Colour Psychology

In the late 17th century, Sir Isaac Newton, legendary English physicist and mathematician, began some experiments with sunlight and discovered that each wavelength was composed of one of seven visible colours: something we now know as a rainbow, or more scientifically, the colour spectrum. He later invented the colour wheel and there began centuries of scientific research and investigation into colours, their relationships with each other, and their affect on us as humans.

The intimate connection between colours and their psychological affect has also been analysed by artists throughout history – from Renaissance painters like Caravaggio, creating drama with tonal colour contrasts which he called ‘chiaroscuro,’ to Mark Rothko’s 20th century colour blocking and Wassily Kandinsky’s famous proclamation that, ‘Colour is a power that directly influences the soul.’

Colour remains a hot topic in marketing, design and art and as proven by scientists and artists, can really affect our mood, emotions and thoughts. When we’re choosing how to use it in interior decoration, there are many factors that can influence our mindsets - from our personality to our ethnicity, our age, gender, climate, the size of a room and its use. Colour can be perceived differently by each viewer and according to each person’s personal tastes and associations and it can also create optical illusions -making a tiny room feel larger or a larger room feel cosier, without the expense of knocking down walls or changing furniture.

For many, the colour red, for example, evokes feelings of power, passion and intensity, a stimulant for body and mind – great for dramatic night time dining room settings, or for a study where big work decisions are being made. Orange and yellow are said to promote energy, activity and optimism – a good option for kitchens and playrooms. Green is traditionally restful, refreshing and stress relieving, a reflection of nature and tranquillity and therefore a popular choice for bathrooms or garden rooms where we like to unwind. And blue is the colour of calm – it cools us down, both physically and mentally. We use black to create drama and white for freshness and neutrality and we use combinations of all of these to pull together schemes and thematics which further add to our mood. Pairing complimentary colours – those that are opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as yellow and purple, magenta and green – creates contrast and impact, for example.

So when we consider all these factors, it soon becomes clear how vital colour can be for transforming spaces and rooms and making them truly personal to us and the mood we are aiming to create. By harnessing its power and better understanding its effect on our individual clients, we therefore have arguably the best chance at creating a winning design and optimising our psychological wellbeing.