Color Ergonomic Function in Urban Chromatic Plans

摘要

This paper aims to present the interconnections between Color and Ergonomics, enhancing the color ergonomic function, and how it may be taken in consideration when elaborating Urban Chromatic Plans that are concerned with the population comfort. On the elaboration of urban chromatic plans, color is usually applied in order to establish a harmony between buildings and their background, often contributing to the environment monotony. However, color has other properties that enable making some elements to stand out from their surroundings, without destroying the pretended harmony. Color, when applied with a scientific criteria, can also act as an identification, or orientation, element accomplishing an ergonomic function that will beneficiate the entire city population. The cities' population is a combination of people with various needs and different disablements. Therefore, inclusive and ergonomic design should embrace the widest possible range of users, but its issues are primarily focused on people with motor limitations and tend to forget visual disabled people. Though, we must consider that the city population is constituted by an extensive variety of people, with different visual acuities and limitations and, also, by a high percentage of older people, which have more difficulty to see small details and the obstacles that could be present on their way.