A positive, nurturing, educational environment and atmosphere are instrumental in preparing children to function and thrive in society. Color and light are essential components of children’s workspaces and have a powerful impact on their productivity. Knowing how many aspects of a child’s well-being are out of most school administrators’ control, it seems logical to me that they’d place an emphasis on improving those elements within their influence. So why color and lighting in schools are left as afterthoughts — if considered at all ― is beyond me.
Children have the right to be educated in carefully planned, well-designed, ergonomic spaces that cater to their learning needs.
In my neighborhood, parents of children attending our local elementary school have been working like crazy to raise funds for a new classroom building. The energy focused on this project has been phenomenal. Inspired by the community spirit, I offered my color consulting services to select a palette for the interior. Much to my dismay, I learned that our public school district offers its schools a selection of just five interior paint colors ranging from white to putty to gray. All that effort to improve the learning environment for children, yet no thought is given to the vital component of color.
Color design, when approached from a functional standpoint rather than aesthetics, can prevent eyestrain and increase attention span and productivity. Monotone, poorly designed and poorly lit classroom conditions can cause irritability and inattentiveness and exacerbate behavioral problems.1 In addition to visual ergonomics, age groups and their developmental stages have to be considered. A kindergarten student processes information very differently than a sixth grader.
Just as schools are taking a more holistic approach to learning by nurturing many learning styles and experiences, so too should this theory be extended to the physical school environment, one that enhances student learning. Spaces dominated by gray, beige and a variety of whites simply don’t cut it.
Psychological color studies have shown that sociable, energetic preschool and elementary grade-level students react favorably to the stimulation of warm colors such as yellow-orange and peach, whereas older children in middle school and above function better in cooler hues, enabling them to concentrate more effectively.2
On the other hand, overstimulation is just as bad as understimulation. One classic example of well-intentioned but misplaced color design is the quintessential grade school classroom. Visual noise is the unfortunate result of a mishmash of posters, charts and artwork displayed against bright, primary-colored construction paper, surrounded by decorative borders.3 When was it determined that children must have such a saturated environment, or that they can’t appreciate the nuances of more complex colors? I suppose much of this is teachers’ reaction to the sterile surroundings in which they’re expected to educate.
Lighting is another essential component that goes hand in hand with color. I have a major gripe with the horrible lighting conditions in most classrooms and school spaces — flickering, harsh fluorescent tubes that cast cold, glaring light. A fuller spectrum of light, closer to that produced by daylight, is much more conducive to productivity and a healthy learning environment. Studies have shown that classrooms lit with natural light or full-spectrum lighting, painted appropriate colors, and devoid of visual noise have wonderful results with students.4 There is less off-task behavior, disruptiveness and aggression and better academic performance and attitude.
Children have the right to be educated in carefully planned, well-designed, ergonomic spaces that cater to their learning needs. Educated color decisions play a large role in this and can make a world of difference.
1 Color, Environment and the Human Response by Frank H. Mahnke. (Wiley, 1996).
2 Some Aspects of an Ideal Classroom: Color, Carpet, Light and Furniture by Edward B, Nuhfer. isu.edu.
3 Lighting the Learning Environment by Randall Fielding. DesignShare.com
4 Color & Human Response: Aspects of Light and Color Bearing on the Reactions of Living Things and the Welfare of Human Beings by Faber Birren (Wiley, 1984).
Do you know of any schools that have taken steps to improve their environments through color? What do you think we could do to facilitate these changes in our local schools?
Post your reply below.
Rachel Perls is an architectural color consultant based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to a fine arts degree, Rachel is professionally trained through the
International Association of Color Consultants, where she also serves as a committee chair. Through a multidisciplinary approach to supportive design, Rachel helps clients realize the full potential of color in both residential and commercial spaces. Be sure to check out her nationally recognized blog
Hue, dedicated to color.
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Wow… I’m a designer at a firm which specializes in K-12 design and am floored that you think that NO emphasis is given to color and lighting. This is what I do every day! There are many states now taking steps to require LEED certification on governmental buildings (including schools) and more and more studies are being done on color and the affects of daylighting. I literally just stepped out of a presentation an hour ago about daylighting. There are designers / architects / engineers out here who do care, and are making it our lives work!
