May 6, 2002—WASHINGTON—If a picture is worth a thousand words, a picture with natural colors may be worth a million, memory-wise. Psychologists have documented that “living color” does more than appeal to the senses. It also boosts memory for scenes in the natural world. The findings, reported in the May issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, published by the American Psychological Association (APA), shed light on how the visual system efficiently exploits color information. Conceivably, by hanging an extra “tag” of data on visual scenes, color helps us to process and store images more efficiently than colorless (black and white) scenes, and as a result to remember them better, too.
Don’t be fooled by old photographs; life since the dawn of time has always been in color. As far as the manner of chronicling life, however, color printing in its earliest form wasn’t discovered until the early 18th century. The innovation had to start with a complete understanding of what color is, which started with Isaac Newton in the mid-17th century. However, sources behind the reason for inventing color printing are all but non-existent.
Perhaps people remember scenes better when they’re in color rather than black-and-white, according to an article from Science Daily. In a study conducted by European psychologists involving 141 participants distributed over 5 experiments, most subjects remembered scenes in color showed to them better than those in black-and-white, as well as pictures in false colors. Researchers pointed out the usefulness of their findings in the visual field where digital printing in NH and elsewhere can produce more inviting paraphernalia.
Study author Felix Wichmann believes that bright colors can get one’s attention, a critical asset in the print industry. However, he also believes that for the image or print to remain in the viewer’s mind for a long time, unnatural colors are ill-suited for the task. Versatility allows color print media to make an impression.
Whatever the reason for the proliferation of color, it’s here to stay. Innovations like NH digital printing make it possible for printing companies like R.C. Brayshaw & Co. to produce more vivid images than those of several decades ago. Color has been around since time immemorial, but printing has helped mankind recognize its existence.
(Info from In Living Color: We Remember Scenes Better When They’re in Color Than Black and White, Science Daily, May 6, 2002)