Thirteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how colors of light have an impact on people’s emotion in a learning environment. Considering 83% of learning takes place by the sense of sight in the learning process (Gilavand, 2016), color and lighting are the design elements that significantly influence visual quality and clarity in a learning environment. Recent research also indicates that these design elements have an impact on human emotions (Kuller, 2017). Notably, the use of color and light has an impact on the motivation and engagement of students based on their state of mood at the time (Choi & Suk, 2016). Instead of looking at color and light separately, this study focuses on how colors of light affect quantitative measurements of lighting quality and pleasantness and energy levels of students in the learning environment. This exploratory quasi-experimental study took place over four weeks, and the data of lighting condition changes and emotional responses were collected. The outcomes of the study present how colors of light in learning environments affect participants’ pleasantness and energy levels. The results are discussed through a visual map between lighting and emotional changes which will inform the way designers integrate lighting within the learning environments.