Prof. Dr. Axel Buether – Institute for Evidence-Based Color Psychology
Color works. Knowing how – makes all the difference.
Even before we understand a word, recognize an image or classify a shape, our brain has long since made an assessment. Color works faster than thinking – and remains largely unconscious. What we think is intuition, taste or a decision is actually a combination of biological perception and learned experience.
Despite this fundamental effect, color is still mostly used intuitively today – instead of on the basis of reliable findings. This is precisely where evidence-based color psychology comes in: It makes it possible to measure what works and explain what people feel. Those who understand color shape the interplay of light and material – and thus perception, behavior and effect. It shapes our perception of reality.
The explorer and explainer of colors
It didn’t start in a laboratory, but in a cathedral.
As a young stonemason, I worked in the churches of the Osnabrück region. When colored light fell through the high windows and moved across the stone surfaces, the entire room changed – and with it the people in it. Voices became quieter. Movements became slower. A presence emerged that could not be grasped – and yet had an immediate effect.
This experience was not an aesthetic impression. It was physical. Immediately. And it posed the question that has stayed with me ever since: Why do colors have such a profound effect on us? Why do they exist at all – and what function do they have in nature, culture and for life itself?
I followed this question. First in design: as an architect who not only designs spaces, but also thinks in terms of their effect. Then in art: in installations and exhibitions in which light, material and color become actors in their own right.
Eventually, this path led me to the field of perceptual psychology – to my doctorate and to the founding of the Institute for Evidence-Based Color Psychology. What began as an experience in the cathedral is systematically investigated here: empirically, interdisciplinary and in relation to real-life application.
Today I combine research and design. I translate scientific findings into concrete color concepts for architecture, brands and products. Concepts that don’t decorate, but work – because they tie in with the fundamentals of human perception.
My drive is unchanged: to make the invisible visible – and to explain in an understandable way what people have always felt without being able to name it. Colors do not exist in the world – but in us. They are the language of life that connects us with the world.
SELECTION OF REFERENCES
MEDIA SELECTION
Four fields. A scientific basis.
01
Product & Brand
Purchasing decisions are made in seconds – emotionally, unconsciously and significantly influenced by color. But color is not only effective at the point of sale. It is the visual DNA of a brand: it condenses values, personality and promises into a consistent system – across all touchpoints, from the packaging to the digital interface.
Whether a product is recognized and perceived as high quality, whether a brand generates trust, whether a relaunch is successful or fails – color is not a question of detail, but a strategic decision.
Prof. Dr. Buether provides the empirical basis so that decisions are not made intuitively, but based on evidence.
02
Space & Health
Color atmospheres are created through the interplay of light and material – and have a measurable effect on health, well-being and performance. They influence orientation, safety and behavior in the room – and thus the success of building use.
The institute develops evidence-based color concepts – tailored to use, architecture and light. For a higher quality of stay, less incorrect use and sustainable protection of the investment in existing and new buildings.
03
Art & Culture
Color shapes how art is created, read and communicated. It controls impact and meaning – often beyond the conscious mind. Prof. Dr. Buether advises museums, cultural institutions and researchers on exhibitions, communication and publications. Based on his own studies on the effects of color – cross-cultural, interdisciplinary and also tested in his own artistic practice.
For exhibitions that have a targeted impact, for communication that makes things understandable, and for publications that provide a sound basis for interpretation.
04
Lectures & Publications
Prof. Dr. Buether is regarded as the explainer of color in the German-speaking world – in science, business and the media. In keynotes and workshops, he makes visible what people experience every day but rarely understand – and translates the effects of color into directly relevant findings in an entertaining and understandable way, based on the latest research.
In demand for presentations, interviews and media formats when complex contexts need to be communicated precisely and effectively. For events that trigger more than just attention: new perspectives, well-founded insights – and an audience that sees the world differently afterwards.
Colors have an effect – objectively and subjectively.
Understanding both changes how we see the world.
Prof. Dr. Axel Buether is the founder of evidence-based color psychology. For the first time, his research combines two levels that were previously considered separately:
Two dimensions of the color effect
Dimension 01 The objective effect
How colors affect all people
Colors fulfill fundamental biological functions: They orient, protect, warn, activate and stabilize. These effects are anchored in evolution and influence our experience and behavior – regardless of culture, consciousness or intention.
Empirical evidence: 35.7% reduction in sickness absence following evidence-based color and lighting design in a hospital.
Dimension 02 The subjective effect
How colors make personality visible
Color preferences are no coincidence, but an expression of individual personality. They arise from the interplay of disposition, experience and cultural imprint – and can be systematically recorded.
Empirical evidence: Strangers were able to correctly predict the personality of the unknown owner based solely on the color wheel of a closet.
The two standard works
OBJECTIVE COLOR EFFECT
The mysterious power of colors
Bestseller – Droemer
How colors from evolution control our experience and behavior – on well-being, health, decisions and emotions.
The first work to systematically explain these effects, empirically prove them and make them accessible for application.
SUBJECTIVE COLOR EFFECT
The big book of color psychology
Bestseller – Knaur
How color preferences make personality visible – and why people perceive, feel and decide differently.
With the first scientifically based color personality test, 30 differentiated color profiles and a model of socio-cultural color worlds.
