Color image is one of the most important factors in art and design. In general, artists and designers apply their own personal image meanings into their work. However, the image meaning for a specific work is frequently in conflict with those of the general observer. Thus it is necessary and important to derive one set of merit color image scales which can be utilized to predict the color image meanings of works in parallel with the average person's perception and which can also serve as a guide for artists and designers. In this study, the phychophysical method (magnitude estimation method), usually used in visual measurement of color appearance, was employed to attempt to establish new color image scales to evaluate the color image meanings of works matching those of the average person. The results show that new color image scales WIP are developed, and the relativity between the latest color image scales WIP and the color attributes (say Lightness L*, Hue h, and Chroma C*) of the CIELAB color space is also discussed. The total mean value of coefficient of variation for the results of visual assessment in the experiment of evaluating the color image meanings of the 207 color specimens used, in general, is about 36, similar to that for those experiments conducted using the psychological method. Also, a good relationship between the new color image scales and the color attributes of the CIELAB color space can be found. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.