University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation

PERCEIVED AUTHENTIC PALETTES FOR CONTEMPORARY CHINESE RESTAURANT INTERIORS: A COLOR AND CULTURE COMPARISON BETWEEN CHINESE AND AMERICAN YOUNG PEOPLE

TIAN XU

A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF INTERIOR DESIGN

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

2016

To my family, especially my mom, Lianghua Ma, my dad, Zhiqiang Xu, and my husband, Luyi Yan, who have always shown me unconditional love and support

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis chair, Dr.

Margaret Portillo for continuous guidance throughout my thesis study, for her patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge. Her guidance helped me in all the stages of research and writing of this thesis. I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my master’s study.

Besides my thesis chair, I would like to thank my other committee member,

Professor Jason Meneely, for his encouragement, insightful comments, and hard questions.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank my family: my parents Zhiqiang Xu and Lianghua Ma, for giving birth to me in the first place and supporting me spiritually throughout my life. I would like to express thanks to my husband, Luyi, Yan, and my two lovely cats, Kimi Yan and Xiaobai Xu. They always encourage me with unconditional love and support, which helps me get through difficult times in my life.

To them, I dedicate this thesis.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... 4

LIST OF TABLES ...... 7

LIST OF FIGURES ...... 8

ABSTRACT ...... 10

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION ...... 12

Background ...... 12 Research Purpose and Questions ...... 17 Definition of Terms ...... 18

2 LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 19

The History of Authentic Chinese Color ...... 19 Chinese Color Theory ...... 25 Color Characteristic in Chinese Environment Design ...... 27 Color in Traditional Environments ...... 27 Color in Contemporary Environments ...... 31 Color Preference in Cross-cultural Studies ...... 34 Color Planning and Design Thinking Styles ...... 38

3 RESEARCH METHODS ...... 41

Participants ...... 41 Study Setting ...... 42 Instruments ...... 49 Data Collection ...... 50 Data Analysis ...... 51 Limitations ...... 52

4 RESULTS ...... 54

Characteristics of the Sample ...... 54 Reliability of Measures ...... 55 Subtractive Color Dimensions ...... 57 Hue ...... 57 Value ...... 57 Chroma...... 59 Color Planning and Design Thinking Styles ...... 60

Hue ...... 63 Value...... 67 Chroma ...... 68 Analysis in Munsell Color System ...... 80 Color Planning and Design Think Styles ...... 81

5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ...... 91

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Authentic Chinese Color Palettes ...... 91 Color Preference ...... 96 Color and Lighting ...... 98 Color Planning and Design Thinking Styles ...... 100 Implications and Further Research ...... 100

APPENDIX

A IRB APPROVAL ...... 103

B CONSENT FORM ...... 104

C SURVEY INSTRUMENT ...... 105

D DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ...... 106

E ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CC LIVE PAINT BUCKET DEMO ...... 107

F CHINESE COLOR PREFERENCES ...... 109

G AMERICAN COLOR PREFERENCES ...... 114

H OFFICIAL CHINESE DYNASTY PALETTES...... 119

LIST OF REFERENCES ...... 124

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...... 129

LIST OF TABLES

Table page

2-1 Official Colors of Chinese Regimes ...... 22

2-2 The Integral System between Five Colors, Five Elements, Five Directions, Five Climates and Five Meanings ...... 27

2-3 Color meaning in different cultures ...... 40

4-1 Characteristics of the participants ...... 56

4-2 Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the reliabilities of scales ...... 56

4-3 Analysis of variance for participants’ hue selection ...... 61

4-4 Mean and standard deviation scores for participants’ color selection of value .... 61

4-5 Simple OLS model for value ...... 61

4-6 Simple OLS adding in interaction terms ...... 62

4-7 Mean and standard deviation scores for participant’s color selection of chroma ...... 62

4-8 Simple OLS model for chroma ...... 62

4-9 Mean and standard deviation scores for participant’s design thinking of coloring sequence ...... 62

5-1 Frequencies of hues selected for interior design features ...... 93

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure page

2-1 The history of Chinese interior design ...... 23

2-2 The development of official colors for each dynasty in China...... 24

2-3 Positive and Negative Chinese color associations ...... 27

3-1 Chinese restaurant floor plan created by Revit 2014 and Adobe Illustrator ...... 46

3-2 Chinese restaurant perspective created by Revit 2014 and Adobe Illustrator ..... 47

3-3 Munsell color chart ...... 48

4-1 Percentage of each design feature in restaurant environment ...... 64

4-2 Descriptive analysis of perceived authentic colors by group ...... 65

4-3 Analysis of variance for value selection (5B) ...... 70

4-4 Analysis of variance for value selection (5G) ...... 71

4-5 Analysis of variance for value selection (5R) ...... 72

4-6 Analysis of variance for value selection (5Y) ...... 73

4-7 Analysis of variance for value selection (5P) ...... 74

4-8 Analysis of variance for chroma selection (5B) ...... 75

4-9 Analysis of variance for chroma selection (5G) ...... 76

4-10 Analysis of variance for chroma selection (5R) ...... 77

4-11 Analysis of variance for chroma selection (5Y) ...... 78

4-12 Analysis of variance for chroma selection (5P) ...... 79

4-13 Analysis of variance for participants’ color selection of 5B ...... 83

4-14 Analysis of variance for participants’ color selection of 5G ...... 84

4-15 Analysis of variance for participants’ color selection of 5R ...... 85

4-16 Analysis of variance for participants’ color selection of 5Y ...... 86

4-17 Analysis of variance for participants’ color selection of 5P ...... 87

4-18 Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of ceiling coloring sequence ...... 88

4-19 Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of soffit coloring sequence ...... 88

4-20 Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of wall coloring sequence ...... 88

4-21 Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of accent wall coloring sequence ...... 89

4-22 Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of floor coloring sequence ...... 89

4-23 Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of table coloring sequence ...... 89

4-24 Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of chairs coloring sequence ...... 90

4-25 Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of vase coloring sequence ...... 90

4-26 Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of artwork coloring sequence ...... 90

5-1 The most preferred color palette by American and Chinese participants ...... 95

Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Interior Design

PERCEIVED AUTHENTIC PALETTES FOR CONTEMPORARY CHINESE RESTAURANT INTERIORS: A COLOR AND CULTURE COMPARISON BETWEEN CHINESE AND AMERICAN YOUNG PEOPLE

Tian Xu

December 2016

Chair: Margaret Portillo Major: Interior Design

Chinese restaurants occupy a healthy segment of the ethnic restaurant market in the U.S (Othman & Goodarzirad, 2013). Yet Chinese restaurants may need to reconsider the overall guest experience and the influence of color as a key atmospheric elements. Interior color within Chinese restaurants, can play an important role in communicating culture (Han & Ryu, 2009). Moreover, achieving the sense of authenticity is particularly valued by millennials (Robson, 1999). Yet, thus far no empirical study has compared perceptions of authentic Chinese interior colors within the context of contemporary Chinese restaurant settings. Based on this reason and the need to better understanding cross-cultural color preferences in specific market sectors, the present study was conducted to identify young American and Chinese adults’ color preferences and color planning approaches for considering authentic Chinese palettes in contemporary Chinese restaurants.

This empirical study was conducted by having participants select interior color palettes utilizing a computational color selection tool representing Munsell notation for

the following hues: red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. A total of 40 responses were collected from American (n=20) and Chinese (n=20) participants.

The results identified color preferences in terms of hue, value, and chroma.

American participants selected darker and less saturated colors to represent authentic

Chinese restaurant interiors, while the Chinese participants preferred lighter and more highly saturated colors to create an authentic Chinese feeling. Both groups of participants preferred reds and yellows most frequently and typically did not choose purples for the interior. This study also found significant differences in color planning and design thinking styles, where Americans tended to initially focus on color within interior details while the Chinese first considered the overall palette and larger areas of color within the interior space.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Background

With the increase in economic globalization, cultural differences may become increasingly smaller, thus threatening cultural identity and a sense of place (Guerin,

1991). Yet, there remains a need to celebrate cross-cultural diversity. In the past decades, ethnic foods (e.g., Italian, Mexican, and Chinese) have become widely available and increasingly popular in the U.S. foodservice market, thus diversifying the tastes of Americans (Josiam & Monteiro, 2004). Chinese restaurants have occupied a large part of the Chinese markets in the U.S. According to the magazine Chinese

Restaurant News (2011), there are more than 46,000 Chinese restaurants in the United

States, totaling more than all McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King domestic franchises combined. It has been estimated that 90% of the American population has tried Chinese food and 63% of Americans eat Chinese food each month (George,

2000). Further franchised Chinese restaurants have entered the U.S. including Yammy

House, Jimmy Chung’s and Panda Express. These restaurant segments can be quite lucrative, and create a blending of eastern and western cultures required for a successful American Chinese restaurants (Chen & Bowen, 2001). Most Chinese restaurants have menus replete with taste popular selections at relatively low price point, which makes Chinese cuisine the most popular ethnic food (National Restaurant

Association, 1995). Yet today’s customers, especially the millennial, desire not only good taste and low prices but also want an authentic restaurant experience. A recent study found that American’s perceptions of Chinese restaurants seems are more negative than in the past when considering food quality and price (Jang, Ha, & Silkes,

2009). “Food and environment,” “service and courtesy,” “price and value,” and “location, advertising, and promotion” are the factors influencing the customers’ overall experience to dine at Chinese restaurant. Like other mainstream restaurants, attributes such as price, employee services, food quality, location, and parking convenience, similarly influence consumer perceptions toward ethnic restaurants. An especially critical attribute of an ethnic restaurant’s attractiveness and popularity is its “authentic” environment (Lee, Hwang, & Mustapha, 2014).

Researchers suggest that one way to improve the restaurant experience is to improve Chinese restaurant design and decoration, using selective visual elements to attract customers (Liu & Jang, 2009). Using color in a Chinese restaurant offers a way to attract customers, increase appetite, and improve the customers’ overall experience, and potentially improve profits. Color not only contributes to differentiating products from competitors but also can impact human moods and behaviors in either positive or negative way. About 62-90 percent of the assessments are based on color alone (Lee,

2002). Research indicates that atmospherics have significant effects on customers’ positive and negative emotions; perceived value and behavioral intentions (Liu & Jang,

2009). Comparing fast food (McDonald’s, KFC, Wendy’s, etc.) and formal restaurants,

McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s have similar corporate color schemes made up by warm, highly saturated colors (Robson, 1999), such as red, yellow, and orange. The blue color is linked to a calm state (Kido, 2000), which is used in formal restaurants to calm and relax customers. This feeling can increase the likelihood of customers lingering longer. In other words, longer stays may correspond to larger meals, more drinks, wines, coffees, or desserts, therefore, greater profits. Research which focuses

on color as stimuli to enhance pleasure feelings and its effect on diners’ behavior in restaurant interiors (Lee, 2012) has indicated that colors play persuasive roles in forming feelings and behaviors, and also play an important role in creating positive consumer outcomes and building stronger customer relationships. In a word, restaurants’ colors can significantly affect sales.

However, the relationship between color and emotion is very complex. Color emotion may be influenced by age, and sex of participants, as well as their national and cultural backgrounds (Gao et al., 2007). Previous studies were conducted to the human emotion induces by color and to find their relationship with color perception. For example, one research study on color meaning and preference in the interior environment compared four cultures: American, English, Korean, and Japanese (Park &

Guerin, 2002). The findings uncovered significant color preferences between Western and Eastern countries. Saito (1996) also identified statistically significant differences in the frequency of selecting hues and tones by Japanese, Chinese, and Indonesians.

Color preferences in Asian contexts often emphasized a preference for white (Saito,

1996). Research also suggested that Americans have a greater preference level for color complexity than do Chinese (Ham & Guerin, 2004). While research suggests that

Americans and the Chinese prefer different color attributes inside built environment, but specific cross-cultural color inquiry is called for within a restaurant environment.

A restaurant has many complex physical surroundings, or what have been referred to as the “servicescapes” (Bitner, 1992), which has many effects on the guest.

From customers’ viewpoints, color is an important environmental cue in evaluating their overall experience (Lee, 2012). Research shows that the color design of commercial

interiors influences clients’ perceptions of the store’s ambiance (Yildirim, Akalin-

Baskaya, & Hidayetoglu, 2007). In restaurant environments, some research suggests that violet interiors are more positively perceived when compared with yellow interiors.

This study demonstrates that short wavelength colors – associated with cool colors, such as blue, violet, and green, are preferable than long wavelength colors – associated with warm colors, like red, yellow, and orange. In a restaurant, substantial sensory and aesthetic components, such as color, lighting, smell, taste, styles, and graphic design influence customers’ experience (Witkowski, Ma, & Zheng, 2003). According to

Witkowski’s research, cross-cultural differences in customer preferences, behaviors and design can be seen in the case of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). The KFC restaurants in China are painted in brighter colors than in the U.S, and the results show that

Chinese people like to spend more time eating in KFCs with their friends and families than do Americans. Overall, the Chinese people have much more positive impressions of KFC than do their U.S counterparts. While this doesn’t imply that color changes behavior, this is an interesting finding that warrants greater investigation.

There has not been much empirical on what colors are perceived as more authentic in Chinese interior environment. Previous studies examined Chinese color in physical environments examine retail, coffee/restaurants, and office/work space. These studies have shown that color influences human behavior, preference, and meaning

(Babin, Hardesty, & Suter, 2003; Bellizzi, Crowley, & Hasty, 1983; Kimes, 2004; Michon,

Chebat, & Turley, 2005; Stone, 2003; Stone & English, 1998; Yildirim et al., 2007).

Some findings in recent studies show a significant effect of interior color on emotional states, retail preferences, and purchasing behaviors (Witkowski, Ma, & Zheng, 2003;

Yildirim, Akalin-Baskaya, & Hidayetoglu, 2007). But these studies do not involve cross- cultural aspects.

