Jemma Saunders at Crown Paints says colour has long been seen as a ‘finishing touch’ in commercial settings, but it is key to get it right for increasingly multi-purpose spaces.

Colour shapes how a space feels and how well it works for the people using it, supporting more inclusive environments across workplaces, healthcare, and hospitality. For neurodivergent people, who may experience heightened sensitivity to colour, light and spatial change, the physical environment isn’t just a backdrop; it can affect wellbeing and day-to-day experience. And what calms one person may overstimulate another.

With around one in seven people in the UK estimated to be neurodivergent, there is increasing awareness that environments are experienced very differently depending on sensory sensitivity, cognitive processing and perception.

What became clear through our research with architects and specifiers was both a strong appetite for designing more inclusively, and a genuine knowledge gap around how elements such as colour, contrast and sensory stimulation affect people in practice. This underlines the need for a more considered approach – looking at colour in context, and how it works alongside light, texture and acoustics to reduce sensory load and make spaces easier to use.

From aesthetics to experience

Architects have always understood, instinctively, that colour affects mood. Today, that intuition is increasingly being supported by research – and by real-world feedback from building users.

In commercial settings in particular, spaces must now do more. Workplaces should feel focused and functional while still encouraging collaboration; healthcare environments should be calm and reassuring; and hospitality spaces need to balance atmosphere with comfort, creating spaces that feel welcoming and memorable for every guest.

Colour is central to achieving that balance. Subtle shifts in hue, saturation and contrast can transform how a space is perceived and experienced – influencing everything from stress levels and concentration to a clearer sense of flow through the space.

Highly saturated palettes and visually busy schemes may energise some users while causing discomfort or fatigue for others. But this doesn’t mean specifying bland or neutral schemes. Instead, it requires a measured approach, recognising when colour should stimulate and when it should calm within different areas of a space.

Low-intensity tones often benefit environments where focus and calm are essential. Both dark and light colours can promote a restful calm space vivid bright colours on the other hand, run the risk of becoming a distraction, especially if someone has a particular sensitivity to colour.

Workplace design: performance, focus and flexibility

In office fit-outs, colour psychology is increasingly tied to performance. As offices evolve into hubs for collaboration, social connection and focused work, a single, uniform colour strategy no longer makes sense.

Architects are increasingly using colour as part of spatial planning: not simply to ‘finish’ 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 flexibility 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.

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 floors, 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

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 finishes 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 flourish; 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