Emotion-Spectrum Response to Form and Color: Implications for Usability


Alan Manning  
Brigham Young University  
alan_manning@byu.edu

Nicole Amare
University of South Alabama
namare@usouthal.edu

Question:  Do colors have consistent meanings across contexts and cultures?
Answer:  Yes but....
                                  Emotional, evaluation-neutral meanings persist.
                                  Conceptual, positive/negative meanings vary.
                                  Color effects are inseparable from form effects.


Entertained users feel diverted or amused.
Active users feel agitated or stimulated.
Knowlege-seeking users feel settled or at
peace, calmed, organized, focused on, concerned
with, OR challenged by what they see.

Agitated instead of amused = annoyed
Diverted instead of stimulated = distracted
Agitated or diverted instead of focused = confused
Etc.