The variability of color terms cross-linguistically (from language to language) points to a more culture-specific phenomena. This presents designers with a new challenge of applying color in Chinese restaurants so as to attract more customers. The

Munsell subtractive system (1946) which numerically describes colors and has been in wide use for over seven decades. According to the Munsell color system, color is generally defined in three dimensions: hue, value, and chroma. Hue is defined by

Munsell as the “the dimension that distinguishes one color family from another, as in red from yellow and green from blue.” (p.5). Value is defined as the “color dimension that distinguishes a deep or dark color from a pale or light one.” (p.7). Chroma is defined as the “color dimension that distinguishes a vivid or intense color from a weak or grayish one.” (p.9). Muyueh Lee’ research (2013) shows the differences between how the

English language and Chinese language each describes a color by Hue-Saturation-

Lighting (HSL) model. There are more than 250 different color terms in the Chinese. A cross-cultural color study has found that there is a difference in chroma and hue between the two languages, and a systematic discrepancy is found in blackness (Lin,

Luo, MacDonald, & Tarrant, 2001).

Three recent studies found evidence for cross-cultural differences between

Western and Eastern cultures on color meaning and preference. The two culture groups differed significantly in their responses to the different color palette in an interior environment (Park, & Guerin, 2002), in a retail setting (Seock, & Lin, 2011), and for a patient room design (Gyu, & Park, 2013). From these previous studies, an informed

guess can be made that interior color elicits different meanings for Americans and

Chinese. As the world grows smaller, interior designers will be increasingly called upon to design for more diverse cultures internationally. Creating spaces that communicate a sense of authenticity is important for many clients and end users, especially for the millennials. For both Chinese restaurant designers and Chinese restaurant owners, there is a benefit to understanding cross-cultural meanings of authentic Chinese interior palettes which can impact the guest experience.

Research Purpose and Questions

A typical Chinese restaurant often uses Chinese family members as employees, has a Chinese brand name, uses Chinese-styles furniture, is decorated with Chinese styles pictures and artifacts, and painted as Chinese styles color. There is a lack in the body of knowledge that what, and how to define an authentic Chinese styles color, and whether, and what is the color perception difference between two cultures. For these reasons, the current study aims to investigate the perception between American and

Chinese students on what defines of “authentic” Chinese color in the context of restaurant environments.

More specifically, the objectives of this study are to explore cross-cultural perceptions of the authentic Chinese color in a contemporary Chinese restaurant environment defined by the preferred palettes (Munsell hue, value, and chroma) selected by Chinese and American university students. This study will help uncover the multiple meanings of perceived authentic Chinese color palettes for the service market sector. The findings from this study will contribute to a better understanding of cross- cultural design and also will explore the color planning process (Portillo, 2009).

To achieve the objectives of this study, the specific research questions are proposed as follows:

 What color palettes do Chinese perceive as authentic in the context of contemporary Chinese restaurant environments?

 What color palettes do Americans perceive as authentic in the context of contemporary Chinese restaurant environments?

 How do the resulting cross-cultural palettes compare in terms of hue, value, and chroma?

 Do any cross-cultural difference exist in the color planning sequencing for considering authentic palettes for contemporary Chinese restaurant environments?

Definition of Terms

The terms used in this study are defined as follows:

CULTURAL – The collective programming of the mind that distinguishes one group or category of people from another (Swaidan & Hayes, 2005)

AMERICAN – Individuals who were born and raised in the United States of America

CHINESE – Individuals who were born and raised in the People's Republic of China

MUNSELL COLOR SYSTEM – A color space that specifies colors based on three color dimensions: hue, value (lightness), and chroma (color purity)

HUE – The dimension that distinguishes one color family from another, as in red from yellow and green from blue (Long, 2015)

VALUE – The color dimension that distinguishes a deep or dark color from a pale or light one (Long, 2015)

CHROMA – The color dimension that distinguishes a vivid or intense color from a weak or grayish one (Long, 2015)

H/V/C – Hue marked as 5R, 5B, 5Y, 5G, 5P; value marked as 1/ to 9/; chroma marked as 1/ to 9/ for 5R, 1/ to 9/ for 5P, 1/ to 5/ for 5B, 1/ to 6/ for 5Y, and 1/ to 7/ for 5G

MUNSELL PRINCIPLE COLORS – Red (5R), Blue (5B), Yellow (5Y), Green (5G), Purple (5P)

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is a review of the literature in the following topics that are relevant to the current study: (1) the history of authentic Chinese color, (2) Chinese color theory, (3) palettes characteristic of Chinese built environments, (4) color preference in cross- culture studies, (5) color planning and design thinking styles.

The History of Authentic Chinese Color

China is one of the oldest civilizations, spanning at least 5,000 years. During its heyday, China was one of the most advanced societies in the world, but through imperialism and civil wars results in its eventual decline. Still, China has a flourishing history and tradition of art, literature and culture. The traditional Chinese interior began during the prehistoric period to 1840 (Chen & Liu, 1996; Wu et al., 2012; Zeng, 2005;

Huo, 2007; Huang, 2002). In recent decades, Chinese design is heavily influenced by the west. In 1979, China reopened their doors to the world again, welcoming new ideas and the latest technologies. The country is steadily moving towards democratic ways, becoming more liberal with new ideas and new technologies, especially in art and design (Zeng, 2005). China is developing with creative energy and a strong sense of nationalism. The color is one of the design elements that has been inherited and brought forward.

Mono chromatic colors were used in ancient Chinese color systems. (Chen & Liu,

1996). Throughout the history of Chinese ceramics most Chinese ceramics were used mono chromatic color, such as Ray Grain White Ceramics (Shang Dynasty) [雷纹白陶瓷

]; Phoenix White Porcelain (Sui, Tang Dynasty) [凤凰白瓷瓶], White and Black Vine

Pattern Carved Bottles (North Song Dynasty) [白地黑刻蔓藤纹瓶], and White and Blue

Vine Pattern Utensils (Yuan Dynasty) [白地青花蔓藤纹器皿]. In addition, the most representative arts in ancient China is Chinese Ink Painting, the color used in a painting is still black and white, such as Mi Fu’s [米芾] painting “Tower of Rising Clouds [云起楼

图]”, Fan Kuan [范宽] painted a 6.75 feet landscape known as the “Travelers among

Mountains and Steams [谿山行旅]”. In China, black and white are the major tones and were sometimes combine with red, yellow, and qing (blue-green) (Chen & Liu, 1996).

There are basic elements of “five color” and “five elements” theory. The color is considered to be an important factor in the formation of the universe in China (Chen &

Liu, 1996).

Color is a symbol of a dynasty in ancient China. China has more than 5,000 years of history, and each dynasty has an official color of their regimes (Gao, 2012).

The history of color in China began at prehistoric (ca.60,000 – ca.2,000 BCE) (Wu et al.,

2012). Figure 2-1 shows the history of China from prehistoric time to the People’s

Republic of China. This creates the timeline of the development of official colors for each dynasty in China shown in Figure 2-2 which shows the official color of 16 regimes.

The general layout of the official color of the 16 Chinese regimes is summarized in

Table 2-1.The prehistoric period also means mythology period (Birrell, 1999). After prehistoric, there are two turning point: 1) Spring and Autumn Period and 2) Wei, Jin; and Southern and Northern and three peak periods: Qin and Han Dynasties, Five

Dynasties, and Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasty. From 1840 to 1949 is the transition time during Chinese color which evolves from traditional to contemporary.

Table 2-1 shows that the red color has been the official color in the Shennong

Empire and dominated about 2,800 years out of the 5,000-year-long Chinese history.

The present study has suggested that the red color has dominated in China for many reasons throughout the history. The following historical origins of Chinese color symbolism are:

1. The red color is always associated with happiness and good fortune in China (Bu, 2012) and originated in the ancient worship of “God of the Sun” and “God of the Earth.” In the Han dynasty, Han Gao Zu [汉高祖], the first emperor of the Han dynasty, called himself “Son of Red Emperor [赤帝之子]” (Bu, 2012). This is an example of the ancient worship of the color red. After the Han dynasty, people always used something red to celebrate New Year, wedding, and other festivals, such as red couplets on both sides of the gate, red paper-cuts on the window, red characters on the door, and red wedding dress. They believe that the red always brings luck to them.

2. The red color is symbolic of fire and wards off evil spirits (Zhao, 2012). Red loving customs can be traced back to the ancient worship of fire, which always shelters people with warmth and safety and brings passion. In ancient China, the red color was painted on the wall of palaces and temples, such as the Forbidden City in Beijing, which has red walls and red doors everywhere.

3. The red color indicates loyalty and courage (Q. Zhang, 2015). During the Chinese revolution period (1927-1949), the communists used the red color on their logo, flag, and banners to encourage the Chinese army to bravely fight against the enemy. The army of the Communist Party of China (CPC) named them the Workers and Peasants of the Red Army of China [中国工农红军] in 1928 (Gao, 2012).

4. The red color represents authority (Bu, 2012). The red color was used to distinguish the ranks between ministers. In general, above three-rank ministers wear crimson official uniforms, and above five-rank ministers wear red official uniforms (Guo, 2006). In China, red is also the official color of the official seal.

Table 2-1. Official Colors of Chinese Regimes White Red Yellow Black Blue-Green PaoXi Shennong (-60000~-3000) (-3000~-2500)

XuanYuan XuanYuan XuanYuan (-2500~-2000) (-2500~-2000) (-2500~-2000)

Shang Zhou Qin (-1600~-1050) (-1050~-256) (-221~-207)

Han Han Han(26~220) (26~220) (26~220)

Yuan Jin Wei (266~420) (220~266)

Southern Five (420~589) (907~960)

Sui Tang (581~618) (618~907)

Yuan Ming (1270~1368) (1368~1644)

Qing Qing Qing Qing (1636~1912) (1636~1912) (1636~1912) (1636~1912)

ROC1 ROC ROC ROC ROC (1912~1949) (1912~1949) (1912~1949) (1912~1949) (1912~1949)

PRC2 (1949~) 1 ROC: Republic of China (1912~1949). 2 PRC: People’s Republic of China (1949~). Note: The PRC did not officially set any official color, But the PRC preferred to use red colors informal setting, such as the sovereign flag and the army of the Communist Party of China.

Figure 2-1. The history of Chinese interior design

Figure 2-2. The development of official colors for each dynasty in China.

Chinese Color Theory

Chinese color theory is derived from the development of Chinese color history with the most important and widely used theory being the Five-Color theory. As a philosophical thought, the Five Color theory, originated in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and was originated formed in the Period of Warring States (Sun & Sun, 2012). Its connotation holds that the five elements of wood, fire, metal, earth, and water are the natural strengths supporting the universe. This thought holds that the cycling of the prosperity of these five elements enhances the universe to have transformations (Chen

& Liu, 1996; Jin & Cao, 2014; Ji, 2011). It regards these five colors, blue, red, black, white and yellow, as the color symbolism of the Five Elements, which are considered the authentic colors (Ji, 2011). The Five Colors correspond to and associate with the other Five Elements (Lee, 2012). The Five Colors (red, yellow, white, green, black), the

Five Elements (metal earth, fire, wood, water), the Five Directions (west center, south, east, north), the Five Climates (dry, camp, hot, wind, cold), the Five Meanings (grief, majestic, happy, grown, despair), etc. has become an integral system that can be mutually transformed and mutually dependent (Table 2-2).

Based on the belief of “mutual productive and destructive,” the intermediate colors were prepared, which were of the five colors. Zou Yan, an expert in the theory of

Yin and Yang of the Jixia Academy during the end of the Period of the Warring States, proposed the viewpoint of “The mutual productive and destructive of the Five Elements,” holding that the phenomenon “Wood supports Fire, Fire supports Earth, Earth supports

Metal, Metal supports Water, Water supports Wood” are the transformation modes of

“mutual productive of the Five Elements”, and the phenomenon “Wood exhausts Earth,

Earth stops Water, Water extinguishes Fire, Fire melts Metal, Metal cuts Wood” are the transformation relationships of “mutual destructive of the Five Elements.” The productive cycle means that each single element produces one another, and the destructive cycle means that each single element is in control of another specific element. (Figure 2-3) (Chen & Liu, 1996).

For example, “The productive of fire from wood” corresponds to green and red, and the fusion of green and red produces purple. “The productive of earth from fire” corresponds to “red and yellow,” and the fusion of red and yellow equals to orange.

“The productive of metal from earth” corresponds to “yellow and white,” and the fusion of yellow and white produces a whitewash. “The productive of water from metal” corresponds to “white and black,” the fusion of which produces deep blue. This is what is meant by the “mutual productive cycle of the five elements”, and the adjacent ones are the mix of single colors, driving at the five intermediate colors. However, the “mutual destructive cycle of the Five Elements” can lead to another set of intermediate colors using another method. “The destructive of water by fire” corresponds to “black destructive red,” and the destructive of red by black generates deep red. “The destructive of metal by fire” corresponds to “destructive of white by red,” the light red of the destructive of red by white. “The destructive of wood by metal” corresponds to

“destructive of green by white”, the fusion of which produces light green. “The destructive of the earth by wood” corresponds to “destructive of yellow by green,” the fusion of which procures blue-green. “The destructive of water by earth” corresponds to

“destructive of black by yellow.” the fusion of which produces brownish yellow. This is

the basic rule about how to apply Five Color theory to get intermediate colors in

Chinese culture.

Table 2-2. The Integral System between Five Colors, Five Elements, Five Directions, Five Climates and Five Meanings Five Colors White Yellow Red Green Black Five Elements Metal Earth Fire Wood Water Five Directions West Centre South East North Five Climates Dry Damp Hot Wind Cold Five Meaning Grief Majestic Happy Grown Despair Five Seasons Fall Late Summer Summer Spring Winter

Figure 2-3: Positive and Negative Chinese color associations

Color Characteristic in Chinese Environment Design

Color in Traditional Environments

In ancient China, the “mutually productive cycle of Five Colors” are often opted for guiding the colors’ use in architectures and interior design (Yu & Zhou, 2007). In

Chinese ancient architectures, most pillars, doors, and windows in palaces or residences are made of wood, based on the Five Color Theory. Wood is mutually productive from fire and water, respectively corresponding to red and black. The

elements of destructive wood are earth and metal, respectively corresponding to the yellow and white colors. In ancient Chinese buildings, red and black are the most common colors, and yellow and white are barely used (Zhang & Lv, 2014). For example, for the facade pillars and doors of the buildings in the quadrangle dwellings in

Beijing, black and red colors are usually adopted, while yellow or whites are rarely seen in this historic context.

