Does your color scheme really matter?

In this brief piece, we would like to explore a question: Can the colors utilized in designing treatment facilities assist mental health professionals in affecting desired treatment outcomes for their patients?

To provide a largely empirical evaluation, we looked at studies that take an objective, physical approach as well as those measuring the effects of color on the human body and mind. Research finds that it can be difficult to measure a client’s physical response to color without taking into account the cultural, and anthropological preferences that are involved.

We’ll discuss in detail the major hues in the color spectrum, using the most recent forecast as reference. Color forecasts   show the course that colors are likely to take, used as a tool for a wide range of industries and products. Technical color notations will use the natural color system (NCS), the scientific color system with the best color clarity.

Whenever a space is designed with color in mind it is important to design with carefully considered color combinations. Rarely does a color stand alone.

A case of the blues

Blue is not only the most universally acknowledged preferred color, but also blue light has been shown to have an anti-depressant effect on behavior, measured by rat immobility/mobility.¹

Depression affects approximately 19 million Americans, or 9.5 percent of the population in any given year. It causes distress and impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning. The DSM-IV categorizes depression as a mood disorder, which can include major depressive disorder (MDD), dysthymia, and bipolar disorder.

To overcome depression, it is essential to enhance feelings of self-worth and self-esteem, increase energy, and improve the ability to concentrate through a combined treatment of psychotherapy and medication.

Historically, blue is linked to positivity, harmony, spirituality, peace, calm, and tranquility. The most frequent blue associations occur in nature: Picture the placid surface of a blue lake undisturbed by the wind, or the rippling, impressionistic blue surface of the ocean. Of course, these visual impressions are also associated with acoustic elements. Evening waves, for example, can provide a deep soothing sound conducive to sleep.

Blue abounds in nature: peacocks gracefully fan their feathers, blue jays sweep through the skies, hydrangeas are soft and luxuriant, and tropical fish are resplendent examples of clear iridescent blues.

The color most beneficial in making people feel calm and relaxed is blue. In designing spaces for those with anxiety, a variety of blues ranging from the clarity of sky blue to the greened blue of turquoise can be utilized. Studies have shown that brighter colors: whites, light grays, and lighter colors, are found to be more pleasant, less arousing, and less dominance-inducing than less bright colors: dark grays, blacks, and darker colors.²

Creating color combinations within the context of traditional color associations is really the best approach. The forecast blue is deep and rich, a true blackened navy without a hint of gray. It combines well with the newly forecast pale, luminescent, slightly greened yellow, clear celery green, or a grayed, richly forested green.

Green with envy

Green is one of various colors that can be beneficial to reduce anxiety and bring about a calmer state of mind. Anxiety is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in the general population. Anxiety becomes problematic when it is excessive, uncontrollable, and manifested by a range of physical and affective symptoms, and changes in behavior and cognition that become a hindrance to daily, social, and/or occupational functioning.

A subjective experience of distress with accompanying disturbances of sleep, concentration, worrisome thoughts, and social or occupational functioning are common in many of the anxiety disorders. In particular, one wants to alleviate feelings of tension, agitation, apprehension, worry, and fear. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce stress levels, improve concentration, and promote feelings of calmness and relaxation.

It has been said that green is the only color that is electromagnetically neutral. Historically emblematic greens are: the playful green on Sevres porcelain, Green Bay Packers’ jerseys, the abundance of jade greens, the olives of Italy and Greece with their sensual aromas and oils, mountain streams, and lily pads.

Green is natural to forests both primeval and modern. Fresh grass is green, as are lively grasshoppers, frogs, and parrots. Many currencies use green as an identifying color. Of course, green is also the color of mold, slime, and aging copper. The context within which the color is used is essential to its implications. Exposure to the natural environment and natural light improves the well-being of patients.³

Interior landscapes, atria, and undisturbed garden views give patients a center of focus beyond themselves, and place them within the context of the natural, vegetal world.⁴

Greens are emblematic of new bud growth, new beginnings, and the strength of malachite and green granite. Views of nature also help patients focus on a world beyond their own problems and nemeses. A peaceful view of snow-capped mountain ranges sprinkled with fir trees can be beneficial to patients and caregivers alike.

