The Science of Colour – And How to Use It

Picking a colour to paint something seems pretty straightforward, until you’re staring at the colour chips available.  A clear plan of action: “We’ll paint it blue” quickly shifts to “Oh, shit, which blue is best” when faced with the myriad of paint colour chips that are all, disturbingly, blue.  Is Cerulean Blue or Barely There Turquoise or Bluebird the way to go—or should the walls to be painted be green instead of blue?

The material in the article that follows lays out the research neuroscientists have done into what colours, and combinations of colours, are the best choices in different situations.  After reading it you’ll approach any sea of colour chips with confidence and find yourself relishing your experiences in newly painted spaces at home or at work or wherever you’ve applied the information that follows.

Selecting the right colours is important, very important.  The colours that we see on the surfaces around us influence what goes on in our heads.  The right colour can help us feel more powerful, get along better with others, think more effectively and boost our creativity, for instance.

Colour has three attributes—hue, saturation, and brightness.  Hue is the label for a closely related set of shades.  So, for example, red is a hue, and so are orange, yellow, purple, and green.  Saturation refers to how pure a colour is; colours that are less saturated seem slightly greyish compared to a more saturated one.  Sage green is less saturated than Kelly green, for example. Brightness or lightness is how much white or black there seems to be in a colour, colours that are lighter or brighter seem to be mixed with more white paint.  Baby blue is lighter than Navy blue, for instance.