Abstract

Most people have experienced the disappointment of ordering products online and receiving a product completely different to what was expected. For example, a sweater may appear that it is made out of extremely soft blue cotton, yet when seen in person is an itchy purple polyester blend. The current research seeks to ameliorate this confusion by evaluating various visual conditions that have the potential to lead to disparities between real-world feel and online images. Lighting and material characteristics are two major indicators of fabric, specifically real life look and feel. The angle of lighting and which light source is chosen can affect shadows of textural pieces and how the color is perceived through a screen on various devices. Material characteristics, such as the way a fabric folds, has the ability to show how stretchy, lustrous/glossy, thick, and flexible a material is simply based on viewing. Oftentimes lighting such as daylight (D65) and draping similar to how the fabric would fall on a body would give the best visual/tactile perceptions from viewing images to better align with those perceptions of the real object. D65, which has a correlated color temperature (CCT) of 6500K, is often used as a standard due to its high fidelity when it comes to color reproduction. However, a CCT of 3200K is often the choice for retail environments due to its warm and comforting feeling. Draping fabric as it would fall on a body allows the viewer to understand the piece in a three dimensional way. This implies that the use of a human-form, such as a mannequin, would allow the viewer to have a similar visual experience to their physical experience. The experiment tests accuracy of fabric perception under two different light sources (6500K and 3200K) and eight images depicting the same fabric in various forms, including draping fabric on a mannequin form and hanging. Ground truth for this work is taken as the real-world observations and perceptions of the fabrics. Observers rated the material properties based on their interaction with the fabric. A series of images that differ in viewing conditions were also rated on the same attributes as the real-world rating. The goal with these ratings is to determine which images produced results the most similar to real-world perception. From there, suggestions can be made for product, specifically fashion, photography that will produce results such that consumers have the most accurate experience to in-person shopping as possible. This will cut down on textile waste from both the designer and consumer since the clothing will be just as they saw on their display.

Publication Date

4-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Color Science (MS)

Department, Program, or Center

Color Science

College

College of Science

Advisor

Susan Farnand

Advisor/Committee Member

Christopher Thorstenson

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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