Do the colors in your office affect your productivity? General studies believe that it does. Whether you take the result to heart or not is up to you but it is fun to think about!
In her book The Beginner’s Guide to Colour Psychology Angela Wright delves into how different colors can make us feel and what colors you should have around you based on your tasks. If you can get a hold of the book you should give it a read. It was published in 1998 so you may not align with some of her observations in the current time but the general premises and color quiz was still quite fun. I found a copy in our local library.
In the book she goes over how the primary colors are tied to different parts of us: blue – mind, yellow – emotion, red – body, green – balance.
How does that tie into your office?
If you are engaged in very detailed work and need high productivity you may want to have some blue around. That does not mean everything in your office needs to be blue remember balance is important too.
Yellow is a bright creative color suited for the design community.
Red is the color for physical work e.g. construction or a gym.
Green provides balance and calming.
Getting a color that is a mix of the primaries will provide the best from both of their worlds!
Remember when planning your office space to consider what type of work you want to accomplish. Do not default to whites and beige unless you can add fun splashes of color to your furniture or decorations.
