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SANITY AND URBANITY BLOG

If you are an academic, urban designer, planner, health professional or citymaker, and would like to submit a blog, please see submission guidelines.

The links between colour, architecture, and mental health

4/19/2017

15 Comments

 
by Layla McCay, UD/MH Director
Colour therapy is a set of methods for using colours to help cure diseases. With a long history in the annals of complementary and alternative medicine, the 'colour cure' was a popular treatment for mental illness at the turn of the 20th century.
"Patients with acute mania were put in black rooms, patients with melancholia in red rooms; blue and green rooms for the boisterous, and a white room for the person who is practically well."
- Use Colors to Cure Insane, New York Times, October 26, 1902.
While there is little scientific evidence that the various colour-based therapies can cure any particular diseases, the psychology of colour has long been recognised as an important psychological factor in architecture and interior design: colours can evoke spontaneous emotional reactions that can affect mood and stress. This may in turn exert influence mental wellbeing, an effect that is particularly relevant to designers of the interior and exterior built environment.

The impact of colour on how we feel has been explored by architects and designers in all sorts of contexts, from increasing office productivity to improving wellbeing. The colour red is generally said to be associated with an increase in appetite, reduced depression and increased angry feelings, purple with boosting creativity and developing problem-solving skills, orange with optimism, blue with a sense of security and productivity, and green with a sense of harmony and effective decision-making. The potential effects extend beyond single colours: a monotonous colourscape may be associated with irritability and negative ruminations, while highly saturated, intense colour patterns may increase stress.

An interesting blog by Parkin Architects discusses the opportunities for colour to exert mental health impact in healthcare facility design, again pointing to certain colours that, in addition to helping eliminate the 'institutional look' of facilities, might exert specific impacts on mental health.

Rigorous scientific research on the specific impact of colours on mental health is in its infancy. TheFarthing boutique has developed a new infographic that reflects current ideas on the psychology behind the use of different colours to impact responses in various designed environments. Their sharing this infographic with us reminds us that harnessing the use of colour in urban design to promote good mental health is an interesting field that may have potential, warranting further scientific exploration.


The Language Of Colours

About the Author

This post was written by Layla McCay, Director of the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health, in response to a new infographic developed and shared by Toby Dean and Jessica Morgan of TheFarthing.
15 Comments
Shirley. De Villiers
4/25/2017 09:46:33 am

Thank you Kim, very interesting. I relate to several of the color.

Reply
Stefano
5/1/2017 03:49:33 pm

Looking forward to the results of The Florey (Melbourne, Australia) and Liminal's (VR and AR experts) results of experiments in this space...worth sharing with the world

Reply
Layla, UD/MH link
5/8/2017 08:45:36 pm

Stefano, if you know any contact details for the researchers, please send to us at UD/MH - I'd love to get in touch and learn more about what they are doing.

Reply
RICH BREW link
5/3/2017 09:50:31 pm

I'm hopeful that any new research produces original data.

Reply
Xena
3/27/2019 03:20:59 am

I'm writing an essay about the extent of how architecture and interior design could affect our psychological well-being. And i was wondering if you knew anything that could provide an argument to this. Or, how the colour of the exterior of buildings could also affect our well-being and how they should be used appropriately?

Reply
Isabel Rose link
9/4/2019 09:16:01 am

Thank you do much.
I have seasonal depression and I purchased a Home and did not colors to
Decorate with..a very big help thank you..

Reply
hank
9/12/2019 04:14:28 pm

I struggle with color symbolism problems and diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia. Colors like white, black, red, yellow and gray give me delustion and make me unable to do or continue with doing my works. Please help me resolve those problems.

Reply
Chris Barrett link
12/13/2019 05:15:34 am

Thanks, Layla...
I had no idea about the existence of such therapy.
Mental illness is as fatal as any kind of physical disorders.
So, a person should take suitable precautionary measures to live a mentally stable life.
Any symptoms which indicate that a person is suffering from mental illness should not be ignored.

Reply
Melodia link
12/23/2019 10:09:20 am

Thank you very much for this. I definitely believe colours have an impact on mental health. The infographics are great.

Reply
Harriet
4/2/2021 10:40:02 am

Hi. I swear by color therapy. If I am stressed. I go out for a walk . Drink in the green of nature and the color of the buildings and I return home as good as new

Reply
Leticia
5/27/2020 09:50:42 pm

Thank you for this!
would you be able to provide arguments to the positive use of colour on exterior of buildings?

Reply
Gabrielle
6/30/2020 03:24:54 pm

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Reply
Folakemi
8/12/2020 08:15:23 pm

Thanks for this information.It is really helpful

Reply
John Harry
12/1/2020 03:11:54 pm


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Reply
Sophia link
4/12/2021 06:07:53 am

Nice Blog! Thanks for the information.

Reply



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