Worklife at Digiday published a fluff piece on color psychology informing office design. Okay, but most White advertising agencies lack color—by design—leading to psychological safety issues in the office.
How color psychology is informing office design
By Hailey Mensik
Choosing the perfect color to paint a room can be a major decision for some people, and for good reason.
Different colors can have powerful effects on human behavior, according to color psychology, which designers are paying closer attention to when redesigning offices today. It’s one area of focus within office design as employers look to tweak their environments to better cater to staff who are working in person far more often than they were just a year ago.
Ultimately, they’re looking to “stand out and have a unique space and one that reflects their brand and culture, as opposed to just having the office be a place where people come to get their work done,” said Rachel Ryan, associate project interior designer at architecture and design firm FCA.
And picking the right tone can make offices feel much more inviting and enhance well-being along with productivity.
One big overall trend is a shift away from white, bright and light colors and choosing other hues that are more neutral, earthy and muted throughout core areas of the office. That’s in part due to a larger move toward biophilic design, which incorporates plants and other natural elements to make spaces feel more calm and relaxing, Ryan said.
Another trend is to “color code the office, and kind of divide it by function.” That means painting conference rooms and other areas designated for socializing and collaboration with more vibrant tones meant to energize the environment and those in it.
“Different colors can start to affect how people feel in different spaces and so bright saturated colors evoke more energizing feelings,” said Lisa Patusky, associate staff interior designer at FCA.
And color is being used as a wayfinding tool, with certain floors painted certain tones to help people know where they are when they get off the elevator, or with different areas painted different colors depending on what team or department works there.
Color also has a major influence on a brand’s identity — a particularly important aspect to consider as employers are leaning on their spaces and the return of staff to revitalize their culture and boost employee engagement. “Color can become extremely personal to the brand and to the company,” said Sara Agrest, design director at design firm Spectorgroup.
Agrest recently finished a project redesigning a high-end clothing retailer’s office with an entirely black color palette, which speaks to the personality and mood of the brand, and helps inform employees’ perceptions of it and their feelings when working there, she said.
She thinks the brand identity aspect with new office paint jobs is partially a result of the pandemic. “I think whenever you’re in isolation to some extent, whenever you’re away from things, you have a chance to sort of reflect and be more honest,” she said.
“So I think a return to sort of authenticity would probably be the best way to describe it in terms of my experience. I do feel like our clients are seeming a little bit more honest about who they are and what they want to be,” she said.
Accordingly, there isn’t a standard set of shades that work across the board today, so companies have to be discerning depending on the layout of their space and image they want their brand to convey, she added.
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