How Color Makes Our Home a Great Place to Live

Our home is much more than just a shell. It is the place where we find peace, recharge our energy, feel safe, and identify with our lives. Color can play a crucial role in transforming rooms into a home where we feel comfortable, can recharge, and enjoy living.

In the new episode of the “Typisch Wohnen” podcast, I talk with Kai Pötting and Frederic Klos about how much our physical environment influences our experiences and behavior—and why color plays a much bigger role in this than we generally realize.

It’s not just about wall colors. We always perceive spaces as a whole: ceilings and floors, materials and surfaces, pigments and dyes, natural and artificial light, shadows, reflections, and even the view out the window all combine in our brains to create an overall atmospheric effect. This effect can calm or energize us, convey a sense of security, provide orientation, and help us feel connected to a place.

Drawing on my research and projects in the fields of housing, work, education, and healthcare, I’ll share what we know today about how color can promote well-being—and which insights can be directly applied to your own home.

After all, good living isn’t just about something looking nice. It means creating an environment where we feel physically and emotionally comfortable, are proud of our home, identify with it, and look forward to coming home every day.

A conversation about color as a fundamental part of our quality of life—and about how we can design spaces in a way that benefits us.

For Le Corbusier, color was not merely a decorative element, but an essential tool for shaping space: “In architecture, color is just as powerful a means as the floor plan and the section. Or rather: polychromy is an integral part of the floor plan and the section themselves.”

Prof. Dr. Axel Buether’s lecture takes up this idea and expands on it using insights from modern perception and color psychology. After all, architecture does not arise solely from floor plans, sections, construction, and materials—it takes shape in our perception. Light and color influence how we experience spatial boundaries, proportions, and distances; how we orient ourselves; and the atmosphere a space creates.

Color thus becomes a dimension of architectural design in its own right. It structures spaces, alters their perceived size and depth, creates a sense of belonging and identity, and influences our emotional experience as well as our behavior. Using examples from architecture, interior design, and healthcare facilities, Axel Buether demonstrates how this potential can be harnessed today in a targeted, evidence-based manner—beyond purely subjective matters of taste.

This lecture offers a new perspective on a dimension of design whose impact is ubiquitous yet is often underestimated in the architectural design process: Those who design architecture shape perception—and, in doing so, always shape color as well.

AIV Frankfurt Summer Festival 2026 – “Join Us in Building the Spaces of Tomorrow”
August 13, 2026 | Lufthansa Group Hangar One, Frankfurt am Main
7:00 p.m. | Keynote by Prof. Dr. Axel Buether: “Color as a Dimension of Architecture”

A few years ago, in a British nightclub, the same woman became three different people on three consecutive nights. The same dress, the same face, the same voice, the same laugh. Only one variable changed: her hair color. As a blonde, she was approached by sixty men. As a brunette, forty-two. As a redhead, eighteen.

You might think this is a ranking of attractiveness. But the interesting part of the experiment doesn’t begin until after that. The same photos were then rated—and, of all things, the brunette version came out on top: more attractive, more intelligent, more competent. The blonde version, on the other hand, was rated as more in need of support—as the one most likely to need someone. And it was precisely her who was approached most often.

The researchers believe this is the explanation: People who perceive someone as needing emotional support are less likely to expect rejection. It is not the person’s greater attractiveness that drives the man across the room, but rather his lower inhibition threshold. Hair color did not determine whom the men found more attractive. It determined whom they felt confident approaching.

So there’s a gap between what we think of a person and how we treat them. And that gap is just big enough to fit a color that the woman had no control over.

This is exactly where the misunderstanding begins—the one that has been poisoning the entire debate about hair color and personality for decades. It can be cleared up in a single sentence, and that sentence is so unremarkable that it’s constantly overlooked: A person’s natural hair color says nothing about their character. The hair color they choose, however, certainly does.

That’s not a play on words. That’s the whole difference.