Color in the traditional interior environment. Rich and pure colors are generally seen as creating traditional Chinese interiors (Chen, Huang, & Wen, 2009).

This is because it was stipulated during the period of Western Zhou Dynasty that the colors of yellow, red, green, white and black are the authentic colors, which are representing the relations between the emperor, ministers, and the public (Yang & Wan,

2001). Vermilion was used for the emperors and kings, black was used for the princesses and dukes, and green was used for the common bureaucrats. Common people were only allowed to use the earthy yellow color (Zhu, 1990). It was also stipulated by the rulers of the Qing Dynasty that the gates of the Dukes were gold in color, green was used for the officials in the First and second ranks, black was used for the officials of the Third to Fourth ranks, and the color gray was used for common people (Zhu, 1990).

Take the quadrangle dwellings in Beijing as an example, the main body of the architecture mainly features blue-green and gray tones, with blue-green bricks, plain stones, gray tiles, and chestnut black as the main colors (Wang, 2013). The interior colors of quadrangle dwellings are in basic accordance with the main color of the architecture. The interior mainly features dark yellow furniture, bluish and gray flooring

and walls. Tan (2007) mainly studied the colors of ancient villages in Huizhou, and findings show that the external space of the architectures in the ancient villages of

Huizhou mainly featured such colors as black, gray, and white. The raw materials of the ancient buildings are bricks, stones, and wood, with wooden structures being the main part. The interior colors mainly feature pure black, pure white, and pure gray of different extents, coupled with the embellishments of blue color, such as the application of the blue tiles in the interior decoration.

Color in traditional restaurant design. The colors of the traditional Chinese restaurants seem to have been inherited from the traditional Chinese interiors (Zhang &

Lv, 2014). The colors of traditional Chinese restaurants are participant to the impacts of the color hierarchy system. The yellow color is considered noble, followed by red, green, blue, white and gray (Tan, 2007). Zhang and Lv (2014) stated that the positions of colors for the façade of the seasoned cuisine brand “Quanjude Roast Duck

Restaurant” located on Qianmen Avenue (an avenue dedicated solely for travelling by the emperors), the architecture structures on the upper part of the building adopted the yellow decoration (dragon pattern), with its lower parts embellished with one or several layers of white marble base and fencing, which rightly correspond to the traditional theory of color featuring the productive of “metal” from “earth”. Below the eaves of this building are the shadows of blue and green colors, which form a vivid color effect, and also corresponds to the rules of the productive of “fire” from “wood” (Zhang & Lv, 2014).

However, in general, restaurants only can use blue-green and gray as the main tone, with the dark yellow or dark red furniture (Wang & Song, 2007).

Color in traditional architecture. The traditional Chinese architectures generally manifested the characteristics of the system of Five Colors (i.e., white, green, black, red, and yellow); and reflected primary architectural categories while also expressing the close associations between humans, residences, environments, and ecology (Wang, Zhu, & Ren, 2008).

White architecture - with the Potala Palace as an example. Ye (1995) was mainly focused on the color of the Potala Palace, which was built in accordance with the mountain landforms with solid walls of white marble and golden and glittering golden roofs. The main color is white, supplemented by red and yellow. The white color belongs to the earth, and the yellow color belongs to the metal; therefore it is appropriate to adopt the fire color as embellishments.

Green architecture - with the Suzhou Gardens as an example. Research shows that Suzhou gardens mainly features the green and gray colors, without the application of the color white in large areas (Yu, 2014). This is because white belongs to metal, which restricts wood. The large-area whitewash walls are the basic tone, coupled with black and gray tiled tops (Li, 2003).

Black architecture - with the ancient temple in Huizhou as an example. The ancient temples in Huizhou feature black and white colors as the main tone (Tan, 2007).

The climate in Huizhou is damp and hot, featuring strong UV rays. Therefore, the application of white can reduce the heat absorption of the external walls, thus maintaining the constant temperature inside. Tan (2007) stated that Huizhou is well- known for its waterways, and in the colors of the Five Elements, black belongs to water.

Red architecture - with the Imperial Palace in Beijing as an example. The color red is the main tone in the Imperial Palace because red represents authority in ancient

China (Yang & Wan, 2001). Red has used for the palaces and hall pillars, it signifies fairness and righteousness. Yellow was adopted for the roofing, it denotes the meaning of being in the center, for an emperor must be positioned in the central position.

Color in Contemporary Environments

The modern Chinese styles also echoes the traditional Chinese styles (Yu,

2005). This traditional styles features the use of deep colors as its main color tone, such as dark red, black, earthy yellow and blue-green. In more modern Chinese applications, designers always use bright colors as its main tones, such as pink, rose red, light yellow and yellow-red. In terms of the color applications, modern Chinese designers often emphasize more saturated bold colorations, changing the dark red to brighter red and black to gray (Yan & Ma, 2012).

Color in the contemporary interior environment. There are there major color categories for Chinese color in the contemporary interior environment: background color, dominant colors and embellished colors (Gao, 2011; Hong, 2011; Zhang, 2008).

Background color - It generally refers to the colors of large area interior space

(Zhang, 2008), such as the ceiling, walls, and floors. Background color, mainly serves as the overarching color for the rest of the palette. In the designs featuring modern

Chinese styles, the gentle grayish, white or white color with low degrees of saturation are mostly opted for background color.

Dominant Color - The dominant color generally refers to the key color formed by the main furniture (Hong, 2011), such as beds, cabinets, and sofas. In the matching of

the dominant colors, attention must be paid to reaching uniformity with the background colors while substantiating its unique features.

Embellished Color - Embellished colors refer to the small-area, accent colors in the interior environment (Gao, 2011). These color accents can be found in artwork, displayed crafts, small decorations and localized interior components such as lighting.

Color in contemporary restaurant design. Chinese red occupies a dominant position in Chinese contemporary restaurant design, and it should be configured with other colors in use (Sun & Sun, 2012). When doing the designs of Chinese restaurants, the color should be closely combined with the functions of the different restaurant area, the dinners' psychological needs and the products provided by the restaurant. The combination of adjacent colors, similar colors and contrasting colors are most commonly used in contemporary restaurant design (Yi & Wang, 2013).

Adjacent colors - The adjacent color of red is orange. In contemporary Chinese restaurant design, lighter adjacent colors are adopted as the background color and then one to two colors with higher color tones are adopted to embellish the dinner tables, chairs, and furnishings, so as to reach the natural effect of distinctive primary tone and secondary tone (Yi & Wang, 2013). The “Taste·Jianghu” restaurant adopted the glass exterior wall and red bamboos featuring strong Chinese tastes, thus bestowing upon the customers an initial scenery. Entering the restaurant, you are surrounded by an ambiance of redness. All the detailed decorations in the lounge area adopted the color red to some different extent, with the red background walls, the red wooden planks with carved patterns and bright red back cushions are still used as the matching furnishing for the sofas.

Similar colors - Similar colors means the color tones are the same or similar (Yi

& Wang, 2013). An example of the application of similar colors in restaurant design is the use of bright red draping, the deep red carpet as well as the pink colored table clothes. In the “Languishing Dinner Bar” in Beijing, the interiors and exteriors are decorated with different Chinese red colors, such as the lighter red lotus flower petals, dark red tents, and pink pearl screens.

Contrasting colors - Contrasting colors means the colors with contrasting color tones or colors with distinctive brightness and darkness (Yi & Wang, 2013), for example, red and green, yellow and purple, blue and orange are the most typical contrasting colors. In restaurant design, the red table with dark green seats, or the yellow sofas with purple cushions can all bring about strong visual impacts to the customers. In the main hall of “Qingyulou” in Beijing, the flax fabric is dyed into red and green colors.

Color in contemporary architecture. The colors of Chinese modern architecture have inherited and carried forward the colors of traditional architecture

(Chen, Chen, & Lei, 2015). There are two kinds of systems in the Chinese contemporary architecture: the royal architecture and the residential buildings (Yan &

Ma, 2012).

The royal architectures usually use red and yellow as main tones to manifest the authority and status (Yan & Ma, 2012). The China Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo is one of the most successful Chinese contemporary architectures. The design of the

China Pavilion mainly interpreted the Chinese characters through two aspects: the first one was the simplified building members, which are most representative in Chinese traditional architecture—the form of the so-called Dougong (a system of brackets

inserted between the top of a column and a crossbeam); secondly, with the architectural colors of the Imperial palace as an enlightenment, large areas of Chinese red were adopted for the exhibition hall. By using a variety of gradual changes from top to bottom, the designers used four kinds of different red colors from light to deep to relieve the discomfort that may be brought about by long-time viewing; meanwhile, it adequately interprets the characteristics of Chinese architecture. In another example, for the design of Chongqing Guotai Art Center, the designers drew some enlightenment from the colors of the architecture in the Han Dynasty and adopted the conspicuous tones of red and black, thus forming a strong visual compact.

The color system of residential buildings mainly features such colors as black, white and gray (Yan & Ma, 2012). Suzhou Museum was designed and construed by

Ieoh Ming Pei. A mix of black, white and gray colors--typical colors used in residential buildings in Suzhou were adopted for the Museum. The whitewash color was adopted for the entire building, and then the deep gray stone slabs as the roofing and the decorations on the white walls. This gave the buildings the main features of residential buildings in the south area of China.

Color Preference in Cross-cultural Studies

Researchers have investigated the relationship of color to many different variables, including color preferences, color perceptions, personality related color choice, color meaning, and cross-culture color studies. Precedent studies were helpful to determine the color characteristics and develop color research methods that were used in the present study. An important distinction is previous color studies investigated either single hue or color palette in a general design environment or general design thinking, not a designed selection of color in specific Chinese restaurant environment,

which is more representative of how color is actually viewed by users in the Chinese restaurant. There is a lack of how and what Chinese color is associated in a Chinese restaurant environment and the perceived color difference between Chinese and

American about Chinese authentic color. The following part of literature review summarizes some of the studies related to color preference, color meaning, and cross- cultural color studies.

Color preference studies investigated which color in an interior environment people found the most desirable. Numerous color studies have investigated age and sex differences in color preference. A case study for residences indicated that there was a strong dependency between age, gender, and the choice of black (Manav, 2007). The research found that 63 years old or above preferred black then younger group, and female had more positive emotions towards black than male. There was a similar case that demonstrated that women had a preference for yellow, purple, black and less frequently colors more often than men (Silver et al., 1988). Silver (1988) also found that compared with women, men preferred red and blue more frequently. A researcher who identified the color preference of walls, interior doors, floors to ceilings, and sofas, in residential design by using IGA interior design system investigated that there was a significant difference between female and male in color preference. Female preferred using a brighter color for walls and ceilings while male didn't (Huang & Xu, 2009). This studies also demonstrated that over 60% participants preferred using high saturation color for floorings. The reason of that was color preference was a function of the object described (Holmes & Buchanan, 1984). Holmes and Buchanan (1984) found that blue was the favorite overall color for males and females in the interior environment. Most

females preferred to use light brown, tan, beige and khaki color in chairs, sofa, and carpet, while walls were presents as white, off white, ivory and cream color by both males and females. As Hemphill (1996) has previously demonstrated that people react more positively to a brighter color, such as white, pink, red, yellow, blue purple and green, and more negatively to a darker color, such as brown, black and gray in the interior environment. Moreover, an interior color study on color mood and preference in living rooms showed that males tended to report more positive perceptions than did females, which males perceived brighter colored interior spaces more positive than darker interiors (Kemal Yildirim, Hidayetoglu, & Capanoglu, 2011).

Color meaning is the interior as an interpretation of the designed environment based on an individuals’ reaction to the color and color combination (Park & Guerin,

2002). Color meaning effects on human behaviors and human physiology in an interior environment. Ward (1995) said that “paint the walls – the right colors in the right place can make an exciting or calming difference.” Majority researchers noted that color associated an interior space is differently related to the meaning of color. Cimbalo,

Beck, and Sendziak (1978) tested the association of color and emotion with primary students and college students, and both group students rated yellow, orange, and blue were designed as a happy color, and red, black, and brown were designated as sad colors. A researcher investigated that emotional reaction of color preference in accordance with the areas of residence interiors (Manav, 2007). The founding showed that the pink color were preferred for the sleeping room which favored warmness, romantic, enjoyment; blue color were preferred for the living room which favored calmness, peace, modernism and relaxation; light yellow more preferred in dining area

which favored simplicity, classicism, and plainness; near white, blue, green and yellow colors were preferred in children’s room and bathroom which favored cleanliness and purity; light yellow were preferred in entrances which conveyed simplicity. In a restaurant environment, a lighter color was viewed as being more friendly, brighter, pleasant, and beautiful; however, aggressive and depressing cold color increased purchase intention than red and orange color interior (Yildirim, Akalin-Baskaya, &

Hidayetoglu, 2007).

Some studies have assessed the color preference across cultural borders

(Brengman & Geuens, 2004; Gao et al., 2007; Ham & Guerin, 2004). The results have demonstrated that people of different cultures have a various preference of color.