Gray, brown, black and white

Created with the explicit purpose of contemplation, Zen gardens are often created within the narrow color range of true neutral grays and whites with only seasonal spots of color emerging. The water elements in these gardens reflect the sky and bring with them the peaceful qualities of blue.

Gray concrete imparts a sense of minimalism, offering a neutral and technological touch. Physically concrete is cold to the touch, but when it is combined with natural foliage, it imparts a space with brutal simplicity. Currently, gray is the most commonly used color. Infuse it with other hues and it takes on an entirely new life.

Brown, on the other hand, is perceived to be a very earthy, grounded color, with both physical and emotional implications. Examples are the lustrous browns of saddlery, rich moist soil, and dark chocolates of Ecuador and Ghana. Then, there are the myriad of brown woods from the Mahoganies, Walnuts, and Oaks to the Pecans, Birches and Ashes.

The forecast brown for healthcare is rich and deep with more of a yellow than a red cast to it. At this time brown can be used to augment the geographical environment. In the desert or the Rockies, brown can be used in combination with rich hues to impart a sense of comfort. It is mellow, full bodied, giving a cave-like sense of being nurtured.

Black is a color signifying power, sophistication, strength, fear, aggression, dominance, and a host of similar adjectives. White, on the other hand, entertains many different cultural implications.

Red, pink and purple

Homer described the color red as “eos rhododactylos,” or rosy-fingered dawn. In this context it brings a sense of purpose, renewal, and optimism to each new day with its endless possibilities. A vibrant coral represents red with pink and yellow overtones. It is gregarious without being aggressive. A rich, burgandied Fuschia can open the mind to action and playfulness, with a “side dish of fun.”

Pink is theoretically found in the red family, but retains primary implications of its own. Combined sensitively and appropriately it is very useful in healthcare to decrease aggression. The pale dusty pink of ballet slippers is soft and non-aggressive. It is a forecast color that meets the softness and energy we seek in our positive personal relationships.

One study found that an anxiety producing story on pink paper was less anxiety producing than when read on blue or white paper. Able to be used as a natural floral accent to augment a completed interior, pink’s color range can run the gamut from fuchsia and orange-toned pinks to the whispered powdery pinks of makeup and chiffon.

Purple is often a color associated with royalty, because Indigo was initially very expensive to procure. In classic literature (namely Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Arthur Legend), Merlin’s robe emphasized purple, associating the color with the mystical properties of wizardry. It also has been long associated with creativity, while bright and greyed shades have been in the visual consciousness for many years.

The current forecast purple is deep, dark, and rich. This purple reminds us of the earthiness of aubergine, with a touch more blue added to the pot. Purple is not soft, but rather a warm embracing elegant color signifying a place or event that is out of the ordinary. Shadows of the urban night are bathed in purple.

Orange and yellow

Orange is a color traditionally both bold and humorous. Orange invokes visibility, and often signifies a warning. As such, it is used on tools that must be used with care. Since its introduction into fashion and design this decade, it has been adopted with more frequency in athletics, interiors, and eco-friendly situations. The forecast orange is very red-based.

Yellow is associated with enhancing intelligence, and increasing intellectual performance. The positive, cheerful qualities of sunshine and reflected radiance are incorporated in yellow. Yellow can be a bold color choice when it is bright, or soft and charming when it is pale.

Using yellow is like offering an illumined beacon, or a single flame from a candle. In nature yellow reminds us not only of the luminosity of the sun, but also of brisk tasty lemons, chrysanthemums, and butterflies. The forecast yellow is soft with an “inner glow.”

Patricia Call, CMG, is the strategic trend and color analyst, and interior design principal at Call Designs, Inc., an international commercial, healthcare, and residential interior design firm and the Color Marketing Group’s vice president emeritus. Kathleen Jantzen, PhD, is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at New York University Medical Center, a neuropsychologist, and a clinical psychologist specializing in evaluations, psychotherapy, and cognitive remediation.