Colours are subtle and you don’t always notice how they affect you. You may feel “not right” in a room, not sleeping, kids running riot, and can’t explain why. It could be the colours.
Marketing companies use colour as a powerful tool all the time.
Think fast food ch
ains, think red and yellow and known around the world. What do kids do when they see the sign? Kids ALWAYS get excited and are always happy,and bugging you to take them there. Why? Red is urgent (think fire engines), must do something now, and excitement. Yellow is a happy colour – stop here and it will keep the kids happy!
Instead, imagine the theme colours were blue and green. Do you think it would have the same effect? Probably not. Blue and green relate to nature and are calming, balancing and healing. Good for calming the kids down before sleeping.
When you think in this context, you can see colours affect us in very subtle ways. We absorb colours visually and being close to the colour. Being surrounded by the right colours for you can help you stay healthy in mind, body and spirit.
Another example is people working in grey office buildings with artificial light. They sit absorbing the dark colours at least 8 hours every day. I’ve worked with people in these settings and they’ve said they miss nature and the sun. We design homes here encompassing the outdoors – large doors opening onto outdoor living spaces to bring the outside in. Our bodies crave nature and crave colours naturally, we just need to listen. More buildings are being designed to incorporate green, nature and natural light. Designers know it helps balance us and people are feeling happier.
Have a look at your surrounding today, at work and at home.
How could you add some colour to lift your mood and balance your spirit?