Applied Edition #06 Colors and the Five Senses Part 3 Hearing

pleasant sound

The results of a survey conducted a long time ago showed that the sound of a babbling brook was ranked number one as a pleasant sound. As part of my exploration of the five senses and colors, I am also trying to capture sound using colors and images. This survey uses a method in which respondents choose answers expressed in language. The impression of a familiar size such as ``a brook'' and expressions that convey a feeling of freshness such as ``a babbling stream'' probably lead to pleasantness.

In addition, natural phenomena and things that make people feel comfortable include 1/f fluctuations, which have become a hot topic in sensory engineering, and this "sound of a babbling stream" is said to be a typical example. . A state in which "regular" and "irregular" things are in harmony is called 1/f fluctuation. It is known to be effective for relaxation and healing, and it is recommended that walking in nature can be effective.

Places with rivers flowing through them are comfortable to live in, and are likely to become popular tourist destinations with pleasant walking trails.

Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture Image Image — Although it is a bit large for a small stream, the tranquil riverbed spreads out and you can hear the relaxing sound of water.
You can tell that it is loved by local people.
Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture

Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture Image Image — The river that flows by the side of the old mansion curves gently and gives a sense of relaxation. Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture

Pleasant and unpleasant sounds based on color

Let's take a look at an example in which a sample of a single color was asked to indicate whether it was a pleasant sound or an unpleasant sound.
This is quoted from the results of "Image Survey on Colors, Five Senses, Psychology, etc. - Tohoku University of Art and Design" 2013 by Chikara Kubota, Satoshi Watanabe, and Akiko Sugiyama. (The color sample used for the answer is a table consisting of 28 representative hues and tones.)

First of all, it's a sound that feels comfortable. Bright tones of blue and blue-green are chosen. Also, Y-type bright toned cream-like colors are becoming popular. It can be said that the color is reminiscent of the babbling brook mentioned above.

A diagram that compares the sounds that are pleasant to the ear to colors.

On the other hand, when it comes to colors that express unpleasant sounds, dark tones such as black and brown are the most popular colors for both men and women. Women cite red as an unpleasant sounding color, but men less so. When it comes to sound, men and women seem to have slightly different evaluations. It can be said that it is a characteristic that women find bright yellow and purple tones unpleasant.

A diagram that compares sounds that are unpleasant to the ears to colors.

The color of this unpleasant sound image may be associated with heavy traffic in a city or the noise of a construction site.

image of sound

Let me show you a diagram that represents sound as an image. Various natural sounds and artificial sounds are expressed like onomatopoeia, replaced with colors, and placed in positions on the color image scale.

Features of image distribution

Auxiliary axis of sound image scale

Illustration of the auxiliary axis of the sound image scale

Pleasant sounds have been scientifically researched and are used in things such as naming, but when thinking about direction, I would like to recommend an easy method of using color as an indicator.

March 4, 2019

Text by Japan Color Design Institute