Inspiring Greens

Want a creative space? Just add green. People with plants and greenery in their workspace are 15% more creative, have a 15% higher level of wellbeing, and are 6% more productive.Research has shown that certain colors actually alter work moods. Green, for example, can enhance creativity. One reason for this is that it’s easiest for humans to focus on green light. It’s in the middle of the visible spectrum and has the strongest receptors in our eyes.

Mood-lifting Yellows

Why does yellow make some people happy? Researchers found the first words that consistently come to mind when people see the color yellow are sunshine, warmth, cheer and happiness. However, that response depends on where you live.1 The farther people live from the equator, the more likely they are to appreciate bright hues. In Egypt, the likelihood of yellow being associated with joy was just 5.7%, whereas in chilly Finland it was 87.7%.

Positive Pinks

The color pink represents softness and compassion. It takes all the passion and energy of red and tempers it with the purity of white, leaving us with the color of tenderness and affection. According to color psychology, pink inspires hope and positivity. It encourages a sense of comfort and relaxation, soothing the senses. Pink makes you feel like everything is going to be alright.

Calming Blues

Blue calls to mind feelings of calmness or serenity. It is often described as peaceful, tranquil, secure, and orderly. Shoppers spend longer in stores with a blue interior. Blue also helps to steady breathing, lower blood pressure and clear the mind.

Relaxing Browns

Natural earthy tones ground us. Brown is a relaxing color. It’s coffee, cinnamon and cane sugar. It’s been linked to an increase in tryptophan (related to sleep and our immune systems) and serotonin (linked to mood.) Brown typically gives us warm, settled feelings, reminding us of connections to earth, home and family.

Cool Greys

Neither black nor white, soft greys represent neutrality and balance. It’s a cool palette that is often used as a foundation for invoking a safe and natural atmosphere.

Biophilic Awareness

The Earth from which all living beings are created is perfect as it is. How can we make use of nature to improve our lives and this planet while at the same time deepening our understanding? In our quest for solutions for a better future, designers have turned to the bio-world, exploring the use of organic materials to improve sustainability and infuse our buildings with a sense of wellbeing. Biophilic awareness is all about this deepening awareness of our connection with nature. This trend expresses itself by ‘bringing the outside in’ – incorporating elements of nature into interior design including organic materials like stone, timber, plants, natural light, sometimes even water. It also emphasises views – such as framing a glimpse of the sky or landscape – to bring us back to nature. Colors: daylight yellows, natural greens and blues that mimic plant and ocean life Materials: natural, organic, raw, for example stone wool and wood Shapes: curved, organic

Uncluttered Wabi-Sabi

In an increasingly slick, digitised, superficial world where video conferencing, texts and social media are replacing real contact, our desire for connection and positivity is more evident than ever before. It makes us re-examine our values and helps us find a state of wellbeing by finding meaning in everyday existence, by taking a step back into simplicity and celebrating imperfection. We want to take care of ourselves, of each other and the natural world, go back to basics and learn from our elders, rediscover lost skills, reclaim natural resources. We are looking for a place where we can contemplate our future and consider our purpose in this new world. Light colors, unfinished interiors and materials are linked to our desire to disconnect and search for “nothing”. Uncluttered Wabi-Sabi mixes light and transparent materials such as silk, smoky glass and linen, creating a tranquil layered color palette ranging from soft greys to warm beige. Colors: very light, beige, grey and natural tinted whites and browns Materials: imperfect, not smooth nor flat Shapes: organic, curves

Calm Enclosure

Climate change, coupled with economic and political uncertainty, have led to a retreat into relaxed atmospheres and softness to reduce stress and anxiety. At the same time, the search for equality has created important new movements throughout the world. One of these has been the softening of distinct boundaries between masculinity and femininity. We’ve seen this reflected in design, with the introduction of a gender-free style introducing colors that were not traditionally masculine. Interiors are becoming more enveloping and reassuring with soft textures like Alcantara^® and suedine. Shapes are organic, rounded, wavy and protective, creating a cocoon. Acoustics are high on the agenda for creating a comfortable, cosy ambience. Colors: sandy yellows, warm beiges, soft reds and pinks Materials: soft, suedine, slightly velvety textures Shapes: rounded, curved

Technology

The evolution of human identity connected to artificial and human intelligence has created a new kind of merged, emotional intelligence. Virtual reality that blends earth-like and human attributes plays on our emotional triggers, allowing us to escape into worlds that are similar to our own, but where life is safer, and everything is fiction. This trend is a statement for a unified intelligent tomorrow, inspired by the merger of human and artificial intelligence to create futuristic yet subtle designs. It expresses itself by juxtaposing regular and irregular forms, hard and soft materials, (such as stone with smooth suede), and mixing glossy and matte surfaces. The colors are pure and clean, chromatic blue, dark blue, silver. Inspired by the future, and confident for a better tomorrow. Colors: pure and clean, chromatic blue, dark grey, silver Materials: metallic, hard, leather, vinyl, suede Shapes: curved and angular