Selecting the right colour combination for your office is key to creating an invigorating yet calming environment that inspires productivity. The office colour combination you choose impacts the mood and energy levels of employees on a subconscious level. When chosen intentionally, an office’s colour palette can increase focus, spark creativity, and make work more enjoyable. In this article, we will provide helpful tips for choosing office colour combination that will liven up any workplace.
- Defining Your Goals
Before selecting colours, define what impression you want to make and how you want employees to feel in the office. An energizing scheme stimulates the mind for intense focus work, while a relaxing palette calms the mind for delicate tasks requiring precision. Neutral backdrops allow accent colours to stand out. Determine activities conducted regularly and tailor combinations to enhance productivity. Clearly defining goals for your office colour combination upfront allows for an intentional, cohesive scheme.
- Mix and match colours
Rather than selecting a single colour, choose a palette that combines complementary hues. Contrasting shades create visual interest. Warm tones like red, yellow, and orange liven up cold environments, but use them sparingly to avoid sensory overload. Cool tones of blue, green, and purple have a calming effect that promotes clear thinking. Neutral shades like gray, beige, and brown have brighter accent colours. Mix colour temperatures and add layers of shade and texture to strike the right balance for your office goals.
- Consider Lighting
The brightness and colour cast of lighting impact how office colour combinations are perceived. Yellow incandescent lighting warms up cool paints, while natural daylight amplifies intensity. Bright white fluorescent lighting tends to flatten colour, so accent walls or bold statement pieces help colours pop. Install dimmers to adjust light levels and mix fixture styles, such as pendant and track lighting. This adds contrast and allows you to highlight key areas. The interplay of light and colour combinations enhances the office ambiance.
- Zone by Activity
Create specialized zones within your office tailored to work-style needs. An open lounge for collaboration might feature an energizing colour combination, while private focus nooks have a subtler neutral palette. Bright accent colours on one wall designate standing conference areas as distinct from seated desk pods. Washable whiteboards for brainstorming and cork message boards provide pops of contrast colour. Use colour combinations to define and liven up distinct work zones.
- Showcase Brand Identity
Incorporate colour-palette elements that align with your brand identity. Repeating brand colours on walls or furniture ties the décor back to the company’s vision and unifies the environment. Accent walls behind the reception welcome visitors by highlighting signature colours. Framed graphic prints and abstract art selections also integrate branding colours. To preserve a professional appearance, keep logos, slogans, and overt messaging to a minimum. Show brand colours through office décor rather than overt advertising.
- Use colour psychology
Understand how different colours impact moods and behaviours before selecting office combinations. Cool blues, greens, and purples promote concentration, while warm reds, oranges, and yellows stimulate lively interaction. Soft colours like peach and beige make small rooms feel larger and more comfortable. Colours have ingrained psychological associations to leverage—yellow lifts spirits, green focuses the mind, and so on. Use this knowledge to craft intentional combinations that shape perception.
- Accentuate Architecture
Identify the shapes and structures that define your office space. Earth tones highlight natural wood beams, while bold blue draws the eye upward to lofty ceilings dotted with sky lights. Muted grays and taupes make concrete floors and walls the focal point. Don’t overpower elements like exposed brick or variegated stone. Multi-story spaces may require more saturated darks or lively patterns to prevent an antiseptic look. Use colour combinations to spotlight and beautify existing architecture.
- Limit pattern mixing.
Patterned wallpapers, mosaic tile floors, and carpet all compete visually. While juxtaposing a couple patterns and textures adds interest, going overboard feels chaotic and distracting. Anchoring furniture with solid colours allows busier accents to stand out rather than overwhelm. Stick to two or three patterns in an area, then repeat those motifs throughout the office for consistency. Using too many prints or colours yields confusion rather than harmony. Show restraint to keep combinations sophisticated.
- Complimentary Surrounding Architecture
If your office occupies only a single floor or section of a larger building, coordinate colour combinations with the architecture and design aesthetic of public spaces. A shared minimal lobby or college campus location benefits from a clean, modern colour palette. More traditional exteriors warrant heritage-inspired earth-toned combinations. Corporate headquarters may require reflecting brand colours outward through exterior window touches. Harmonizing combinations between public and private zones creates more cohesion for visitors navigating through them.
- Try before you buy
Live with test swatches of paint, fabric, and furnishings before fully committing. View colour combinations at various times of day as natural and artificial light shifts alter perceptions. Notice how the samples coordinate and clash with existing furnishings and architecture. Seeing selections firsthand allows you to experience the psychological impact and make adjustments before finalizing schemes. Additionally, paint supplier computer visualization programs let you experiment digitally with colour combinations by uploading photos.
- Evolve the Combination
Trends fade, so classic colour combinations have more staying power. However, refreshing tired schemes boosts morale and refocuses attention. Light pastels for spring and rich autumnal tones for the fall evolve combinations gradually each season. Budget for a fresh coat of paint or new furniture accents every two to three years. Ask staff to vote on proposed colour palettes so changes excite rather than disrupt. Keep only what works, gradually edit what doesn’t, and continually refine combinations.
Achieving the optimal colour combination for office requires forethought about goals, employees, architecture, and brand identity. Following these tips will help you select an adaptable, stimulating colour palette. Thoughtfully curated combinations reinforce your vision while allowing employees to do their best work. When in doubt, seek professional advice from office designers such as Officebanao. With research on the psychology of colour and the latest workplace trends, their experts can recommend schemes personalized to your office culture and productivity needs.
