The Psychology of Colors and Your Commercial Flooring

Thinking about redoing your flooring? What did you have in mind? While you may be focusing on the more important aspects associated with making a flooring decision, such as texture, resilience, sustainability, etc., have you ever considered the importance of your color choice?

You may think that color preference falls secondary to the other deciding factors ─ but in reality, the color of your flooring brings more to the table than you think.

Color psychology is an extremely effective tool used by artists, interior decorators, and marketing professionals in various industries. It is the study of hues as a determinant of human behavior. Color influences perceptions that are not obvious, such as the taste of food. For example, many chefs utilize an assortment of different colored ingredients or may add colorful garnish to their plates to evoke a feeling of satisfaction in their customer before they even taste the food.

There is a reason why people prefer to be surrounded by certain colors as opposed to others, as each color has an association with a reaction in our brain. A perfect example of how color psychology is used is in office buildings. Many offices incorporate blues and greys in their interior décor. Why? Because these colors are perceived to “increase productivity” and give you that corporate environment feel.

On the flip side, while this holds true for some corporate environments, other corporate environments are bright, filled with reds, yellows, blues, greens, giving off an energetic vibe of creativity, diversity, and openness.

It’s not only important to ask yourself, “What feelings do I want to provoke in my customers?”, but you also want to ask yourself, “What color best suits my brand?” In a study titled “The interactive effects of colors and products on perceptions of brand logo appropriateness”, research shows that the relationship between brands and color hinges on the perceived appropriateness of the color being used for the specific brand (does the color “fit” what is being sold?). For example, would Google be perceived the same if the Logo was black and grey? Would they be perceived as the energetic company of innovation they are today?

While choosing the color of your flooring is much different in comparison to picking colors for a logo, it’s important that the atmosphere of your organization portrays how you want your brand to be perceived by your customers. So, if you are debating on changing the flooring within your organization, make sure you take color into consideration when making a final decision!