English Contents

Color Palette for Designing Colorful “Kansei-based Map”

What is Kansei-based Map?

Map utilization is rapidly expanding in the age of information technology (IT). Not only paper print maps but also electro maps such as car navigation maps are widely used. A nice map is required to be beautiful and easily understood. It means that any map must be based on “Kansei” in Japanese, or sensibility in English. Kansei or sensibility is to feel, memorize, think of and create beauty.

“Kansei” is generally represented as relevant image which corresponds to an adjective, such as “sober“, “romantic“, “gorgeous”, “young“, “cool“ etc., which are called “Kansei word”.

“Kansei” is different each other depending on individuals, nations, culture, seasons and climate. However there must be an average feeling inherent from a “Kansei word”.

The Geo Info Creative Co., Ltd. has recently submitted an application of Japanese patent on “Kansei-based Color Palette” for designing colorful maps from the research results obtained through the activities by Research Group on Map & Multimedia (guided by Professor Shunji Murai, Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo).

Colorful map based on “Kansei” is defined as “Kansei-based Map”.

Color Palette for Kansei-based Map

It would be hard to paint beautiful colors to a given white map, as one has to select best colors from full color chart (about 16 million colors). One may have difficult experience to select best combination of beautiful colors for maps or other drawings.

The color palette that Geo Info Creative Co., Ltd. has developed provides with a list of twenty color samples corresponding to twenty “Kansei words”. The list includes hue (H), brightness (B) and saturation (S) using the value of “Adobe Photoshop”.

This color palette has the following functions.

1) One can select a best combination of “Kansei-based colors” from a given twenty color samples, which may corresponds to the relevant “Kansei word”.

The following “Kansei words” are to be selected.

  • A1: Sober  A2: Simple
  • A3: Naive  A4: Romantic
  • A5: Pastel color  A6: Elegant
  • A7: Showy  A8: Dynamic
  • B1: Mild  B2: Cute
  • B3: Withered  B4: Restful
  • B5: Simple & quiet  B6: Young
  • B7: Calm  B8: Clean
  • B9: Cool  B10: Refined
  • B11: Dreamy  B12: Gorgeous

(Remarks; A is all color type while B shows similar color type)

2) Brightness of a color palette is designed within the value of 20 in its difference. This is to allow letters to be printed in a color map in black or white with clearly readable contrast.

In case when one uses the Kansei-based color palette, one should pay attention to the following points.

1) “Trial and Error” would be needed to select a best combination of colors from a limited number of color samples with respect to the selected “Kansei word”, which may best fit to those map objects such as roads, city blocks, houses, parks, rivers etc. However, it will be easier for this selection as one can consider a limited number of twenty samples.

2) Color output will be different a little bit depending on the type of computer monitor or color output device. If one cannot find a satisfied color, one may change the value of the brightness (B) by plus or minus 10. However, one is recommended to unchange the value of hue (H) and saturation(S).

Test Samples of Kansei-based City Maps

Attached are twenty test samples of “Kansei-based City Maps” corresponding to the relevant “Kansei words” using the color palette. You are most welcome to purchase the Kansei-based Color Palette if you evaluate them in positive way.

  • Swiss - Zurich :Clean
  • Swiss - Zurich :Restful
  • Swiss - Zurich :Romantic

Swiss - Zurich :Clean Swiss - Zurich :Restful Swiss - Zurich :Romantic

Contact person:

Chuo Geomatics Co., Ltd.

Funado 3-15-22, Itabashi-ku, TOKYO 174-0041, JAPAN

TEL: +81-3-3967-1781

FAX: +81-3-3967-1503

mailto : head@chuogeomatics.co.jp