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Enjoying the sunset, watching a movie, choosing a product in a virtual store or see the product after opening the box are completely different experience but they are linked by a very basic element, the color. Color, as we see it, is the result of a physical and biological process (Zeki et al., 1999) Knowing that color can be influenced by aspects, such as brightness and saturation (Dael et al., 2016), knowing it is essential to use it in the most effective way.
Isaac Newtow, in his Theory of Light and Color, found that color is a result of the reflection of light (Klus, 2017). According to him, white light contains red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet colors. What our eyes actually capture is the red light reflected by the object, and our dear brain processes the light received by the human eye. (Pantone, n.d.).
There are also differences between the colors we see on the computer screen and the color printed on a blank sheet of paper (Printi Blog, 2019), or the color that we see in a real object. That is why different digital color systems were developed, such as RGB, CMYK, Pantone and CIELab.
RGB stands for Red, Green and Blue and is a system of colors used by digital screens in general, such as cell phones, computers, TV (Pantone n.d.). CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black and is a color system for printing (Pantone n.d.). Since printed colors (CMYK) are much more limited than colors on a smartphone screen (RGB) it is possible that the printed image may differ from the image seen on the screen and note that it is possible that different monitors still display the same colors with differences, because the RGB values between them can also be different (Pantone n.d.).
We also emphasize that the color printed by a machine that uses CMYK system (ink bank printer for example), will be different from the color resulting from the process of mixing multiple solid inks, as the Pantone system works (Pantone n.d.).
The CIELAB (Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage) system, in turn, involves a three-dimensional analysis of color where another variable is considered, in addition to colors, which is luminosity (Pantone n.d.). This system aims to achieve greater color accuracy regardless of the device used and is important for greater color awareness (Hanbury and Serra, 2011).
Thus, the perception of color has many variables, and the "same color" can present variations if they are displayed on different devices (even being the "same" digital color) or materials, so it is relatively common situations in which the purchased product has a different color from the one seen on the website store. You know, the digital color displayed in a device screen is different from the color of the product that is in yours hands.
If you take a look in reviews from some online retail service, It is not uncommon to find complaints about the color difference between the product seen on the device screen and the product delivered.
It really must be a frustrating experience to receive a product with a different color than expected, which can generate bad feedback and decrease the company's reputation in the market. We emphasize that it can be bad for everyone involved, it can be harmful both for the platform that hosts the seller, and for the seller itself, so it's double damage.
So, companies need to be attentive to the feedbacks, as well as the quality of the photography and digitization of the product. Understanding color systems is essential to have a greater awareness of color in the digital image and thus deliver, to the user, an image or product more faithful to the desired, because this involves the reputation of those involved, which translates into sales, profit and performance.
Bibliography
Dael, N., Perseguers, M.-N., Marchand, C., Antonietti, J.-P. and Mohr, C. (2016). Put on that colour, it fits your emotion: Colour appropriateness as a function of expressed emotion.
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69(8), pp.1619–1630.
Hanbury, A. and Serra, J. (2011). MATHEMATICAL MORPHOLOGY IN THE CIELAB SPACE. Image Analysis & Stereology, 21(3), p.201.
Klus, H. (2017). Newton’s theory of Light. [online] The Star Garden. Available at: http://www.thestargarden.co.uk/Newtons-theory-of-light.html.
penta2.ufrgs.br. (n.d.). Luz Emitida e Luz Refletida. [online] Available at: http://penta2.ufrgs.br/edu/teleduc/upload/files/teleduc/eny12/luz.htm [Accessed 26 Apr. 2022].
Pantone (n.d.). How Do We See Color? [online] www.pantone.com. Available at: https://www.pantone.com/eu/en/articles/color-fundamentals/how-do-we-see-color [Accessed 26 Apr. 2022].
Pantone (n.d.). Understanding Different Color Spaces | Pantone. [online] www.pantone.com. Available at: https://www.pantone.com/articles/color-fundamentals/understanding-different-color-spaces.
Printi Blog. (2019). Por que há variação de cor nos materiais? [online] Available at: https://www.printi.com.br/blog/por-que-ha-variacao-de-cor-nos-materiais [Accessed 26 Apr. 2022].
Zeki, S., Aglioti, S., McKeefry, D. and Berlucchi, G. (1999). The neurological basis of conscious color perception in a blind patient. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, [online] 96(24), pp.14124–14129. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC24201/.
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