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INTERIORS
Muted greens, soft lilacs and warm neutrals are often associated with calm and reassurance, helping to create environments that feel less institutional and more human. In these contexts, contrast remains essential: careful differentiation between fl oors, walls and doors can improve navigation and safety without the need for excessive signage.
At Cygnet Kenney House in Oldham, a mental health hospital for women, the design brief centred on creating a ‘home away from home.’ A warmer alternative to traditional white was used to soften the clinical feel and help people feel more at ease while bedrooms were kept purposefully neutral to avoid
overstimulation and allow personalisation.
Hospitality settings: atmosphere without overload
Colour can also reinforce behavioural cues – using calmer tones to signal quiet zones and bolder accents to frame creative or social areas
single, uniform colour strategy no longer makes sense.
Architects are increasingly using colour as part of spatial planning: not simply to ‘fi nish’ a scheme, but to support how people move, work and recover throughout the day.
Different tasks require different sensory conditions. Softer, low-contrast palettes can support concentration and reduce visual fatigue in focus areas, while brighter accents and higher contrast can energise collaborative zones and aid orientation. Colour can also reinforce behavioural cues – using calmer tones to signal quiet zones and bolder accents to frame creative or social areas – helping people adjust their pace and expectations as they move through the workplace. Crucially, neurodiversity reminds architects that control matters. Designing workplaces with a range of colour experiences – rather than one ‘middle ground’ compromise solution – allows users to choose spaces that best support how they work on any given day. That fl exibility is fast becoming a marker of good workplace design.
Healthcare design: calm, clarity & reassurance
In healthcare settings, the psychological impact of colour is particularly pronounced. When a space can feel high-pressure or emotionally intense, colour can help steady the experience – easing sensory strain and supporting a calmer, clearer atmosphere.
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Hospitality environments perhaps face the greatest balancing act. They must establish a strong sense of identity while remaining comfortable and inclusive for a wide range of guests.
Colour plays a vital role in establishing identity and ambience, but overly intense palettes, high-gloss fi nishes or excessive contrast can contribute to sensory overload. Increasingly, architects are using more layered approaches: combining grounding base colours with moments of accent and texture, and using colour zoning to offer choice – from lively, social areas to quieter retreats.
Colour as a creative & technical discipline
What unites the approach across all of these different settings is a shift in mindset. Colour is no longer just a creative fl ourish; it’s a technical discipline grounded in research and empathy. Designing with colour psychology in mind means asking different questions: who is this space for, how will it be used throughout the day, and where do people need clarity, calm or stimulation? Inclusive design isn’t about perfection; it’s about engaging, listening and responding. Ultimately, colour allows architects to design environments that don’t just look good but actively support the people who inhabit them – and that, increasingly, is what good design is about.
Jemma Saunders is colour consultant at Crown Paints
ADF JULY/AUGUST 2026
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