What can people do? Support their schools! We unfortunately have to deal with people who won’t say “yes” to school bonds because they “don’t want their taxes to go up”… when, if they paid attention, they’d find they were only going up $75 over the course of a entire year. Buildings can’t be built or renovated without funding. And if you want to create jobs, support the constructions industry. Each new or renovated school takes hundreds of people to design and build!
I was interested in reading the article from Edward Nuhfer, but the link leads to an invalid page.
The link to the article from Edward Nuhler has been fixed. We apologize for the inconvenience.
that’s so refreshing to hear that there are, in fact, firms that do specialize in designs for educational facilities that consider color and lighting. fantastic! do you have a favorite source for research when designing a color palette for school? i’d love to check out your firms work- could you provide us with a link?
I do agree with this response. Everyone needs to support their schools in America and help our children.
It would be helpful to know if any studies have been done on successful color palettes that may be more conducive to a good learning environment than other, perhaps too vibrant, combinations of color that would only be distracting.
indeed, there are many studies that have been done over the years. but an important factor to keep in mind is Context. what works in one space or facility might be completely inappropriate in another. no recipes will work here, it’s all about the specifics of each projects unique needs
My elementary aged children’s school was remodeled two years ago. I was thrilled to be asked to help with the color selections. While I tried to get a warm yellow in the halls, the architects said the fluorescent lighting would make the children look green (while this may have been true in the past, this is not so anymore, due to the advancement of florescent lighting). I was able to get a “warmer” beige in there at least. After the school was complete, the principal brought me back in to help add some spice! I am happy to say-after a lot of work to get approval on color, budget, etc. our halls now feature “pockets of color” with lemon yellow, cranberry and a beautiful dark blue. It has been so well received that they are planning to continue these pockets of color as the budget allows. I am very passionate about color, especially in a learning environment. Great article!!
i love that you were able to sway the “powers that be” to incorporate color into your children’s school- way to go!
Thank you Rachel! It was a very worthwhile project-and makes me proud to volunteer at my chidren’s school!
Someone wondered if any studies had been done on color’s effects – of course. Your first footnote reference, Frank Mahnke, being the prime example.
One learns from his book that such research has in fact been available for years! Yet many projects don’t incorporate these principles, and that’s a shame.
I’ve consulted on color for two schools. At Alden Montessori, the owners understood the impact of color, and we agreed upon a welcoming gold in the public spaces, with a leafy green to enhance concentration in the classrooms.
At the other school, the administrator had pre-determined ideas and was not interested in the science behind color choices.
The proper siting and placement of windows can also reduce dependence on fluorescent lights, which I agree are horribly distracting and unnatural.
isn’t Frank’s book wonderful? you know, he teaches a series of seminars that lead to accreditation through the International Association of Color Consultants.
I love your article on color and it’s impact on children’s productivity in the classroom. I am a color consultant in the Tri-State NY area and was so thrilled when I was contacted by Dr. Cece McCarton, founder of The McCarton School, a school specializing in providing educational services for autistic children. Her vision was to create a warm and comforting environment for her children and we were able to achieve this with a selection of warm paint colors. Dr. McCarton’s Foundation has helped so many families and is dedicated to increasing education opportunities for children with autism. The McCarton School in New York City is one school that has improved their environment with color!
wow, dealing with color as it relates to autistic children? that must have been a fascinating and rewarding project. i’d love to hear more details on how the colors were selected based on the developmental needs of this demographic. please feel free to email me if you’d like to share…
Thank you for sharing this important information. I wish more educators and administrators would realize how color and light truly affect learning and behavior. So much these days is dependent upon test scores and the fact that color and lighting can help with learning is overlooked. Local schools in my area have army green and burnt orange carpet on walls with no windows. Sad, so very sad.
no windows? yikes. sounds so depressing. yeah, i agree, all the emphasis is placed elsewhere. my MIL is an elementary school teacher, and is devastated by the direction public school education is taking, what with everything revolving around testing. what’s to be done?
I was most interested in this article. I am a practicing residential designer for 30 years and have recently returned to the JR/SR high schools to work as a substitute teacher. In addition to the ubiquitous horrendous “putty” walls, many teachers personally elect to screen the natural light with fabric drapes of all kinds and hues. If mini blinds exist, they are dropped and closed. I, of course, will immediately open and raise where possible. This environment for sleep deprived JR/Sr student supports their dozing in class – especially when videos are shown.Many teachers also contribute to the unhealthy space by posting all manner of student photos and memorabilia on all possible wall space, thus creating visual agitation from all the random pattern and color. I will certainly pay more attention to the other factors as I move around the districts in the fall term. Thanks for the article.
that’s so interesting about teachers blocking the natural light in classrooms… seems so counter-intuitive!
such a great point about that age group’s developmental stage- sleep deprivation, distracted, etc. poor pre-teen/teens. we need to give them better learning environments.