Cultural differences in color meaning have also been identified. Saito (1996) compared the color preference between 490 participants included 175 Japanese, 158 Chinese, and 157 Indonesian. The study asked all participants from a different area to choose they like most and least three color from the color chart. He found that there was a significant difference in the frequency of selection of the color of certain hues and tones, however, a high preference of white was common in all areas. He also noted that each geographical area had unique tendencies in terms of color preference: Japanese preferred metallic and pale tone, non-light and dull tone; Chinese preferred vivid tone, non-a chromatic and dark tone; and Indonesian preferred a chromatic, non-vivid, pale, and metallic and pale tones. Another cross-cultural comparison of meaning and preference of interior color palettes among four cultures found that there was a significant difference between western cultures and eastern cultures (Park & Guerin,

2002). Park and Guerin studied 115 English, 103 Korean, 99 Japanese, and 108 United

States participants, and six color palettes were shown to all participants and asked them to complete a questionnaire. The results of this study showed that Japanese and

England preferred neutral hues, light value, and weak chroma and high-value contrast, while U.S and Korea preferred warm hue, middle value, moderate chroma, low-value contrast and medium chroma contrast. A study indicated that there was a significant difference in cross-cultural patterns of both similarity and dissimilarity in color preference and color meaning associations (Madden, Hewett, & Roth, 2000). Madden,

Hewett, and Roth conducted a comparative study on color preference and meaning of

253 participants in East Asia, Europe, North American, and South American. The participants were asked to rate how much they liked versus disliked each color on a seven-point scale. The finding showed that blue, green and white associated with peaceful, gentle, calming in all countries, but additional associated beautiful in Brazil,

Hong Kong, and China while additional associated pleasant in Austria, Colombian and the United States; black and brown in Brazil, Colombia and China associated with formal, sad, and stale while in Austria, Hong Kong and the United States associated masculine. Red associated pleasure, happy and lucky in Hong Kong and China, while associated emotional and sharp in most countries. A developed cross-cultural color meaning was shown in Table 2-3.

Color Planning and Design Thinking Styles

A surge of researchers have uncovered cross-cultural differences in design thinking style, especially between East Asians and North Americans (Choi, Koo, & Jong

An Choi, 2007; Monga & John, 2007). Design thinking has been explored in terms of a more analytic thinking style, focused on attributes and categories to draw inferences and make judgments, that is compared to a holistic thinking style, emphasizing

relationships between objects and the field as well as the relationship between objects

(Masuda & Nisbett, 2001). Recent studies also have examined cross-cultural differences between East Asians and Westerners. Nisbett, Peng, Choi and Norenzayan

(2001) presented an in-depth review of the evidence in both history and recent research regarding the social and cognitive differences between ancient China and Greece as well as the different influence of culture on contemporary people. They found East

Asians to be holistic, attending to the entire field and assigning causality to it, whereas

Westerners are more analytic, paying attention to the object and the categories to which it belongs and using rules to understand its behavior. A series of experimental studies confirmed the cultural differences in attention and perception (Masuda & Nisbett, 2001;

Nisbett & Miyamoto, 2005). Based on the previous researches, Later, Choi, Koo and

Choi (2007) constructed the 24-item Analysis-Holism Scale (AHS) to measure analytic versus holistic thinking tendency. Four dimensions of AHS are the locus of attention

(field vs. parts), causality (interactionism vs. dispositionism), and perception of change

(cyclic vs. linear), and attitude toward contradiction (naive dialecticism vs. formal logic).

In the same study, the AHS was shown to be able to differentiate American versus

Korean ethnic groups and two subgroups within a culture. Color planning and design thinking styles had a positive influence in the way of study and design process. The research investigated that culture had a positive influence on drawing process for

Chinese and American children (Tomes & Fan, 2000). The results demonstrated that

Chinese children started on the roof and the house main body, while American children started at the chimney, windows, and doors in a draw a house tree task. This study investigated the cultural difference effects on American and Chinese children’s design

thinking process and the way how they designed an object. Although there were a lot of design thinking studies focused on cross-cultural, however, there was still a lack of what and how the difference between American and Chinese participants in color design process effect in an interior environment.

Table 2-3. Color meaning in different cultures Elements Austria Brazil Canada Colombia China United States White Calming Peaceful, Calming Peaceful, Gentle, Peaceful, Calming Calming Calming Calming

Red Vibrant Hot, Emotional Hot State, Hot, Active Hot, Emotional Pleasure

Green Peaceful Gentle Calming Peaceful Gentle Peaceful

Yellow Sharp Beautiful Sharp Pleasure Good Sharp

Blue Peaceful, Beautiful, Peaceful, Peaceful, Sad, Peaceful, Calming Formal Calming Calming Calming, Calming Gentle Gentle Gentle, Beautiful Good

Black Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad, State, State State Formal Formal State, Masculine Masculine

Purple Sad, Sad, Good, State Sad, Vibrant, State, State Sharp, Formal Sharp, Masculine Active Active

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODS

This chapter presents the research methods of this study. First of all, this chapter explains the study participants and secondly describes the rationale of the research design and study setting, testing conditions, the instruments used for data collection, and the collection procedure. The chapter also addresses the limitations and strengths of this study.

Participants

To compare the perceived color difference between Chinese and American

Participants of authentic Chinese color in a Chinese restaurant, this study examined participants from both cultures. A total of 40 participants volunteered in this study and completed an informed consent form from the UF Institutional Review Board (see

Appendix A). The American Participants in this study were recruited using snowball sampling methods. A majority of the American Participants (N=20) were gathered in the

UF undergraduate course Design Innovation. The rest of the participants were randomly recruited by advertising via social media (Facebook). All domestic students were paid

$5 cash as compensation for their participation. A flyer in English was posted in the

DCP building and on the internet.

A snowball sampling method also was employed in recruiting the Chinese participants. A majority of the Chinese participants (N=20) were randomly recruited via

CSA (Chinese Student Association) at University of Florida. The rest of Chinese participants were randomly recruited by advertising via social media (WeChat and

Weibo). All Chinese Participants also were given $5 cash as compensation for their participation. A flyer in Chinese was posted in DCP building and on the internet.

Since the purpose of this study is to examine the cultural similarities and perceived color difference of authentic Chinese color and design think between

American and Chinese, the criteria for the participants were as following: (1) has to be interior design major or design-related field; (2) were born and raised in America and

China; (3) are aged between 18 to 35 years old; (4) Do not have visual impairments that cannot be corrected by glasses or contact lenses; (5) able to participant in this study face to face. To avoid the influence of aging eyes, the ages of participants were limited in a range of 18 to 35 years old. Regarding the study required participants’ ability to perceive colors, all participants self-report whether or not they have any visual impairments that cannot be corrected by glasses or contact lenses, such as color blindness. Since this study focuses on color perception and contributes to future design education phenomenon, the participants were limited in interior design or have design related background whether or not they have professional color experience.

Study Setting

In order to understand and compare, the perceived color difference of Chinese authentic color in restaurant environments between Chinese and American culture, a simple line drawing of a theoretical restaurant environment are created to present to the participants of this study. Although conducting an experiment in the real environments is the fully compelling method, designed selection of colors, or the color palette, which is more representative of how color is actually viewed by users in the interior environment

(Park & Guerin, 2002). Particularly, regarding the current study involves participants to create a colorful restaurant environment, it would add to the difficulty to imagine the relationship and combination between each color in a contemporary restaurant environment. For all those reason and time and cost consideration, color selection task

by creating a color palette by use live paint drawing tool in Adobe Illustrator was considered to use the representation of the real Chinese restaurant environment and create a direct visual of color combination.

Several studies have been done to the test the validity of using a color palette of real environment for color research (Guerin, Park, & Yang, 1994; Lee, Chang, & Kim,

2005; Park & Guerin, 2002). Park and Guerin (2002) developed six color palettes, which was computer generated composition of color including hue, value, and chroma variations to control for the effect of shape juxtaposition. Six color palettes were developed from six interior images, and each color palette represented a styles of interior with the combination of warm and cool color. The researchers showed all the color palettes to each participant to examine the color preference and color meaning difference in four cultures.

Guerin, Park and Yang (1994) developed an instrument by which the meaning of color in the interior environment could be determined. An abstract color palette was developed that representative of a picture of an interior environment in this study. Six palettes were developed based on pictures of six interiors, and the color palettes were computer generated color compositions of hue, value, chroma, contrast, overlapping, and adjacencies. The abstract color palette was shown to be a valid testing instrument for the meaning of color in the interior environment because it reflected the same meaning as the pictures.

Lee, Chang and Kim (2005) developed a CMYK color model correlated with the

Munsell Color System. In this research, they suggested a computationally assisted systematic method formulate a color palette useful to interior design. The results of this

research showed a color palette plays an important role in the process of color design because the quality of color design can be augmented by the domain specific set of colors on the palette (Lee et al., 2005).

After reviewing a large number studies in color studies that reflect current

Chinese restaurant color design, computer generated color palette were created by each participant which represent the authentic Chinese feeling of Chinese restaurant environment. The theoretical Chinese restaurant floor plan (Figure 3-1) and perspective

(Figure 3-2) for this study were created by Revit 2014 and export as a line drawing in

Adobe Illustrator. Nine elements were created in the Chinese restaurant environment: ceiling, soffit, wall, accent wall, floor, table, chair, artwork, and vase. The restaurant was carefully designed in a mid-modern styles that has a relatively international appearance

(not typical American nor Chinese styles). The physical context, architectural details, furnishing, materiality, and furniture were designed without any texture, pattern and typical shape.

Recently, Munsell color system is widely and successfully used in color studies

(Guerin et al., 1994; Park & Guerin, 2002). For example, Park and Guerin developed abstract color palette including hue, value, and chroma. In the Munsell color system, colors are defined by three dimensions: hue, value, and chroma-terms that respectively represent color family, lightness/darkness, and color vividness. Hue is defined as

“Distinctive characteristic of any chromatic color distinguishing it from other hues, such as are found in the spectrum of between the ends of the spectrum (Munsell, 1946)”. In the Munsell system, there are ten basic hue families: red, yellow-red (orange), yellow, yellow-green, green, green-blue, blue, blue-purple, purple, and red-purple. Each of

these basic hue families contains ten hues, which are further subdivided into as many hues as can be perceived as unique and created with paints. In Munsell notation, a color’s hue designation is written as a letter preceded by a number, as in 5R represents the number five red. The current study uses five major colors, which was red, yellow, green, blue, and purple according to the traditional Chinese five color theory that defined the five primary color in Chinese history. To manipulate the result, this study uses the fifth hue for each major hue family: 5R, 5Y, 5G, 5B, 5P (Figure 3-3).

Value is the color dimension that distinguishes a deep or dark color from a pale or light one, and it is defined as “Lightness or darkness of any color (Munsell, 1946)”. A color’s value designation is written as a number followed by a slash, as in 7/. This number represent the color darkness and lightness from dark to white. The theoretical white is N 10/, and black is N 0/. The current study used 1/ to 9/ darkness/lightness value scale for five major hues to avoid the absolute white and absolute black (Figure 3-

3).

Chroma is defined as “Strength or weakness of chromatic color (Munsell, 1946)”, and it is the color dimension that distinguishes a vivid or intense color from a weak or grayish one. A color’s value designation is written as a number followed by a slash, as in 4/. The current study considered to keep the basic chroma scale to each major hue according to Munsell color system: chroma for 5R was 1/ to 9/, 5Y was 1/ to 6/, 5P was

1/ to 9/, 5B was 1/ to 6/, and 5G was 1/ to 7/ (Figure 3-3).

Figure 3-1. Chinese restaurant floor plan created by Revit 2014 and Adobe Illustrator

Figure 3-2. Chinese restaurant perspective created by Revit 2014 and Adobe Illustrator

Figure 3-3. Munsell color chart

Instruments

A self-report questionnaire was used to gather data for this study (Appendix C).

Participants will be asked to specify authentic Chinese colors using the standardized

Munsell system for a Chinese restaurant environment using computer graphics software. The color selection task and accompanying questionnaire is untimed but is expected to take no longer than 15 minutes. The questionnaire is presented in three parts: (1) to identify the hue, value, and chroma for each of the following design features or elements: ceiling, soffit, walls, floor, table, chairs, vase and artwork; (2) to indicate the order in which the color was selected for each element; (3) to complete the demographic information (Appendix D). The questionnaire was created in English and presented to Chinese and American participants.

Section one was included in the instruments to identify the American and

Chinese participant color perception for Chinese authentic color for a contemporary

Chinese restaurant. As seen in literature (Ham & Guerin, 2004; Park & Guerin, 2002), westerner preferred warm hue, middle-value moderate chroma, low value contrast and medium chroma contrast, which easterner more preferred neutral hues, light value, and weak chroma while high-value contrast and the Chinese had stronger negative responses regarding darkness than Americans. The purpose to employ perceived color was to explore if and how the perceived color difference are associated the Chinese restaurant environment in relation to the perception of Chinese authentic color. The color was measured by hue, value, and chroma. Participants were asked to select the color from provided Munsell color chart for each design features or elements in the

Chinese restaurant line drawing.

Section two was to identify the American and Chinese participants color planning and design thinking styles (color sequence). As seen in literature (Choi et al., 2007;

Miyamoto et al., 2006), Westerners tend to focus on salient foreground objects, whereas East Asians are more inclined to focus on contexts or the entire field. While participants were doing the color selection test for section one, they were asked to report the coloring sequence from one to nine for each design features and element, for example, the participant colored the wall for red at the first, and colored the ceiling for blue at the end, which means the wall was the coloring sequence one and the ceiling was the coloring sequence nine. The purpose to employ color planning and design thinking styles was to explore if and how color planning and design thinking styles are associated with the color contrast in relation to the perception and preference of interior color. In this current study was using order one to order nine to represent the color sequence for each design feature and element.

In section three, the demographic question was asked to determine the relationship between the effects of color and participants’ background information and to verify the criteria for participants, include age, gender, cultural backgrounds, visual impairments, visit Chinese restaurant frequency and color knowledge.

Data Collection

To avoid the different daylighting condition during a day, this study was collected in the Graduate student office (Room 313) within the College of Design, Construction, and Planning, University of Florida, which has a small window without direct daylighting and interior lighting. To avoid the different setting of brightness, contrast, and color balance on a different computer screen, and there were certain requirements to optimize the display of Munsell color chart all participants were required to use the

computer that provided by the researcher to finish the test. The room 313 was reserved to ensure that the researcher and participant were able to be there for the test. Since the participants completed the experiment with the research, the research was able to make sure (1) the room was completely dark without any interior lighting; (2) the brightness of computer screen was adjusted to the brightest; (3) the screen was directly in front of and parallel to participants’ face. The instructions were provided to the participants at the beginning of the survey as well.

