Afterimage Color Perception for Designers

Abstract

This is a study of perception of negative afterimages. Surface color samples were viewed under Spectralight. Subjects fixated on 11 Munsell hues mounted on white cards and matched their afterimages with chips from the Munsell Book of Color. Samples were drawn from 125 participants in two groups, one practiced, the other unfamiliar with afterimage. No single afterimage or Munsell color chip was reported for any of the stimulus hues. However, most afterimage responses for nine stimulus colors fell within one Munsell hue family. Afterimages reported for the remaining two stimulus colors of purple-blue and yellow-red span two adjacent hue families. Results suggest new alternatives to traditional subtractive color complements. New afterimage opposites are provided.