Liberty Bell Middle School located in Johnson City, TN. Redesigned by Architect Tim Shaw: Shaw and Shanks Architects, with the Designer Missy Whitehead, of Color Theory. They brought walls alive with quotations and sillohettes alive, thorughout the the school. Lighting is fabulous througtout. No more dark dingy, navy blue! This is a on going project. With phase three in progress. Pictures on my website. A great positive response from faculty, students, & parents.
will definitely check this out!
I consulted with the facilities manager at Notre Dame Academy in Worchester, MA last year. She was updating the color scheme of the school (along with some other things) and really wanted to integrate some interesting and appropriate colors into the building. The end result was teachers and students alike being thrilled with the no-longer institutional and sterile environment. I wish more schools would take this step! It may just be a matter of educating the educators on what simple things could be done to improve the aesthetics of their facilities.
its so refreshing to hear success stories like this. any photos you can share?
[...] and fine artist. She also has a column in Sherwin Williams’ on-line magazine, Stir. Make sure you check out Rachel’s blog – it’s on my blogroll in the left-hand [...]
Approach the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) to offer a fund raising program and then educate them on improving environments through color. Suggestion: Identify a green product everyone needs/uses such as the re-usable shopping bags. Logo the bag with both your SW and the schools logo. In each bag you can insert a flyer on improving environments through color & your green products. Include a coupon for purchase donation. Set the school up as a contractor account and donate a percentage of the purchases to the school. Parents will support their school through purchasing. Model it after the Kroger rewards program. Have you heard of Techlam by Levantina? Brand new green thin tile product that just hit the US market. Amazing for commercial installations like schools because it can go on top of flooring, walls, counter tops, concrete, wood patios and much more. I use it as a sign material and print on it. Both exterior and interior uses. Installed in London Underground for the Olympics and Disney World. Please call Levantina, Brandon Fish 678.436.5417 for more info. So new it isn’t on their website yet! http://www.levantinausa.com
I liked reading your blog ~ thanks for posting such awesome material.
Hi there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I truly enjoy reading your blog posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same subjects? Thanks a ton!
Hi Antony and welcome! The blogosphere is full of home decorating, painting, art and design, and color sites. Is there a subject in particular you are searching for? usually a google search will pull up links to blog posts related to your search term.
Looking for a few good ones? I have a list of links to some of my favorite daily reads on my personal blog, hueconsulting.blogspot.com
Rachel, Thank you for the considered report. My high school colors were black and silver for seven years until blue was informally introduced and then formally approved. The lack of color bothered the school art teacher.
This was forwarded to me by an Architect colleague; I am a NCIDQ cert Interior Designer who is currently working on a MFA dissertation “How the built environment affects learning outcomes; can they motivate, inspire and encourage students to learn, inquire and become life long learners?”. My research has lead to amazing people who are building well programed educational facilities that integrate the pedagogy.
Color is being used as a significant component; with that said, there are many schools that are left “maintenance deferred” outdated not only in facility being able to support new educational programming but in color theory, lighting etc. Get involved, be part of the process and make the change. http://www.designshare.com is an excellent resource.
I Love. Love. Love this topic! I did a hypothetical project while in school for the local boys and girls club. My idea was a sophisticated space centered around the children that allowed creatvity and interaction. I chose design baseed on materials used more “mature” colors (ie- deeper, richer shades of colors. Open windows huge cork boards and black boards for creative minds.) The idea received a huge reaction both on the postive and negative side. Some people still simply believe children prefer primary colors. However! When researching the project I found studies of children who were allowed to pick the colors of their environment. They chose richer tones and hues versus the age-old stand by of primary colors.
I really believe it would be a cool project and good idea for the schools to involve the children more and maximize the benefits of design/built environment. Kids take a lot of pride in personal projects. Wouldnt it be neat to have the kids help paint areas or use monochrome handprints to make a wallpaper?!?
I love your simple, but elegant way of writing. I have learned a whole lot from it.