Colour matters

What is actually a colour and can it affect us?

A colour is a visible light wave which is reflected from an object, at which a person looks. It enters our eye, and then, as an impulse, it flows to our brain. It is the moment when we are left with an impression of a colour. We can discuss colours in terms of three aspects: physical, physiological and psychological. We can assume that colours affect us physically and physiologically because they provoke certain reactions, for instance, a red colour sometimes stimulates us to such a degree that it increases our blood pressure, we blink more often, sometimes our heart beats faster, etc. Taking the psychological aspect into consideration, colours affect our mood, for instance, blue and green alleviate us thanks to their shorter light wave.

So which colour energizes employees?

It all depends on a function performed by a given employee. A good colour for people who work with numbers, for instance, in Excel, and who have scientific mind, is yellow. It is because it stimulates the left brain, which is responsible for logics, thinking, associations, or remembering. If we talk about an office for a creative agency, there are some concepts for arrangement of a place intended for brainstorming. First one is creation of a completely neutral place in grey colours. Such room does not limit imagination, no other elements would absorb and distract. The second option is creation of a place with full distinct colours, preferably three basic ones: blue, red and yellow. We can add other complementing colours such as orange, purple and green. Such mix of colours will cause that employees will be more motivated in a creative way while spending their time in such a room. Besides, a special composition of different shapes can be created, such as circles, which soothe, squares and triangles, which have sharp edges, and right angles – they will make that creativity will be strongly stimulated.

If we need to clear our head and focus, which colour should we pick? 

Colours in the office affect us from every possible side. If an office is very dark, located in the northern side, where there is relatively little natural light, it is worth applying brighter colours, since it will be cosier, more interesting and brighter. In the neighbourhood of bright and saturated colours we develop faster and we work more effectively. A person who works with a word needs a white colour in their room in order to concentrate. However, white is not a good choice because it reflects the light heavily and it can create an eye irritation, especially during a sunny day. A perfect colour for a person on such a post would be grey.

What colour is responsible for our creativity? 

Purple has definitely an impact on our creativity. It stimulates the right brain, that is the one which is responsible for spatial imagination and abstract thinking. It is the part where creativity rules, stimulated by this colour. An important issue is hue. Deeply saturated, dark colours will not have a good impact on employees in the long run, unless there is an opportunity of dividing a room in the office for boosting creativity in employees, for instance, a conference hall.