Research Design Connection: Surface Colors and Perceived Weight

Research by Sunaga, Park and Spence confirms that, all else being equal, things that are painted lighter colors are perceived to weigh less than items painted darker colors. The team described their study :“The present study examines how the lightness of packaging colors, and the location of products on a display shelf interact to affect consumers’ purchase decision‐making via perceived visual heaviness. As predicted, a display with light (dark) colored products positioned in the upper (lower) shelf positions increases shoppers’ perceptual fluency and facilitates their visual search, thus leading to the suggestion that ‘light’ (heavy) locations are most appropriate for light (dark) colored products
This research also demonstrates that when consumers consider the lightness (in terms of their weight) of the products, they are more likely to choose light (vs. dark) colored products located in the upper shelf positions
consumers’ purchase decision‐making may be promoted by in‐store environments designed to be congruent with their sensory correspondences.”

This research also indicates, for example, that people will be more comfortable when darker colored objects and surfaces are closer to the floor/ground than lighter colored ones.

Tsutomu Sunaga, Jaewoo Park, and Charles Spence. 2016. “Effects of Lightness-Location Congruency on Consumers’ Purchase Decision-Making.” Psychology and Marketing, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 934-950.

Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.