Live Paint Bucket in Adobe Illustrator was the major tool that used in this current study for the survey. At the beginning of the test, the research was giving a demo of how to use the Live Paint Bucket in Adobe Illustrator and provide a paper copy of Live

Paint Bucket instrument (Appendix E). In the end, participants were asked to answer questions regarding demographic information. There was no time limit to complete the survey. When the survey is completed, the participants received a random number with which they could redeem the compensation ($5.00). Data collection started from May

2016, and it was closed in August 2016, lasting approximately three months.

Data Analysis

All the quantitative data collected from this study was analyzed by using the

Statistical Package of the Social Sciences system (SPSS) (Nie, Bent, & Hull, 1970). The descriptive statistics including a mean and standard deviation of each dependent variable were obtained to determine the distributional characteristics in this study.

The demographic characteristic of participants was analyzed by basic descriptive statistic (frequencies). Then, a reliability test was conducted to assess the internal consistency of scales using Cronbach’s alpha. The acceptable level of internal consistency (0.60) was used to determine the reliability of dependent variables (Agresti

& Finlay, 1997). The alpha level of 0.05 (p-value) was used to determine statistical significance (Agresti & Finlay, 1997). The ranking of preference was analyzed by the basic descriptive statistics to present a profile of the sample. A content analysis was conducted using the qualitative data gathered from Americans and Chinese young students at the University of Florida.

Limitations

There are several inherent limitations to this research inquiry. Most notable is the limited sample of participations from American and Chinese. The participants were limited to the American and were all female except for one participant. A larger, national study would help assess whether there was a significant difference between color perception between American and Chinese. A larger study could also better evaluate if there are any critical gender differences in the color perceptions in this context.

The second limitation is that the number of Munsell color was limited. The participants were only able to use the Munsell palettes that was provided by the research, while this was limiting, the color sample did represent a relatively wide range of warm and cool colors controlled by value and chroma. However, a larger range of

Munsell color could help to define more subtle color differences. Also additional research could also explore a wider variation of Chinese restaurants, ranging in price point and the expected guest experience.

The third limitation is the study is the use of computer simulations instead of a real Chinese restaurant environment or three-dimensional model. Although this study provided a directly visual view of color combination in participants’ created interior environment, but the color would still look difference in a real Chinese restaurant environment with three-dimensional space and lighting conditions.

Lastly, the study asked participant whether they have visual color impairment instead of doing a color vision test to screen participants which would have been ideal in this type of study.

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS

This chapter presents the results of this study. The characteristics of the participants in the study, the results of the reliability test, and manipulation checks were exhibited in the beginning. The following section present findings on hue, value, chroma and color planning and design thinking styles of the American and the Chinese participants.

Characteristics of the Sample

A total of 24 American participants volunteered in this study. Four of the 24 participants was eliminated from the study because of a visual impairment (1 participant), recent relocation to the U.S. (2 participants who have been in the U.S. for two months or less), or incomplete response (1 participant). Although two other participants in American sample were not born in the U.S., they were raised in the U.S. so they were still included in this study.

A total of 30 Chinese participants volunteered in this study. 10 of the 30 were eliminated because of the visual impairments (1 participant), were not raised in China (1 participant who was born in China, but raised in the U.S.), or incomplete/invalid response (8 participants). Therefore, 20 American and 20 Chinese Participants were validly used in this study. Table 4-1 presents the frequency and percentage distributions of the general characteristics of both American and Chinese participants.

The 20 American participants comprised 1 male (5%) and 19 females (95%). The

20 Chinese participants comprised 6 males (30%) and 14 females (70%). The American sample includes 9 students who were 19 to 20 years old (45%), 3 who were 21 to 23 years old (15%), 5 who were 24 to 26 years old (25%), and 3 who were 27 to 29 years

old (15%). The Chinese group includes 1 who were 21 to 23 years old (5%), 12 who were 24 to 26 years old (60%), and 7 who were 27 to 29 years old (35%). Regarding ethnic backgrounds, the 20 American participants include 18 white (90%), 1 Hispanic or

Latino (5%), and 1 African Americans (5%). Out of 20 Chinese participants, 20 (100%) were studied in the U.S.

For Chinese restaurant visit frequency, the American participant include 1 participant who do not have Chinese restaurant experience (5%), 15 who visit Chinese restaurant 1 to 2 times per month (75%), 2 who visit Chinese restaurant 3 to 4 times per month (10%), and 2 who visit Chinese restaurant 5 to 6 times per month (10%). The

Chinese group included 8 who visit Chinese restaurant 1 to 2 times per month (40%), 9 who visit Chinese restaurant 3 to 4 times per month (45%), and 3 who visit Chinese restaurant 5 to 6 times per month (15%). Participants were asked whether or not they are currently a student. 18 out of 20 American participants reported to be a student

(90%), and 20 out of 20 Chinese participants reported to be a student (100%).

Reliability of Measures

To ensure reliability, Cronbach’s alpha test was used to test the reliability of the variables of value and chroma. Table 4-2 presents the results. According to Cronbach’s alpha test the range to assess internal consistency of measure are as following: α≥0.9, internal consistency is excellent; 0.7≤α<0.9, good; 0.6≤α<0.7, acceptable; 0.5≤α<0.6, poor; α<0.5, unacceptable (George & Mallery, 2009).

The reliability of value of the American group was α=0.564, and the Chinese group was α=0.327. The reliability of chroma of the American group was α=0.620, and the Chinese group was α=0.788.

Table 4-1. Characteristics of the participants Characteristics American (N=20) Chinese (N=20) Total (N=40) n % n % n % Gender (1) Male 1 5.00% 6 30.00% 7 17.50% (2) Female 19 95.00% 14 70.00% 33 82.50% Age (1) 1987-1989 3 15.00% 7 35.00% 10 25.00% (2) 1990-1992 5 25.00% 12 60.00% 17 42.50% (3) 1993-1995 3 15.00% 1 5.00% 4 10.00% (4) 1996-1997 9 45.00% 0 0.00% 9 22.50% Chinese restaurant visits frequency (1) Less than 1 1 5.00% 0 0.00% 1 2.50% time/month (2) 1-2 times/month 15 75.00% 8 40.00% 23 57.50% (3) 3-4 times/month 2 10.00% 9 45.00% 11 27.50% (4) 5-6 times/month 2 10.00% 3 15.00% 5 12.50% Experience in color (1) Yes 7 35.00% 18 90% 25 62.50% (2) No 13 65.00% 2 10% 15 37.50% Visual impairment (1) Yes 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% (2) No 20 100.00% 20 100.00% 40 100.00% Wear glass or contact lenses (1) Yes 13 65.00% 11 55.00% 24 60.00% (2) No 7 35.00% 9 45.00% 16 40.00%

Table 4-2. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the reliabilities of scales Cultural group Value Chroma American 0.564 0.620 Chinese 0.327 0.788 Total 0.577 0.753

Subtractive Color Dimensions

Participants’ color preference of authentic Chinese color were measured numerically by hue, value, and chroma based on Munsell color system. In this current study, the hue was selected from five primary colors: 5R, 5Y, 5B, 5G, and 5P. The value which was shown color darkness were from 1/ to 9/. Finally, chroma were ranged from

1/ to 9/ for 5R, 1/ to 6/ for 5Y, 1/ to 5/ for 5B, 1/ to 7/ for 5G, and 1/ to 9/ for 5P. .

Additionally, the students’ color planning and design thinking style was measured by the order in which they selected the colors to specify the coloration for the restaurant under study.

Hue

Table 4-3 presented the times of each hue were selected by American and

Chinese participants. There was no statistical significance was obtained at t=-0.38, p=0.701 between Americans and Chinese participants. The total number of hue that could be selected by all participants was 180.

Value

Table 4-4 presents the mean and standard deviation scores of participants’ perceived value. Statistical significance for the overall value between American and

Chinese participants was obtained at t=2.44, p<0.05. Chinese participants had lighter value preference (mean=5.62, SD=7.47) than American participants (mean=4.88,

SD=9.29). There was no statistical significance for 5B (t=1.13, p=0.262), 5R (t=3.56, p=0.079), and 5P (t=-0.91, p=0.376), however, there was a significant difference between American and Chinese participants in 5G (t=3.56, p<0.001) and 5Y (t=3.35, p<0.001).

To start off, we can first run a simple OLS estimation to understand the basic relationship between the targeted population in terms of ethical identity (Chinese and

American) and the preference of Dark/Light color choice (measured in the variable of value in this study). We first create a dummy variable to indicate the ethnical identity of the targeted population – which more specifically, coded as 1 if the targeted participant is Chinese and coded as 0 if the targeted participant is American. In addition, we created a new dummy variable to indicate various values in the study. We have divided the 9 different values into two major categories marked as Dark (values that are smaller than 5) or Light (values that are larger than 5) color accordingly. Similarly, we have marked the values that are considered Dark as 0 and the values that are considered

Light as 1 in the OLS model indicating. Additionally, we have divided 5 different hue into two categories marked as Warm and Cold color. The Warm color is marked as 0 and the Cold color is marked as 1.

From the table 4-5, the estimated coefficient is 0.1 with 95% statistical significance (referring p<0.05). Holding everything constant, being as a Chinese correlates with a 10% increase in the likelihood of choosing a Light color in average.

Holding everything constant, participants who prefer Warm color are correlated with a

22.5% increase in the possibilities of choosing a Light color in average with high statistical significance (p < 0.05).

It’s worth to mention that the adjusted R-square in this case is 0.04, which has indicated that only 4% of the variation in the color choosing of dark or light can be explained by the variation in ethnical identity in this case. The result is consistent with

our empirical observations since many omitted variable such as gender and ages could potentially have crucial impacts on the preference of choosing Dark or Light color.

Referring to the Table 4-6, we have adding in an extra variable of an interaction term in the OLS model, which has provided us additional information about the additive

(not necessarily adding-up) effect of being ethnical Chinese as well as the color preference of Cold/Warm color. By adding in this additional interaction term, we can observe the difference preferences between Chinese who prefer Cold color and the other three categories (Chinese who prefer Warm color, American who prefer Warm color and American who prefer cold color). By looking at the coefficient, the estimated coefficient for being as authentic Chinese is 0.12 with 95% statistical significance

(referring p<0.05). In this model, holding everything constant, being as a Chinese correlates with a 12% increase in the likelihood of choosing a Light color in average.

Holding everything constant, participants who prefer Warm color are correlated with a

28% increase in the possibilities of choosing a Light color in average with high statistical significance (referring p < 0.05). The coefficient of interaction term is -0.114 with no statistical significance, therefore, the interactive effect between being ethnical Chinese and preferring Warm or Cold color is not significant in our simple OLS model.

Chroma

Table 4-7 presents the mean and standard deviation scores of participating students’ perceived chroma. Statistical significance for the overall chroma between

American and Chinese participants was obtained at t=6.81, p<0.001. The Chinese had high saturation preference (mean=3.72, SD=5.79) compared to the Americans

(mean=2.23, SD=2.88). There was no statistical significance for 5B (t=1.79, p=0.078), and 5P (t=1.73, p=0.110), however, there was a significant difference between

American and Chinese participants in 5G (t=3.16, p<0.01), 5R (t=2.56, p<0.05), and 5Y

(t=8.18, p<0.001).

Alternatively, we want to investigate the relationship between ethnical identities, preference of Warm and Cold colors and the chroma (marked as 1 if low saturation, 0 if high saturation). In our study, we consider chroma that is lower than 3 as low saturation and chroma that is larger than 3 as high saturation.

To start off, we can first run a simple OLS estimation to understand the basic relationship between the targeted population in terms of ethical identity (Chinese and

American) and the preference of high/low saturation color.

From the table 4-8, the estimated coefficient is 0.29 with 95% statistical significance (referring p<0.05). Holding everything constant, being as a Chinese correlates with a 29% increase in the likelihood of choosing a low saturation in average.

Holding everything constant, participants who prefer Warm color are correlated with a -

32.4% decrease in the possibilities of choosing a low saturation in average with high statistical significance (p < 0.05). In other words, participants in this sample who prefer warm color have shown positive correlation with choosing high saturation chroma.

Color Planning and Design Thinking Styles

Besides cultural backgrounds collected from the demographics questions, an independent sample t-test was performed to compare the culture difference in thinking styles. As shown in Table 4-9, statistical significance was obtained at t=-2.67, p<0.05 on the ceiling, t=-3.68, p<0.001 on soffit and t=3.35, p<0.05 on the vase. Chinese participants held a holistic thinking styles and tended to focus more on overall environment and large area element at the beginning, like ceiling (mean=4.20,

SD=5.74) than Americans (mean=6.10, SD=4.41). Whereas American participants held

an analytic thinking styles and tended to focus more on details at the beginning, like a vase (mean=5.35, SD=10.56) than Chinese participants (mean=8.00, SD=2.00).

In conclusion, all manipulation checks confirmed that hue, value, and chroma were effectively manipulated in the color conditions. In addition, the cultural difference in design thinking was confirmed between Americans and Chinese participants in this study.

