Effects of Viewing Distance on Visual and Visual-Tactile Evaluation of Black Fabric

Black fabrics with different surface textures generated from the weave structure and yarn type were selected to examine how viewing distance affects changes in impression. Participants evaluated 16 fabrics draped over the spherical stand from a distance of 150 cm, then evaluated their visual-only and visual—tactile impressions from a distance of 15 cm. Semantic differential scaling of ±3 points for 12 bipolar adjective pairs word were used. It was found that the fabric impression of transparency and gloss were influenced by the viewing distance. When the gloss was perceived at 150 cm, the impression did not change at the shorter distance for samples F8 (shantung) and F15 (lawn). Regarding aesthetic components such as beautiful, like was perceived more visually at 150 cm than with a visual—tactile evaluation at 15 cm. The mechanical and surface properties of the fabrics were measured using the KES-FB system. An obvious change in perception of hardness/softness between two viewing distance were observed for samples with low bending rigidity. Surface morphology characteristics such as surface roughness (SMD) and mean deviation of surface friction (MMD) and air resistance are useful parameters for understanding the changes in impression according to viewing distance.