Color Palette in Healthcare
According to a 2012 statement published by the Center for Health Design (CHD), when designing and building healthcare facilities, color selection is a significant factor.
Psychologists have known for a long time that the color of the floors, walls, and furniture in a particular environment can lead to significant emotional changes in people, and this is extremely critical in healthcare practices.
Importance Of Color Palette in Healthcare Facilities
A report was issued by the CHD titled “The Application of Color in Healthcare Settings,” and it was authored by Sheila Bosch, Rosalyn Cama, Eve Edelstein, and Jain Malkin. According to the report, there is controversy among researchers about whether colors can improve recovery.
The colors in an environment can strengthen and arouse emotions and moods and this impact is extremely important to consider when constructing or rebranding a healthcare facility.
Research commenced on this topic in 1994 when a survey was carried out on 68 patients to determine which colors they liked in their hospital rooms.
All the patients pointed out that more lighter and natural tones were more comforting than the combination of darker colors, and that strong differences between different colors developed a tremendous feeling of stress for both patients and visitors.
Patients’ age was also discovered to be a factor when assessing color in a hospital or clinic. Bright designs and different combinations of colors have been proven to perform better in pediatric facilities, and neutral styles are discovered to be more beneficial in the reduction of stress in geriatric settings.
A stay in the hospital, and also a visit to the doctor’s office or clinic is usually a stressful event for patients and their caregivers. The workers in these buildings are also affected by the color of their surroundings.
Research also indicates that for healthcare service providers, bright colors are more effective in break rooms and rooms with soft and dark colors are more effective in enabling restful longer periods of sleep for healthcare staff.
When building or rebranding a healthcare facility, thorough deliberation of the color scheme can play a significant role in the comfort and stress relief for everyone.
Psychology Of Color Palette In Healthcare Practice
Think about yourself in a green field underneath the wide blue sky. What do you feel? Research indicates that colors influence feelings.
Have you ever imagined how the colors of your clothes and scrubs may affect the patients you are serving?
While color psychology is not the same and the results are not consistent, studies also indicate that sufficient correlation warrants deliberation.
What Is Color Psychology?
Color psychology is the process of manipulating the mind by using specific colors to arouse specific feelings, thoughts, or emotions. Colors may influence individuals differently depending on their current moods, or personal life experiences.
Color psychology can be a helpful approach to how various colors can help you develop visuals that relate to people in a specific way.
Maintaining a solid awareness of color psychology can make you integrate a specific color palette into your design, branding, marketing, or creative projects.
If you want to incorporate color psychology into your designs, here are the top colors for 2023 and the psychological view behind their working principle and how it affects people.
White
White represents feelings of cleanliness, neatness, and safety. Stains and blood can be seen easily on white. White uniforms and linens deliver a sense of sterility. Lots of doctors and nurses oftentimes dress in white laboratory coats and scrubs.
Black
The actual opposite of white is black. Black is the lack of light, which gives it startling overtones and profound psychological significance. Black signifies power, seriousness, sophistication, and darkness.
While black has been utilized by brands such as Nike, New York Times, and Chanel to indicate sophistication and classic styles, it also represents the color of death and mourning and is associated with intimidation, agony, and wickedness.
Black is timeless and effortlessly stylish when used in the design. With the current introduction of dark mode, black has become extremely popular in web and graphic illustration, taking over from white as the major color for producing space.
Red
Red color signifies passion and urgency. Red also represents danger.
Red is associated with increased craving and is known to promote assurance and excitement. It has been demonstrated to boost blood pressure and heart rate.
Red colors should not be used in patient and recuperating rooms.
Yellow
Yellow color signifies happiness and warmth. Yellow is associated with positivity and general well-being. It is also learned to promote energy and boost appetite.
Yellow is a superb color to blend into recovery rooms and clinical treatment areas.
Blue
Blue is the color of trust and calmness. Blue has been demonstrated to decrease both blood pressure and heart rate. It provides a sense of peace and belonging.
Green
Green is the color of trees, nature, and a serene environment. Green is naturally very optimistic and grounding. It is also the simplest color on our sight because it does not require adjustment when it strikes the retina.
Green can enhance vision and is utilized in night vision because our eyes can sense the most shades of it.
However, green also has a negative flank. While being a symbol of health and abundance, it is also associated with sickness, jealousy, and envy.
Green is frequently used in branding for its reassuring and calming impact. Green product labels usually imply healthy or organic, natural or organic.
Pink
Pink is a color associated with love and romance. Pink naturally represents feminine qualities such as kindness, softness, compassion, and utterance.
Pink is believed to have a powerful emotional impact on the psyche.
Grey
Grey is stylish and sophisticated. It’s a solid and reliable color, representing a strong foundation on which to build.
With the color of pebbles on the beach, natural elements, and mountains on the horizons that have stood the test of time, grey stimulates feelings of equilibrium, coolness, and strength.