Table 4-3. Analysis of variance for participants’ hue selection Hue (Primary American (N=20) Chinese (N=20) Color)* Times % Times % t-test p-value selected selected -0.38 0.701 5B 23 13.00% 25 14.00% 5G 27 15.00% 23 13.00% 5R 63 35.00% 85 47.00% 5Y 58 32.00% 42 23.00% 5P 9 5.00% 5 3.00% *Hue: 5B (Blue), 5G (Green), 5R (Red), 5Y (Yellow), 5P (Purple)

Table 4-4. Mean and standard deviation scores for participants’ color selection of value Value American (N=20) Chinese (N=20) Times Mean* SD Times Mean* SD t-test p-value Selected Selected 5B 23 5.87 3.06 25 6.76 2.35 1.13 0.262 5G 27 4.15 2.39 23 6.43 2.09 3.56 0.001 5R 63 3.25 2.21 85 3.87 2.01 1.76 0.079 5Y 58 6.33 3.08 42 8.14 1.97 3.35 0.001 5P 9 6.56 3.71 5 4.80 2.77 -0.91 0.376 TOTAL 180 4.88 9.29 180 5.62 7.47 2.44 0.015 *9 point value scale: 1=darkness, 9=lightness

Table 4-5. Simple OLS model for value Robust 95 % Value Coefficients Standard t p Confidence Interval Error Interval Chinese 0.10 0.05 1.99 0.048 0.01 0.20 * Warm/Cold 0.22 0.07 3.31 0.001 0.09 0.35 ** Consistent 0.35 0.04 9.43 0.000 0.28 0.43 *** *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001

Table 4-6. Simple OLS adding in interaction terms Robust 95 % Source Coefficients Standard t p Confidence Interval Error Interval Chinese 0.12 0.06 2.15 0.032 0.01 0.23 * Warm/Cold 0.28 0.09 2.96 0.003 0.09 0.47 ** Chinese x -0.11 0.14 -0.84 0.403 -0.39 0.15 Warm/Cold Consistent 0.34 0.04 8.77 0.000 0.27 0.42 *** *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001

Table 4-7. Mean and standard deviation scores for participant’s color selection of chroma Chroma American (N=20) Chinese (N=20) Times Mean* SD Times Mean* SD t-test p-value Selected Selected 5B 23 1.30 0.56 25 1.76 1.09 1.79 0.078 5G 27 2.11 1.12 23 3.43 1.80 3.16 0.002 5R 63 3.41 2.15 85 4.49 2.75 2.56 0.011 5Y 58 1.50 1.71 42 3.60 1.68 8.18 0.000 5P 9 1.33 0.70 5 3.00 2.83 1.73 0.110 TOTAL 180 2.23 2.88 180 3.72 5.79 6.81 0.000 *5B: 5 points chroma scale, 5G: 7 point chroma scale, 5R: 9 point chroma scale, 5Y: 6 point chroma scale, 5P: 9 point chroma scale

Table 4-8. Simple OLS model for chroma Robust 95 % Chroma Coefficients Standard t p Confidence Interval Error Interval Chinese 0.29 0.05 6.13 0.000 0.20 0.38 *** Warm/Cold -0.32 0.05 -6.71 0.000 -0.42 -0.23 *** Consistent 0.30 0.03 8.50 0.000 0.23 0.37 ***

Table 4-9. Mean and standard deviation scores for participant’s design thinking of coloring sequence Interior Elements American (N=20) Chinese (N=20) Mean* SD Mean* SD t-test p-value Ceiling 6.10 4.41 4.20 5.74 -2.67 0.011 Soffit 7.60 3.30 4.90 7.46 -3.68 0.000 Wall 3.35 4.45 2.60 4.56 -1.12 0.271 Accent Wall 3.55 3.84 2.90 1.36 -1.28 0.210 Floor 4.00 4.63 5.35 5.08 1.93 0.060 Table 5.40 4.46 5.15 2.56 -0.42 0.675 Chairs 4.20 3.22 5.40 5.73 1.79 0.080 Vase 5.35 10.56 8.00 2.00 3.35 0.002 Artwork 5.45 8.58 6.50 5.11 1.26 0.212

Hue

The current study asked 40 participants (20 participants for each Americans and

Chinese participants) create Chinese authentic feeling restaurant environment by applying selected Munsell color chart. 40 color bar (Figure 4-2) was developed based on participants’ created restaurant environment (Appendix F and Appendix G). Figure 4-

1 presented the percentage of each design feature in this current study, which created the direct view of usage for each selected color based on the proportion of each design feature in this contemporary restaurant environment. Flooring was the largest space, which was 26%. The ceiling was 17%, the wall was 12%, Accent wall was 11% soffit was 5%, the table was 5%, chairs were 4%, the artwork was 1.5%, and the vase was

1% of the entire interior space. The gray space (17.5%) was created to help the perspective shown in three dimensional, and not allowed participants to fill the color.

As shown in Figure 4-2, red and yellow were more commonly consider as authentic Chinese color in both Americans and Chinese culture. Table 4-3 presented the times of each hue were selected by Americans and Chinese participants. 5B was selected 23 times (13.00%) for Americans while Chinese participants selected 25 times

(14.00%). 5G was selected 27 times (17.00%) for American participants while Chinese participants selected 23 times (13.00%). 5R was selected 63 times (35.00%) for

American participants while Chinese participants selected 85 times (47.00%) which is significantly higher than American participants. 5Y was selected 58 times (32.00%) for

American participants while Chinese participants selected 42 times (23.00%) which is significantly lower than American participants. 5P was selected 9 times (5.00%) for

American participants while Chinese participants selected 5 times (3.00%). Chinese

participants’ color bar had higher saturation and lighter than American participants’ which was obviously showed in Figure 4-2. Both American and Chinese participants preferred low saturation and darkness color in large percentage design features, such as flooring, ceiling, and wall. Chinese participants more preferred higher saturation and lighter colors in small percentage design features, such as soffit, vase, and artwork than

American participants.

Figure 4-1. Percentage of each design feature in restaurant environment

Figure 4-2. Descriptive analysis of perceived authentic colors by group

Figure 4-2. Continued

Value

A statistical significant was found in the value of 5G and 5Y between American and Chinese participants. Figure 4-3 to Figure 4-7 showed the number of times was selected by American and Chinese participants for each different hue. As shown in

Figure 4-3, the value of 9/ in 5B was commonly selected in both American (8 times) and

Chinese (9 times) participants. American participants selected value of 1/ for 4 times, while Chinese participant selected once. Chinese participants (mean=6.76, SD=2.35) preferred the lighter value of 5B to present Chinese authentic palettes more than

American participants (mean=5.87, SD=3.06).

As shown in Figure 4-4, the value of 4/ in 5G was selected by majority American participants (11 times), while no one selected in Chinese participants. However, majority

Chinese participants selected value of 6/ for 11 times, while American participants selected twice. Additionally, American participants selected value of 2/ for 8 times while no one selected in Chinese participants. Chinese participants (mean=6.43, SD=2.09) preferred the lighter value of 5G to present Chinese authentic palettes more than

American participants (mean=4.15, SD=2.39).

As shown in Figure 4-5, the value of 2/ in 5R was selected by majority of the

American participants (23 times), while was selected 3 times by the Chinese participants. However, the Chinese selected value of 4/ for 26 times, while American participants selected this value 5 times. Also, American participants selected value of 5/ for 4 times while Chinese participants selected 19 times. Chinese participants

(mean=3.87, SD=2.01) preferred the lighter value of 5R to present the Chinese authentic palettes more than American participants (mean=3.25, SD=2.21).

As shown in Figure 4-6, value of 9/ in 5Y was commonly selected in both

American (25 times) and Chinese (31 times) participants. American participants selected value of 1/ for 10 times, while Chinese participant selected twice. Chinese participants (4 times) barely selected darker yellow from the value of 1/ to 5/. Chinese participants (mean=8.14, SD=1.97) preferred the lighter value of 5Y to present authentic palettes more than American participants (mean=6.33, SD=3.08).

As shown in Figure 4-7, value of 9/ in 5P was commonly selected in American participants (6 times). Chinese participants selected purple color 5 times, and American participants’ had 9 times. Chinese participants (mean=4.80, SD=2.77) preferred the darker value of 5P to present authentic Chinese colorations more than the Americans

(mean=6.56, SD=3.71).

Chroma

A statistical significant was found in the chroma dimension of 5G, 5R and 5Y between American and Chinese participants. Figure 4-8 to Figure 4-12 showed the number of times was selected by American and Chinese participants for each different hue. As shown in Figure 4-8, chroma of 1/ in 5B was commonly selected in both

American (17 times) and Chinese (14 times) participants. Chinese participants selected chroma of 4/ for 4 times, while no one selected in American participants. Chinese participants (mean=1.76, SD=1.03) preferred higher saturation of 5B to present authentic palettes more than American participants (mean=1.30, SD=0.56).

As shown in Figure 4-9, chroma of 5/ in 5G was selected by Chinese participants

(9 times), while no one selected in American participants. However, American participants selected chroma of 3/ for 9 times, while Chinese participants selected 3 times. Additionally, American participants selected chroma of 1/ for 12 times while no 7

times selected by Chinese participants. Further, the Chinese (mean=3.43, SD=1.80) preferred higher saturation of 5G to present authentic Chinese color more than did the

American participants (mean=2.11, SD=1.12).

As shown in Figure 4-10, chroma of 7/ in 5R was selected by the majority

Chinese participants (30 times), while was selected 1 time by American participants.

However, American participants selected chroma of 4/ for 21 times, while Chinese selected this chroma 6 times. Also, both group considered chroma of 1/ for 19 times and

25 times. Chinese participants (mean=4.49, SD=2.75) preferred higher saturation of 5R to present Chinese authentic palettes more than American participants (mean=3.41,

SD=2.15).

As shown in Figure 4-11, chroma of 1/ in 5Y was selected by majority American participants (39 times) and 9 times for Chinese participants. Chinese participants selected chroma of 5/ for 11 times, while Chinese participant selected 0 times.

American participants (3 times) barely selected darker yellow from chroma of 4/ to 6/, and the total times for chroma of 4/ to 6/ was 27 times by Chinese participants. Chinese participants (mean=3.60, SD=1.68) preferred higher saturation of 5Y to present these authentic palettes more than American participants (mean=1.50, SD=1.71).

As shown in Figure 4-12, chroma of 1/ in 5P was commonly selected in American participants (7 times). Chinese participants (mean=3.00, SD=2.83) preferred higher saturation of 5P in their selections more than American participants (mean=1.33,

SD=0.70).

Figure 4-3. Analysis of variance for value selection (5B)

Figure 4-4. Analysis of variance for value selection (5G)

Figure 4-5. Analysis of variance for value selection (5R)

Figure 4-6. Analysis of variance for value selection (5Y)

Figure 4-7. Analysis of variance for value selection (5P)

Figure 4-8. Analysis of variance for chroma selection (5B)

Figure 4-9. Analysis of variance for chroma selection (5G)

Figure 4-10. Analysis of variance for chroma selection (5R)

Figure 4-11. Analysis of variance for chroma selection (5Y)

Figure 4-12. Analysis of variance for chroma selection (5P)

Analysis in Munsell Color System

Munsell color system defines a color in three dimensions: hue, value, and chroma. As shown in previous analysis, Chinese participants preferred lighter value and high saturation color in contemporary restaurant environment than American counterparts.

Figure 4-13 to Figure 4-17 presented the specific color in terms of hue in the

Munsell color system. As shown in Figure 4-13, 16.00% of Chinese participants selected 5B-value 9/- chroma 1/, while 30.43% of American participants considered this color as authentic Chinese color. 20.00% of Chinese participants’ preferred 5B-value 9/- chroma 2/ to represent Chinese authenticity within a contemporary Chinese restaurant environment.

As shown in Figure 4-14, there was a significant difference between colors perceived as Chinese between groups. More than half of the American participants preferred 5G-value 2- chroma 1/ (25.93%) and 5G-value 4/- chroma 3/ (33.33%) while none of the Chinese participants selected these colors. 34.78% of the Chinese preferred 5G-value 6/- chroma 5/ and none of the American participants selected this color to represent an authentic Chinese feeling.

As shown in Figure 4-15, 5R- value 2/- chroma 4/ was the top one color selected by American participants (31.75%), while 5R- value 4/- chroma 7/ was the top one color selected by the Chinese (23.53%). Both Americans (14%) and Chinese (20.00%) participants preferred 5R- value 1/- chroma 1/. 5R- value 5/- chroma 7/ was the third popular red color among with the Chinese participants (11.76%) and none of the

Americans selected.

As shown in Figure 4-16, both American and Chinese preferred high value/lighter yellow, but the Chinese participants preferred high saturation yellow than Americans.

29.31% of the American participant selected 5Y- value 9/- chroma 1/, however, 23.81% of the Chinese participants preferred 5Y- value 9/- chroma 4/, and 21.43% of the

Chinese participants preferred 5Y- value 9/- chroma 5/. American participants also preferred to use 5Y- value 1/- chroma 1/ represented authentic Chinese palettes.

As shown in Figure 4-17, 5P was barely selected by both American and Chinese participants. 66.67% of the American participants preferred 5P-value 9/- chroma 1/.

Both group used 5P as an accent color, such as vase and artwork in the interior space.

Due to the sample size of participants who selected 5P, it was hard to test whether and what was the difference of value and chroma for 5P between Americans and Chinese participants.

Color Planning and Design Think Styles

As seen in literature (Choi et al., 2007; Miyamoto et al., 2006), Westerners tend to focus on salient foreground objects, whereas East Asians are more inclined to focus on contexts or the entire field. The purpose to employ thinking styles (coloring sequence) was to explore if and how thinking styles are associated with the color selection in relation to the perceptions and preferences of interior color. The coloring sequence in the current study was tested during color selection task between groups.

Figure 4-18 to Figure 4-26 shown the 9 design feature element in created restaurant environment, and how many times for each design feature was selected in each coloring order by across cultures. The results of coloring thinking styles in the current study and Choi’s (2007) research were consistent. Majority Chinese participants started coloring large area, such as, wall, ceiling, and accent wall, which were basic elements

and created the entire field feeling in an interior environment and ended by coloring small areas, such as a vase, and artwork, which were the detailed information in the interior environment. Instead, the majority of American participants focused on a detailed object in the interior environment and ended by coloring the background object with larger space in the interior environment.

