Culturally Informed Colour Coding in Virtual Reality:Preserving ovaHimba Heritage

This study explored how culturally grounded colour representations could be implemented in Virtual Reality (VR) environments to preserve OvaHimba heritage. Community feedback and validation sessions were conducted to select culturally meaningful colours for VR cultural heritage presentations. Based on a related study that determined digital colour codes with members of an OvaHimba community, a VR scenario was developed. Feedback was collected through in-VR and post-VR interviews, and thematic analysis was used to identify recurring patterns across participants’ responses. The analysis revealed four major themes: colour representation, realism and authenticity, cultural significance, and overall user experience. The study concludes that iterative community engagement and validation are essential in achieving culturally agreeable colour representations and lighting calibrations in VR. Further research is recommended to systematise indigenous community-guided colour coding in VR.