Competent use of grey color can be strong and ultra-modern. It is a crisp slate on which bold ideas thrive. Grey has worked well for technology and luxury brands such as Apple,
Swarovski, and Mercedes-Benz. Grey’s subtlety and neutrality can both be a source of strength or weakness.
Used in the opposite context, grey can be an overwhelmingly boring shade and evoke feelings of despair, blandness, and redundancy. However, when used right, gray can be an incredibly sleek, strong color for design.
Gold
Gold is the color of success, achievement, triumph, and success. It is associated with luxury, abundance, and sophistication. Gold implies assets, prosperity, and extravagance.
The color gold brightens everything around it. It’s charitable and giving, loving and compassionate, and symbolizes higher standards, wisdom, understanding, and refinement.
Associated with elegance and value, gold has been linked to masculine vitality and the strength of the sun.
Choosing Your Colors
Colors beautify your environment and add influence to it. Colors influence the emotions of your patients when they visit your medical facility. It is a good idea to think about your color strategies for your waiting room, patient and guest rooms, and offices.
Imagine how you desire visitors to feel when they stay in your waiting area. Imagine how you want your patients to feel when they are in the operation and recovery rooms.
Pay attention to your decor, uniforms, and linens. Do you desire a quiet, health-promoting set or a pleasant, inviting atmosphere? Your color choices may change all year round to fit holiday themes and unique events.
Popular Color Palette Used In Healthcare Design
Many healthcare buildings are adornex with white colors. White is neat and crispy, and hospitals should always maintain a clean environment. White is a bright color and a popular choice in healthcare facilities. But it’s crucial to choose good colors for healthcare facilities—colors that are significant and calming.
White remains dominant in healthcare facilities because it provides a clear feeling. However, it’s essential to select good colors for healthcare facilities. The trend is to put in touches of colors to meaningfully entice the eye to a focus area.
Neutrals and mature colors are more attractive to adults than children. Adults care about neatness and sterility, so it would be natural to maintain a very neutral tone and use minimal collections of color in spaces.
Blue and green can be very calming and quiet. They’re tremendously great for hospital rooms, waiting areas, wards, and wellness hubs like spas.
Developing contrast and balance with various colors and saturations is also important. For example, a room that’s mostly “cool” needs to be made equal with “warm” but neutral components like wood.
Steps For Creating Cohesive Color Palette For Healthcare Practice
To create a cohesive color palette in healthcare practice, you need to analyze SWOT analysis for your healthcare practice and understand your vision and mission statements as it relates to your practice and its location (urban, suburban, and rural).
Take note of your patients’ population (mental health, elderly, pediatrics, etc.), the culture of the location (ethnically diverse or not), and any specifics about the facility and its site that are unique. All these factors need to be looked into to create a perfect theme for your healthcare practice.
Examination rooms need to be reoriented to concentrate on a table where staff could disseminate information with patients face-to-face and accent colors selected to mirror healthy colors on the faces of patients.
How To Choose A Color That Aligns With Your Practice, Branding, And Message
Color can play a significant role in consumer decision-making. Without even understanding what your product is all about, consumers depend on brand colors to determine whether or not they want to engage and learn more about your healthcare service.
Whether you want to rebrand your healthcare service or you are planning to launch a game-changing new product and service, understanding the influence of color on consumers’ conduct and behavior will help you choose the perfect colors to improve your brand.
Below are the steps you need to take as you make color selections that reflect your brand qualities and your business objectives.
Understand how different colors impact your patient's mood and perception.
Research your competitor's brand colors.
Pinpoint colors that reflect your brand identity so that your audience can immediately recognize your brand when they see your colors.
Decide where each brand color should appear.
Conclusion
Selecting the best colors for your healthcare practice is an extremely important part of your practice. By choosing the right colors, you’ll be able to create a positive first impression and keep clients coming back.
You will be able to positively influence the moods and emotions of your patients to help them recover faster. You can contact us to have further queries.
FAQs
How do I choose the right color palaette for my healthcare practice?
After reading through this article, you should have an idea of how to choose the right color for your healthcare practice. Green, purple, and blur, especially in cool muted spaces, can be very comforting.
They're tremendous for hospital rooms, waiting areas, wards, and wellness centers like spas. Developing balance and contrast with various saturation and colors is very important.
Can I use bright colors for healthcare settings?
Yes. Bright colors are the most preferable for healthcare settings. Popular healthcare industry colors include white (purity, cleanliness), purple (royalty, elegance), blue (trustworthy, secure), and orange (vitality, exuberant).
How do I create a cohesive color palette in healthcare practice?
To create a cohesive color palette in healthcare practice, you need to analyze the SWOT analysis for your healthcare practice and understand your vision and mission statements as it relates to your practice and its location.
Take note of your patients’ population (mental health, elderly, pediatrics, etc.), the culture of your location (ethnically diverse or not), and any other unique specifics.