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This research investigates how Malians perceive and build harmonious color combinations influenced by their cultural landscape.

May 7, 2026Open Access

The harmonicity of coloristics in the perceptions of the inhabitants of Mali

Key Points

This research investigates how Malians perceive and build harmonious color combinations influenced by their cultural landscape.
Utilized an experimental method involving 50 participants born and raised in Mali, aged 20 to 51.
Employed previously established methodology by Yu. A. Grieber and colleagues to analyze color harmony perceptions.
Color harmony preferences were compared against data from residents of eight countries worldwide.
Malians predominantly prefer red shades for harmonious color combinations (44.4%).
Light shades are preferred with a mean lightness index of 64.3 and low saturation indices averaging 23.4.
Participants' color choices form distinctive geometric shapes in CIELAB color space, with acute and obtuse triangles being prevalent.

Abstract

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the need to study the ideas about the harmony of colorism in order to form a color environment comfortable for representatives of different social groups and cultures. Complex color combinations surround a person in everyday life. They create a unique appearance of both natural and architectural landscape in different regions of the world. The object of the study is the influence of cultural landscape on the perceptions of harmonious color combinations. The subject of the study is the harmony of colorism (color harmony) in the contemporary perceptions of the inhabitants of Mali. The study used the methodology developed by Yu. A. Grieber and her colleagues. The obtained results were compared with the results of previous studies of the “geographical” specificity of the construction of color harmonies with the participation of residents of eight countries located in different regions of the world. The study was conducted by the experimental method with 50 participants (41 males and 9 females) aged 20 to 51 years (mean age: 26.6 years; SD = 5.9). All participants were born and raised in Mali. The main findings of the study are as follows. First, Malians prefer to build harmonious color combinations, most often (44.4%) using red shades. Second, they more often than others choose light shades to build harmonious color combinations (lightness indices of shades chosen by Malians have a mean of 64.3, SD = 22.4) with low saturation (mean is 23.4, SD = 23.6). Third, Malians' color choices have a characteristic “geometry” in CIELAB color space: the triangles constructed from their responses have a large area (101.4-481.5 (E*00)2). Among them, acute-angled and obtuse-angled triangles predominate. The data presented in the article and their analysis allow for a deeper understanding of the unique features of Malian culture and the forms of Malian self-expression. This study may be useful for researchers studying the culture, geography and architecture of Africa, as well as colorism and color traditions of this region.

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