Optimising workplace efficiency with colour psychology

Jessica Guistolise at Lucid Software explains the psychological ties teams have to certain colours, and how to use them correctly

 

In the modern workplace, colour isn’t just decoration – it’s direction. With screens framing nearly every interaction, colour becomes a fast, subconscious signal that guides emotion, clarity, and decision-making.

 

Our minds are wired to react to colour faster than words, making its intentional use the quickest way to attach meaning to visual information. In fact, Jill Morton, CEO of Colorcom, the colour consultant experts, has found in research that up to 90% of people’s subconscious judgments are affected by colour in the workplace.

 

When used intentionally, colour can energise teams, boost productivity and spark innovation, whether in physical or virtual workspaces. How different colours are embedded into dashboards, calendars, chat highlights and feedback comments can add clarity and drive alignment.

 

There is some strategy behind it that team leaders should be aware of. To create a more emotionally balanced workplace, team leaders should learn how different uses of colour can impact cognitive load, emotional tone, and collaboration dynamics, and apply them consistently.

 

 

Colour drives cognitive performance

Morton’s research underscores some powerful truths: strategic colour use can boost comprehension by 73% and increase readership by 40%. In high-pressure digital environments, where teams are often overloaded with data and deadlines, colour can help cut through the noise and instil structure, reduce ambiguity, and make information instantly more digestible.

 

Despite this powerful influence, many organisations default to colour schemes that overwhelm rather than clarify. In doing so, they unintentionally reinforce a culture where teams disengage, misread cues, and miss opportunities to collaborate effectively.

 

For teams particularly struggling with misunderstandings or feelings of exclusion, colour presents itself as a more nuanced aspect of digital workplace design with the potential to make a difference.

 

While it’s not a silver bullet solution, colour can help support clearer communication, lighter cognitive load and more collaborative team dynamics. Leaders can take the first steps to promote inclusion by inviting team members to co-create the digital environments they work in, asking about colour preferences for shared documents or boards. Then, when pulled with intention, colour can contribute to a healthier, more effective workplace.

 

Here are a few considerations for starting to use colour in ways that can improve their teams’ morale, productivity and collaboration.

 

Not everything is black and white

Colour is deeply tied to personal identity, with preferences ranging across personal experiences, cultures and generations. When you surround yourself with a favourite colour, you feel better mentally. This is no different, but perhaps more impactful in the workspace, as it can make you feel more alert, motivated and in turn productive.

 

That’s why not all documentation and apps at work should be in a standard black-and-white setting. The modern workplace is awash in neutrals: grey spreadsheets, white interfaces and beige platforms. While these choices might appear harmless, they create a "beige office culture" – one where visual monotony stifles engagement and fails to inspire.

 

Instead, individual team members should be encouraged to work with their preferred colours – it’s one easy way to improve engagement and even boost your mood as your team collaborates.

 

Use colour to move projects forward

Colour is also key in identifying and organising content, making it easier or more difficult to follow and can impact how teams feel about working with you. Colour coding systems will vary by projects and team members, but consistently using the same one can streamline communication, helping team members identify priorities and contributions, and ultimately avoid confusion.

 

Bright red text or digital Post-It notes will come across as urgent, harsh, or overly critical. But grey text can be missed entirely. Likewise, if you need creative input to determine the future state of a project, use softer pastel colours to promote calmer discussions, especially for strategic decision-making.

 

Meanwhile, highly visible colours should be used to guide more serious, knowledge-based discussions, indicating completion of a task or simply to highlight something that needs immediate action. It’s in these ways that colour can set the emotional tone of collaboration, dictate your project status, and help teams move from ideation to execution even faster.

 

Give “visual elbow room”

According to signal detection theory, our brains are bombarded with “signals” (informational cues) and “noise” (distractions), and too much of either quickly overwhelms our cognitive load, or the mental effort required to process information. As much as we should use colour strategically, too many competing colours used within our notification-heavy world can make it difficult to prioritise and can hinder work.

 

Jill Morton of Colorcom often talks about a concept called “visual elbow room”, the idea of leaving white space or streamlining the number of colours used within a virtual workspace. This practice is a cognitive load reduction method that reduces mental confusion and draws attention to the most critical details.

 

To avoid information overload, teams should structure information with specific colours assigned for prioritisation, differentiating ideas by theme, project stage, or if input is needed before moving forward.

 

Colour optimisation for success

As managers and leaders create collaborative documents and workspaces, whether online or in the physical world, they should consider the more nuanced aspects of workplace design. There are ways to get creative within teams to leverage colour more strategically, so process diagrams and strategic planning sessions result in boosted engagement, productivity, and connection.

 

Colour communicates faster than the written word alone, and those who use it to their advantage in work will ultimately create a more joyful experience for team members. When used thoughtfully, colour can foster safe communication spaces where every voice can be heard.

 

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Jessica Guistolise is a workplace coach and Evangelist at Lucid Software

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and alfexe