color characteristics and the spectral reflectance of TiN films are investigated by using the Hunter Lab system and multiple regression analysis. It is found that a hue close to that of electro-plated gold can be obtained with an appropriate composition, although lightness of the film surface decreases as the reactant gas throughput increases.