Functional Color and Design in Education Environments
Color Palette—What it Means
As early as 1810, Goethe explored the psychological and soulful implications of color, and stated that how we experience an object depends on a combination of the object itself, its lighting, and our perceptions of these. The energy of color is derived from light and that energy evokes both psychological and physiological responses in the body.
Colors carry very different implications. In the built environment, white walls can be devoid of character and, although they may highlight architecture, they do not add emotion to an environment. Studies show that, left in an environment devoid of color, animals and humans had increased anxiety, distress, and fear, and that this lack of stimulation from color resulted in irritation, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, and excessive emotional responses. Conversely, color can create a calm and soothing environment for the student to study and contemplate, or it can create excitement where it is desired such as in an activity area or a gymnasium. In an educational setting, it is advisable to incorporate a balance of all colors in the spectrum for optimum emotional and physiological responses. In classrooms, additional elements of color in artwork or accents should be incorporated for the full spectrum benefits they provide (A. Starkweather et al/2005). (See chart below which summarizes the characteristics and the feelings engendered by various colors.)
Still, it is important to emphasize that there are no rigid rules in applying color. Proper color decisions are tempered by a host of other factors. The location and regional culture of the school, for example, may guide the design direction. A school in Arizona with the desert in the background would be designed very differently from one in Paris. In the Sunbelt, where the sun shines most days, orange may be too over-stimulating a color choice. In the Northern U.S., where winters tend to be colorless, taupe or gray in quantity is not a good choice. On the West Coast, where day to day life is less conservative, bright accent colors, such as oranges, bright blues, and lime greens are popular choices. On the more conservative East Coast, traditional and muted toned-down colors, such as hunter green and burgundy or pastels, are preferred. In the Southwest, more saturated colors are favored, possibly because of the area's stark landscape. In addition to considering the population, community, culture, and location of the school in formulating color and design decisions, architects can also look for inspiration from teachers, students, and home design. The rationale being that those who work and learn in these settings provide needed insight into the colors and finished elements that best suit their needs and dreams.
COLOR OBSERVATIONS The following chart list colors in the spectrum that can be coordinated with a manufacturers color palette.
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