To utilize wood effectively in the workplace environment it is significant to clarify the influence of wood on people. This study evaluated the visual influence of wood used in the workplace interior. Twenty workplace interior photographs were presented to each participant, who was asked to divide them into groups based on similar impressions. Subsequently, the participant was asked his or her impression of the companies in each group and the people who worked there. Based on a nonmetric multidimensional scaling method and cluster analysis, the photographs were roughly divided into the categories “wood interior” and “nonwood interior”. Content analysis of the impressions of photographs indicated that wood interiors gave mostly desirable impressions. In regard to nonwood interior photographs positioned near wood interior photographs in the plot of nonmetric multidimensional scaling, the participants’ responses suggested that furniture including wood, the color of walls and floor, pictures on the wall, indoor plants, and color and strength of lighting affected their impression.
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