*US: American participants; CH: Chinese participants; number: times of color selected Figure 4-13. Analysis of variance for participants’ color selection of 5B

*US: American participants; CH: Chinese participants; number: times of color selected Figure 4-14. Analysis of variance for participants’ color selection of 5G

*US: American participants; CH: Chinese participants; number: times of color selected Figure 4-15. Analysis of variance for participants’ color selection of 5R

*US: American participants; CH: Chinese participants; number: times of color selected Figure 4-16. Analysis of variance for participants’ color selection of 5Y

*US: American participants; CH: Chinese participants; number: times of color selected Figure 4-17. Analysis of variance for participants’ color selection of 5P

7 6 5 4 3 American 2 Chinese

1 NumberofParticipants 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Order

Figure 4-18. Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of ceiling coloring sequence 10 9 8 7 6 5 American 4 3 Chinese 2

NumberofParticipants 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Order

Figure 4-19. Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of soffit coloring sequence

6 American 4 Chinese

2 NumberofParticipants 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Order

Figure 4-20. Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of wall coloring sequence

6 American 4 Chinese

2 NumberofParticipants 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Order

Figure 4-21. Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of accent wall coloring sequence

3 American 2 Chinese

1 NumberofParticipants 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Order

Figure 4-22. Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of floor coloring sequence

8 7 6 5 4 American 3 Chinese 2

NumberofParticipants 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Order

Figure 4-23. Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of table coloring sequence

3 American 2 Chinese

1 NumberofParticipants 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Order

Figure 4-24. Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of chairs coloring sequence

3 American 2 Chinese

1 NumberofParticipants 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Order

Figure 4-25. Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of vase coloring sequence

6 American 4 Chinese

2 NumberofParticipants 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Order

Figure 4-26. Analysis of variance for participants’ design thinking of artwork coloring sequence

CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The purpose of this study was to identify authentic Chinese palettes in a Chinese restaurant environment (defined as hue, value, and chroma) by comparing the responses and color planning approaches between young American and Chinese adults. In this chapter, the associated research questions and findings are discussed in relations to existing theories and research precedent. Implications and further research suggestions are shared at the end of this chapter.

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Authentic Chinese Color Palettes

Color in Chinese culture refers to the certain cultural values conveyed by symbolic colors. The history of Chinese color is as long as the history of China itself.

Chinese color was developed by each dynasty, and five color theory as a major color theory in traditional Chinese art and culture was lead the direction of development of authentic color in this cultural context. Due to the history of Chinese color, there was a difference between traditional and contemporary Chinese color. Chinese traditional culture has a profound meaning on color symbolism and communicating associations.

Traditional Chinese Styles may call for more limited and prescribed palettes, but in more contemporary applications an authentic interpretation of Chinese colors offer more freedom to express culture in new ways with a wider palette of colors, which emphasizes use clear, bright, and simple elements (Crouch, 2010). With the progress of globalization and worldwide social media, a concern is that cross-cultural uniqueness will be threatened with increased homogenization. The previous study showed that there was a difference color preference between Chinese and American in Kentucky

Fried Chicken (KFC). The KFC restaurants in China were painted in brighter colors than

in the U.S, and the results show that Chinese people like to spend more time eating in

KFCs with their friends and families than Americans, and also that Chinese people had much more positive impressions of KFC than their U.S counterparts (Witkowski, Ma, &

Zheng, 2003). The current study investigated that Chinese participants more preferred lighter and high saturation color represented authentic Chinese color than American participants.

There were preference differences between Eastern and Western cultures,

Western cultures preferred warm hue, middle value, moderate chroma, and Eastern cultures preferred neutral hues, light value and weak chroma (Park & Guerin, 2002).

The current study finding shown that red and yellow were most preferred by both

American and Chinese participants to apply in a restaurant environment to represent

Chinese authentic palettes. Purple was the less used color by both groups. Chinese participants preferred the lighter value of blue, green, red, and yellow, and preferred the darker value of purple than Americans. Chinese participants preferred moderate and higher chroma for all five hues, which were high saturated color than American participants. Overall, these findings support Sivik’s (1975) conclusion that preference for a certain hue varies with its value and chroma. The current study showed that there was certain color what were preferred by American and Chinese participants about authentic

Chinese color in an interior environment. American participants preferred 5B- value 9/- chroma 1/, 5G- value 4/- chroma 3/, 5R- value 2/- chroma 4/, 5Y- value 9/- chroma 1/, and 5P- value 9/- chroma 1/ to associated authentic Chinese feeling in restaurant environment, while the Chinese participants preferred 5B- value 9/- chroma 2/, 5G- value 6/- chroma 5/, 5R- value 4/- chroma 7/, 5Y- value 9/- chroma 4/, and no

preference for purple to associated authentic palettes in restaurant environment. Table

5-1 was presented each hue for each design feature in the contemporary Chinese restaurant environment. Blue was the most used on the artwork by Americans and was the floor by the Chinese. Green was the most used on the artwork and vase by both groups. Red was the most used on the wall, the accent wall, and the table by American and the ceiling, the wall, the accent wall, and the chairs by the Chinese. Yellow was the most used on soffit and the table by American the soffit and the ceiling by the Chinese.

Purple was barely used by both groups. Figure 5-1 was created by the most preferred color for each design feature by both groups.

Table 5-1. Frequencies of hues selected for interior design features Hue/ American (N=20) Chinese (N=20) Interior Elements Selected % Selected % times times 5B (Blue) 23 25 Ceiling 3 13.04% 5 20.00% Soffit 2 8.70% 2 8.00% Wall 1 4.35% 1 4.00% Accent Wall 3 13.04% 2 8.00% Floor 4 17.39% 7 28.00% Table 2 8.70% 1 4.00% Chairs 1 4.35% 2 8.00% Artwork 5 21.74% 1 4.00% Vase 1 4.35% 4 16.00% 5G (Green) 27 23 Ceiling 0 0.00% 1 4.35% Soffit 3 11.11% 0 0.00% Wall 1 3.70% 1 4.35% Accent Wall 0 0.00% 1 4.35% Floor 2 7.41% 3 13.04% Table 0 0.00% 1 4.35% Chairs 5 18.52% 0 0.00% Artwork 8 29.63% 8 34.78% Vase 8 29.63% 8 34.78%

Table 5-1. Continued Hue/ American (N=20) Chinese (N=20) Interior Elements Selected % Selected % times time 5R (Red) 63 85 Ceiling 8 12.70% 14 16.47% Soffit 3 4.76% 9 10.59% Wall 11 17.46% 14 16.47% Accent Wall 12 19.05% 14 16.47% Floor 5 7.94% 5 5.88% Table 10 15.87% 12 14.12% Chairs 8 12.70% 14 16.47% Artwork 3 4.76% 7 8.24% Vase 3 4.76% 4 4.71% 5Y (Yellow) 58 42 Ceiling 7 12.07% 8 19.05% Soffit 10 17.24% 9 21.43% Wall 7 12.07% 3 7.14% Accent Wall 5 8.62% 3 7.14% Floor 9 15.52% 4 9.52% Table 9 15.52% 6 14.29% Chairs 5 8.62% 3 7.14% Artwork 4 6.90% 3 7.14% Vase 2 3.45% 3 7.14% 5P (Purple) 9 5 Ceiling 2 22.22% 0 0.00% Soffit 2 22.22% 0 0.00% Wall 0 0.00% 1 20.00% Accent Wall 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Floor 0 0.00% 1 20.00% Table 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Chairs 0 0.00% 1 20.00% Artwork 3 33.33% 1 20.00% Vase 2 22.22% 1 20.00%

Figure 5-1. The most preferred color palette by American and Chinese participants

Color Preference

The color is an integral element of our world, not just in the natural environment but also in the man-made architecture environment. Color always played a role in the human evolutionary process. The environment and its colors are perceived, and the brain processes and judges that it perceives on an objective and subjective basis. One of the reasons that lead to the difference of color perception of contemporary Chinese restaurant environment between American and Chinese was a culture difference, however, color preference between each culture would have a positive effect on the results. Numerous studies have investigated several factors thought to be responsible for color preference, such as age, gender, and geographical area of residence (Saito,

2015).

Saito (Saito, 1996) demonstrated cross-culture differences and similarities in color preference among nine culture groups. The groups were American, Germans,

Danes, Australians, Papua New Guineans, South Africans, Japanese-American living in the USA, non-Japanese living in Japan, and Japanese. Results showed that vivid blue was the only color that was commonly preferred highly by all groups, suggesting that cultural variables are indeed involved in color preference. One significant finding emerging from Saito’s study was the high preference of white by Asian cultures, includes Japanese, Chinese, Korea (Saito, 1996). He also noted that each geographical area had unique tendencies in terms of color preference: Japanese preferred metallic and pale tone, non-light and dull tone; Chinese preferred vivid tone, non-chromatic and dark tone; and Indonesian preferred chromatic, non-vivid, pale, and metallic and pale tones. Moreover, another cross-cultural found that these was a significant difference in color preference between the western countries and eastern countries. Japanese and

England preferred neutral hues, light value, and high chroma and high-value contrast, while U.S and Korea preferred warm hue, middle value, moderate chroma, low-value contrast and medium chroma contrast (Park & Guerin, 2002). The previous studies demonstrated that color preference has a positive effect on the color perception of the interior environment in this study.

In order to investigate the impact of colors on the consumer in the physical environment, numerous studies investigated the color preference in the interior environment, such as retail, restaurant, workplace and mall. Bellizzi, Crowley, & Hasty

(1983) studied the effect of five individual hues in an interior furniture store. The study participants were shown life-size photographic of the store in five experimental colors projected on the screen. The results suggested that cool-colored (blue and green) store environments are preferred over warm-colored (red, orange and yellow) store environments, but the warm colors, particularly yellow in color have the power physically drawn participants to the experimental wall within the interior furniture stores. Color as one of the visual elements can effect on human behavior and purchase decision in either positive or negative way. Babin, Hardesty, & Suter (2003) examined how color perceptions, alone and in combination with store lighting, influence patronage intentions for fashion-oriented stores through a two (color: orange versus blue) by two (lighting: bright versus soft) by two (item price: low versus high) study design. The study participants were asked to read the scenario with a detailed description of a hypothetical fashionable retail clothing store. The results suggested that blue interiors are more preferred associated with greater excitement, higher store patronage intentions and

purchase intentions than the orange interiors. Both studies have suggested a positive relationship between pleasure and preference.

To sum up, both cultural similarities and difference in contemporary Chinese restaurant color perception exist between American and Chines. The results demonstrated the trend in contemporary Chinese restaurant interior color perception is becoming more globalized. The color perception was demonstrated to have a major effect on preference.

Color and Lighting

Color as one of the important design elements in the interior environment has effected on human behavior and overall experience in either positive or negative way. This study was investigated the color perception between American and Chinese young people by using computer simulating, however, the color would be different in a real environment under different lighting condition. There has been a surge of cross-cultural studies in searching for similarities and differences in environmental preference (Lee & Park, 2011;

Park & Farr, 2007; Park, Pae, & Meneely, 2010). Lighting plays a much more important role than simply fulfilling the visual task, and light color and contrast are two factors that qualitatively contribution to the overall experience.

A more recent cross-cultural study by Park and Farr (2007) examines the effect of lighting on Korean and North American retail consumers in a retail environment. The study utilized M-R model to investigate the effect of lighting on emotions, behavioral intentions, and perceptions. A factorial analysis shows distinct cultural differences in perceptions and preferences of different light correlated color temperature (CCT) and color rendering index

(CRI). American participants perceive the overall lighting condition in the room as significantly more arousing as do Korean participants. As for correlated color temperature,

participants perceive the higher CCT of 5000 K as more arousing than the lower CCT of

3000 K. Participants assessed lower CCT as more pleasurable than higher CCT. American participants perceive the light with higher CRI (95 CRI) as more pleasurable than the lower

CRI (75 CRI), while Korean participants perceived the lower CRI as more pleasurable than the higher CRI.

Most recently, Park, Pae and Meneely (2010) explore preferences for hotel guest room lighting with a computer-generated design. Researchers evaluated how preference, arousal, and pleasure vary against different light colors (warm versus cool) and intensities

(bright versus low) in North American and South Korean cultural groups. Findings indicate that North American participants prefer warm color lighting with low intensity the most in hotel guestroom, whereas Korean participants preferred warm color lighting with high intensity the most. Furthermore, a greater proportion of Korean participants selected the cool and bright lighting as their most preferred lighting condition. For the least preferred lighting condition, North Americans selected the warm and bright lighting. Conversely,

Korean participants selected the cool and dim and the warm and dim lighting conditions.

The study identifies cultural differences in arousal states. North Americans perceive dim lighting as more arousing than bright lighting, whereas Koreans perceive bright lighting as more arousing than dim lighting.

In conclusion, cross-culture studies have been recently done in various research areas, such as cognition, service evaluation, and preferences for visual attributes. It has been found that eastern counties and western counties have different lighting preference. In general, American prefer warm and bright lighting, while Korean prefer cool and dim lighting. Moreover, this study found that Chinese prefer bright value and high saturated color, while American prefer dark value and low saturated color in the interior environment.

The relationship between lighting preference and color preference need confirmation by future research.

Color Planning and Design Thinking Styles

It is well known that East Asians and Westerners think differently (Choi et al.,

2007; Masuda & Nisbett, 2001; Nisbett, 2004; Nisbett, Peng, Choi, & Norenzayan,

2001). This study provides a preliminary understanding of how different thinking tendency relates to the participantive decision of coloring sequence. Chinese participants were attracted by overall environment or background which had large space in an interior environment, while American participants focused on more detailed information in an interior environment. One of the reasons of this was because the design thinks the difference between different cultures. The previous study found that

East Asians to be holistic, attending to the entire field and assigning causality to it, whereas Westerners are more analytic, paying attention to the object and the categories to which it belongs and using rules to understand its behavior (Choi et al., 2007).

Implications and Further Research

This study is an exploration of what is the difference of color perception for authentic Chinese color in restaurant environment between Chinese and American cultures. The results demonstrate that there is significant different of hue, value, and chroma for authentic Chinese color between American and Chinese culture. The result also defines the authentic color by both cultures using Munsell color system. This study can be contributed further interior design pedagogy, and help interior design student understand the culture difference of color.

