Full of ideas, effective, efficient, successful: that's how we want to be at work. And we want to have creative people around while we’re there, too. And whether or not you are creative in a given situation is determined not only by the skill itself but also by many variables, including the place you are in and its atmosphere. Today, we’ll talk more about well-being and the colours that are conducive to creative work.
Creativity is an art that likes to develop in favourable circumstances. We are not programmed to work for 8 hours a day non-stop. To be effective, we need to take a break, eat something and rest our heads. Therefore, spaces that take care of our well-being at work are not fashion but necessity. In the age of the employee’s market, it is difficult to convince people that they are the company’s greatest asset while they work in dark rooms, at worn-out desks or on uncomfortable chairs. What we’re talking about here is basic ergonomics at work, the approach to which has changed significantly in recent years.
An office people feel good at should also feel a bit like home. First of all, it should have parts suitable for various activities: work, rest, meetings and focus. Secondly, that homely cosiness, comfortable and colourful armchairs, soft sofas, wood, plants that we like to surround ourselves with. In spaces like that, it is easier to come up with new ideas, and research shows that as many as 79% of them arrive as a result of interaction with other employees and away from desks.*
Blue and pink are a bold and energetic combination which will be especially useful in creative work. “Colours that seem not to match but in fact make up perfect pairs often have their unique application in creative spaces,” comments Dominika Kukieła, architect at Grupa Nowy Styl.
“Pink triggers joyful and cheerful associations, making you feel carefree, which in combination with a bright shade of blue, associated with the sky, purity of water and freshness, triggers optimism and positive emotions in the recipient.”
“It is a moment of detachment from reality and giving oneself the chance to look at the world through ‘rose-coloured spectacles,' ” she adds, and it’s hard not to agree.
It is no coincidence that the combination of these two colours has become one of the biggest hits in recent times. The unobvious combination of pink and blue is increasingly more common not just at home but at the office too.
You can take a comfortable seat on them and discuss the project with your colleagues. They are also suitable for informal meetings and relaxed moments, and their high, upholstered panels make them good for focused work, too. Play&Work sofas are a multipurpose “room within a room”, which makes it easier to use the full potential of a small space.
You can find more ideas on how to use colours in the office in other parts of the #SummerOffice cycle. You can keep your memories of a seaside holiday longer, if you combine blue with the colour of sand or, for example, invite some green into your office to evoke forest, harmony and peace. More summer colour inspirations coming in two weeks!
*Waber, B. Magnolfi, J. Greg Lindsay, G. Workspaces That Move People. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2014/10/workspaces-that-move-people (11.2017).