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Having always been interested in using colour in my work I decided to research about colour psychology and became intrigued about how colours influence one’s emotional state and wellbeing, as well as providing cultural significance[i]. The most significant person to develop colour psychology was Carl Jung at the beginning of the 20th century. He realised that people’s emotions, thoughts and decisions could be influenced by their psychological and physiological reactions to different colours and came up with the concept of colour psychology. Initial research found that cool colours, such as blue, green, and purple often provoke a range of feelings from calm and harmonious to sadness. The colour blue is often linked to calmness, tranquillity, trust, and reliability, but also more negatively can link to a sense of uncaring. The colour green is associated with growth, success, jealousy, hope, harmony, and renewal, as well as representing health and relaxation, whereas luxury, wealth, creativity, and spirituality are stimulated by the colour purple, with darker purple evoking a feeling of mystery and sophistication. Warm colours such as red, orange, and yellow often initiate an increase in energy which can increase anxiety. The common emotional trigger for energy, passion, love, and urgency is the colour red, which can also trigger feelings of excitement, anger, and intensity. The colour orange is the most stimulating colour representing enthusiasm, warmth, and energy, while feelings of happiness, positivity, optimism, stimulation of mental activity and creativity are linked to yellow. On the other hand, neutral colours such as the colour black is often associated with power, elegance, formality, mystery, and death, compared to white which represents mental activity, creativity, innocence, and neutrality. The colour brown is often associated as the “colour of ‘nature’”[ii]. Despite research findings suggesting that colour psychology is a fixed idea, one can also form their own opinions on what certain colours represent to them based on their cultural background and experiences.
After doing further research I found an article by McLachlan and McLachlan (2014) who explore how despite all the colour theory evidence available about the impact different colours can have on emotions and the quality of an experience, very few actual buildings have colour incorporated into their design. They explore why this may be the case despite colours’ obvious place alongside other factors such as shape, space, and materials, and discuss whether it could become more general practice among architects. The authors acknowledge that there are a few architects who do use colour in their designs. These include O’Donnell and Tuomey, who use a small palette of natural earthy colours, and Sauerbruch Hutton, who used strong colours in their design of the Brandhorst Museum in Munich that create optical illusions when the viewer is up close to the building. The article recognises that both these practices have developed their own individual strategies, reflecting the fact that building design tends to require a flexible approach. The authors suggest that, given this, the best way to encourage more architects to consider the use of colour may be to help them develop their own colour theory within their practice. Without this, they say there is a danger that the benefits of incorporating colour will be overlooked- which would be a loss to everyone[iii]. My own practice reflects the need for individual approaches, by using different techniques to look at the potential impact of colour.
[i] Mantell, Mike. 2023. “Color Psychology: How color affects your emotions and why.” Science of People. October 23, 2023. https://www.scienceofpeople.com/color-psychology/.
[ii] Sybaris. 2022. “Psychology of Color: How Color Impacts Feelings about Art.” Sybaris Collection. October 31, 2022. https://www.sybariscollection.com/psychology-color-color-impacts-feelings-art/.
[iii] McLachlan, Fiona, and Ewen McLachlan. 2014. “Colour and Contingency: Theory into Practice.” Architectural Theory Review 19 (2): 243–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/13264826.2014.995338.