With the increase in globalization, the regional and national differences will naturally smaller and smaller which that world will appear more homogenized and this

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loss of culture identity is an international concern (Guerin, 2008). A restaurant has many complex physical surroundings, or what have been referred to as the “servicescapes”

(Bitner, 1992), which has many effects on the guest. From customers’ viewpoints, color is an important environmental cue in evaluating their overall experience (Lee, 2012). To keep Chinese restaurant attraction in the international market, designer are requested understand what and how is Chinese color influence human behaviors and guest’s overall experience. This study has demonstrated the color perception between

American and Chinese, but how the perception effect on participants emotional states of arousal and pleasure, behavioral intention, perceive restaurant image and color preference need confirmation by future research.

The restaurant is an environment where different cultures may be expressed and sometimes even converge. Color palettes have proven to be significantly related to the overall impression of a restaurant environment (Lee, 2012). The findings of the current study serves as color references and inspiration for restaurant designers. In general, most American and Chinese young people prefer red and yellow to present a Chinese feeling in a restaurant environment. Careful thoughts should be given to hue and tone, value and chroma since it can differ across cultures and perhaps between different age groups and generations. Finally, color planning and interior design is a holistic process.

Many aspects need thorough consideration when a restaurant is being created, such as the overall atmosphere, guest experience, and sustainability issues. For instance,

Chinese guest prefers having brighter and lighter color associate authentic Chinese feeling in a Chinese restaurant, while American participants prefer having darker and low chroma color associated authentic Chinese feeling in a Chinese restaurant

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environment. As interior design becomes a globalized industry, knowledge generated in this study provides a better understanding of cultural aspects in authentic Chinese color design, which may help Chinese restaurants improve the overall experience and keep their attraction for guests.

To further confirm the effects of interior color, future research may replicate the current study in actual Chinese restaurant environments and in different demographics

(e.g., genders, ages). More color variables can be explored, such as color meaning, the reaction of color, and visual attributes in a restaurant environment. It is also recommended that future researchers can look at the impact of color in different environments (e.g., healthcare, workplace, retail).

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APPENDIX A IRB APPROVAL

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APPENDIX B CONSENT FORM

Color and Culture: Perceived Color Difference of Chinese Authentic Color in Restaurant Environment between Chinese and American Please read this consent document carefully before you decide to participate in this study. Purpose of the study: The purpose of this study is to perception between American and Chinese students on what defines of “authentic” Chinese color in the context of restaurant environments. The findings from this study will contribute to a better understanding of cross-cultural design studies. What you will be asked to do in the study: You will be asked to choose selected colors and applied these colors for each part of a line drawing of restaurant environment by computer graphic software. Based on the color image you selected, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire about your opinions. This questionnaire is expected to take no longer than 15 minutes to complete. Risks and Benefits: There are no expected risks or benefits associated with the study. Compensation: You will be giving a $5 gift card as compensation for participating in this research. Confidentiality: You will NOT be asked to give your name or contact information. Any personal demographic information will only be used to compare your responses to other participants. All responses will be anonymous. Your identity will be kept confidential to the extent provided by law. Voluntary Participation: Your participation in this study is completely voluntary and you are not obligated to complete the questionnaire. Right to withdraw from the study: You have the right to withdraw from the study at any time without consequence. You do not have to answer any questions that you do not wish to answer. If you choose to withdraw, please inform the administrator and your questionnaire will be destroyed. Whom to contact if you have questions about the study: Tian Xu Dr. Margaret Portillo Graduate Student Professor & Chair Department of Interior Department of Interior Design Design Department of Interior Design [email protected] [email protected] 352Whom-284 to- 6866contact about your rights as a research 352 -294 participant-1430 in the study: IRB02 Office, Box 112250, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-2250. Phone: (352) 392-

0433. Agreement: I have read the procedure described above. I voluntarily agree to participate in the procedure and I have received a copy of this description. ______Participant’s Signature Date ______Principle Investigator’s Signature Date (Tian, Xu)

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APPENDIX C SURVEY INSTRUMENT

Instruction Please follow the following instructions in the entire survey: - Sit in a room that is as dark as possible (you might need to turn off all lights); - Make sure you are on a standard laptop which is provided by the investigator; - Tilt the screen so that it is directly in front of and parallel to your face; - Adjust your screen to full brightness setting.

Section one Please fill the Primary color categories, hue, value, and chroma range of each “authentic” Chinese color that participants selected for design features or elements in the restaurant environment. Elements Primary Color Hue Value Chroma Categories* Ceiling

Soffit

Wall

Accent Wall

Floor

Table

Chairs

Vase

Artwork

*Primary Color Categories: indicate which color categories you choose – Yellow, Green, Red, Blue, or Purple.

Section Two Please indicate the order in which the color was selected for design features or elements in the restaurant environment. Elements Ceiling Soffit Wall Accent Floor Table Chairs Vase Artwork Wall # of Order

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APPENDIX D DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

The following questions pertain demographic information. What is your gender? Male Female Which year were you born? Year: ______Were you born and raised in the United States? Yes No What is your race or ethnic background? White Hispanic or Latino Black or African American Native American or American Indian Asian / Pacific Islander Other, please specify: ______How often do you visit Chinese restaurant per month? None 1-2/month 3-4/month 5-6/month More than 7/month Have you taken any color courses or worked as color professional? Yes No If yes, please specify: ______Do you have any visual impairments (example: color blindness) that cannot be corrected by your glasses or contact lenses? Yes No Do you usually wear glasses or contact lenses to correct your vision? Yes No If yes, are you wearing them now? Yes No

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APPENDIX E ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CC LIVE PAINT BUCKET DEMO

The investigator will give a demo of how to use the computer graphics software (Adobe Illustrator CC). Step one: Click “Eyedropper Tool” on the left side toolbar. Then, use “Eyedropper Tool” to select the Munsell color you want to use.

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Step two: Press “Shape Builder Tool” and click “Live Paint Bucket” in the drop-down menu.

Step three: At this point, you should see a red outline for the element that you selected, and a color square shows the color you choose from step one. Use “Live Paint Bucket” to apply color for design features and elements in the restaurant perspective.

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APPENDIX F CHINESE COLOR PREFERENCES

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APPENDIX G AMERICAN COLOR PREFERENCES

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APPENDIX H OFFICIAL CHINESE DYNASTY PALETTES

PaoXi Empire (ca. 60000-ca. 3000 BCE1)

The ancient records “An Extension of Li” stated that NvWa [女娲], who is the empress of

PaoXi, though white is the beginning of life, the most primitive color in people’s heart.

PaoXi Empire had white as their official color.

《礼稽命徵》：女娲以十二月为正，尚白，伏羲以上未有闻焉

Shennong Empire (ca. 3000-ca. 2500 BCE)

Shennong, who is known as “Fire Emperor” [炎帝]. Fire is always red. According to the ancient records “An Extension of Li”, Shennong had red as their official color.

《礼稽命徵》：神农以十一月为正，尚赤

XuanYuan Empire (ca. 2500-ca. 2000 BCE)

According to the ancient records “Viewing of Sir Lv”, XuanYuan had yellow as their official color, and yellow stand for the earth (Lv, 秦 [Qin]).

Besides, the name of the emperor of XuanYuan, “Yellow Emperor” [黄帝], is an additional clue for the yellow color.

《吕览. 应同》：黄帝之时，天先见大蚓大蝼，黄帝曰土气胜，土气胜，故其色尚黄，其

事则土

However, the ancient records “An Extension of Li” stated that XuanYuan had white, red and black.

1 BCE: Before the Common Era

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《礼稽命徵》：舜以十一月为正，尚赤，尧以十二月为正，尚白，高辛以十二月为正，尚

黑，高阳氏以十一月为正，尚赤，少昊以十二月为正，尚白，黄帝以十二月为正，尚黑

Shang Dynasty (ca. 2000-ca. 1050 BCE)

According to the ancient records “Viewing of Sir Lv”, Shang had white as their official color, and white stand for the metal (Lv, 秦 [Qin]).

《吕览. 应同》：及商之时，天先见金刃生于水，商曰金气胜，金气胜，故其色尚白，其

事则金

Zhou Dynasty (ca. 1050-256 BCE)

According to the ancient records “Viewing of Sir Lv”, Zhou had red as their official color, and red stand for the fire (Lv, 秦 [Qin]), but its formal dress was mainly black, while its army flag was white.

《吕览. 应同》：及文王之时，天先见火，赤鸟衔丹书集于周社，文王曰火气胜，火气

胜，故其色尚红，其事则火

Qin Dynasty (221-207 BCE)

According to the ancient records “Viewing of Sir Lv”, Qin had black as their official color, and black stand for the water (Lv, 秦 [Qin]).

《吕览. 应同》：代火者必将水，天且先见水气胜，水气胜，故其色尚黑，其事则水

Han Dynasty (202-263CE2)

The ancient records “The Historiography” (Sima, 91BCE) stated that Han had the same color as Qin, which is black. (202-104 BCE).

2 CE: Common Era

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《史记.历书》：汉典，高祖曰北畤待我而起，亦自以为获水德之瑞，虽明习历及张苍

等，咸以为然，是时天下初定，方纲纪大基，高后女主，皆未遑，故袭秦正朔服色

According to the ancient records “Writing of Han” (Ban, 汉 [Han]), Han had changed the official color to yellow during 104 BCE to 26 CE.

《汉书. 武帝纪》：太初元年，[…] 夏五月，正历，以正月为岁首，色上黄

During the later phase (26-220 CE), Han had the red as their official color (S. Chen, 晋

[Jin]a).

《后汉书. 光武帝纪上》：始正火德，色尚赤

Wei Dynasty (220-266 CE)

The archaic text “Writing of The Three States” (S. Chen, 晋 [Jin]b) stated that the Wei dynasty had the yellow official color applied to formal dress, its imperial flag had yellow and red.

《宋书. 礼一》：自当随土德之数，每四月之季月，服黄十八日，臘以醜丑，牲用白，其

饰节旄自当赤但节幡黄耳

Jin and Southern Dynasties (266-589 CE)

According to the ancient records “Writing of The Three States” (S. Chen, 晋 [Jin]b) stated that the Jin dynasty had the red official color, and the Northern and Southern dynasties remained the same.

《宋书. 礼一》：今大晋继三黄之蹤，踵舜，禹之跡，应天从民，受禅有魏，宜一用前代

正朔服色，皆如有虞遵唐故事，於义为弘，奏可，孙盛曰，仍旧，非也，且晋为金行，服

饰尚赤，考之天道，其违甚矣，及宋受禅，亦如魏晋故事

Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE)

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According to the ancient records “Writing of Sui” (Wei, 唐 [Tang]), the official color of Sui dynasty was red.

《隋书. 礼仪七》：高祖初即位，朝会衣裳，宜尽用赤。

Tang and Five Dynasties (618-960 CE)

The archaic text “Encyclopedia” (Du, 唐 [Tang]) and “Actual Recording of Ming” (明

[Ming]) stated that the official color of Tang dynasty was red in the earlier phase (618-

750), and reddish yellow in the later phase (750-960).

《通典. 卷第五十五》：大唐土德，建寅月为岁首，载初元年九月九日，改元天授，称

周，改黄帝为黄祠。二年正月，旗帜尚赤，天宝九载制，应缘隊仗所用绯色幡等，並改为

赤黄色。

《明实录. 右祖高黄帝实录. 卷五二洪武三年五月辛亥》：唐服饰尚黄，旗帜尚赤。

Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 CE)

According to the ancient record “Illustration of Official Virtues of Da-Jin” (蒙古[Mongol

Khanate]), the Yuan dynasty did not officially set any official color. The national color of the Mongolian people was the white.

《中書令耶律公神道碑》：蓋國俗尚白，一白為吉故也。

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE)

The archaic text “Actual Recording of Ming” (明 [Ming]) stated that the Ming dynasty set the red official color in 1370.

《明实录. 右祖高黄帝实录. 卷五二洪武三年五月辛亥》：今國家承元之後，取法周，

漢，宋以為治，服色所尚，於赤為宜，上從之。

Qing Dynasty (1636-1912 CE)

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The Qing dynasty did not officially set an official color. A previous study (清实录

[Qingshilu, Actual Recording of Qing], 清 [Qing]) stated that Qing dynasty had used the administrative system of the eight banners. The administrative system of eight banners were named based on the color of their flag: 1) the bordered yellow banner; 2) the plain yellow banner; 3) the bordered white banner; 4) the plain white banner; 5) the bordered red banner; 6) the plain red banner; 7) the bordered blue banner, and 8) the plain blue banner.

Republic of China (1912-1949 CE)

The Republic of China (ROC) did not officially set any official color.

The old sovereign flag affirmed in 1912 carried five horizontal stripes of five colors: (red, yellow, blue-green, white, and black) representing the five major nations of China (Han,

Manchu, Mongolian, Muslim, and Tibetan).

People’s Republic of China (1949-Now)

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) did not officially set any official color.

The People’s Republic of China had combine traditional color with western color together and welcoming new ideas and new technologies. The PRC preferred to use red colors informal setting, such as the army of the Communist Party of China (CPC) named workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army of China in 1928.

The sovereign flag affirmed in 1949 carries the five yellow stars on the red background.

It has made the red color applying to the sovereign flag. The red color is the national color of the Han-Chinese people, including Taiwanese.

Red represented by holiday decorations and traditional wedding dresses, and also representative blood and passion. Red means lucky and happiness.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Tian Xu was born in Shanxi, China in November 1991, and is the eldest child in a family of two children. In June of 2012, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic

Design from Troy University, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts in Xi’an

University of Science and Technology. During her undergraduate studies, she had an internship in an interior design firm in China. During this experience, Tian found interior design fascinating, and she decided to apply for graduate school to develop expertise in this field of study. In January 2013, Tian started the Master of Interior Design program at the University of Florida. Given her cultural background and interest in color and hospitality design, Tian developed a research topic to explore cross-cultural variation in color selection for contemporary Chinese restaurants. In the final stage of the MID program, Tian also gained valuable professional experience in a paid design internship with Disney. After her December 2016 graduation, Tian plans to practice as an interior designer in Florida.

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