One hundred milliseconds

Our perceptual system isn’t optimized for fairness, but for speed. Anyone who enters a room is categorized before they’ve even uttered a single sentence: In less than a tenth of a second, a judgment is made about their trustworthiness, competence, and likability. What’s troubling about this isn’t the speed. What’s troubling is what happens when you look a little closer. The judgment isn’t revised. It just becomes even more certain.

In that fraction of a second, the brain latches onto the most striking feature available at that moment. And for most people, that’s their hair. It’s the largest contiguous area of color on the body, it sits directly above the face, and it’s visible from thirty meters away. Evolution doesn’t offer a more convenient label.

Just how significant this is was demonstrated as early as 1989 in Ireland. Test subjects were shown the same woman with different hair colors and asked to assess her personality. As a redhead, she was considered significantly more spirited than when she was a blonde or a brunette. Same person, same face, different judgment.

What Judas Has to Do with Your Hairdresser

The meanings of colors are learned, not innate. And they change over time.

Over the centuries, we have imbued the color red with meaning: excitement, danger, passion, and betrayal. In medieval iconography, Judas is depicted with red hair. In the records of the witch hunts, it appears with striking regularity. This meaning still clings to the color today—and we then project it onto the person who happens to have it on their head.

That’s not an inference. It’s a transfer of meaning. We’re not reading the person. We’re reading our own cultural history, which just happens to have settled on her crown.

Then there’s context, and it’s more powerful than the cliché debate is willing to admit. Hair color never stands alone; it always interacts with skin tone, clothing, lighting, and the situation. The same blonde woman is judged differently in a job interview than on a date—this has been proven experimentally. Anyone who thinks they’re reading a person is, in reality, reading a situation. And they’re reading media images: The link between hair color and beauty ideals can be traced across four decades of magazine analysis, and it shifts with every decade.

One detail that’s almost always missing from this discussion: These stereotypes exist almost exclusively in places where hair color varies at all. Worldwide, about ninety percent of people have dark hair. The whole excited typology ranging from blond to red is therefore not a fundamental anthropological law, but rather a regional European phenomenon—arising from a quirk of pigment distribution.

Where It Stops Being Funny

You might think all of this is just small talk. But it isn’t.

Of the five hundred British CEOs surveyed, only five percent were blond—compared to a population share of about twenty-five percent. This is no longer just an anecdote; it’s a significant figure. Hair color stereotypes don’t end in conversation. They end up on resumes.

Each color carries its own cultural baggage. Blonde signals youth and brightness—and is therefore mistaken for naivety. Brown is considered the norm and is therefore mistaken for reliability. Black creates the greatest contrast with the face and thus conveys authority. Red is rare and therefore highly conspicuous—and conspicuousness is the raw material from which stereotypes are made. Gray, finally, is not a marker of character at all, but rather a marker of age: here, we are not evaluating the color itself, but rather a presumed stage of life.

And what about biology? It occasionally produces side effects that look like personality traits but aren’t. In a widely cited study, redheaded women required about nineteen percent more anesthetic to suppress pain responses. A wonderful finding for anyone who has always considered the “pain-sensitive redhead” a fact—except that this is physiology, not personality. And even here, the situation has become contradictory: Recent studies suggest that the genetic variants responsible for these differences in pain sensitivity are different from those that cause red hair.

The Visual Diary

Now for the other half of the story—the part that almost never comes up in public debate.

One’s natural hair color is determined by pigment genetics. A chosen hair color is something categorically different: not a trait, but an action. And personality research is built on actions.

I have been empirically studying this correlation for years. To do so, I recorded the color palettes of people’s everyday clothing and compared them with Big Five personality tests. There is a significant correlation—but it’s not where almost everyone expects it to be.

Two findings surprised even me. The first: It’s not the primary colors that are meaningful, but the shades. Not “blue,” but which shade of blue. The second: Ironically, the favorite color—the one that everyone can name immediately and without hesitation—is the least revealing. It’s usually a projection of our desires—our self-image, not our true self. What matters are the colors we actually wear every day. They are the visual diary of our personality, and we keep it without even realizing it.

That’s exactly why I think this analogy applies to hair color. After all, hair color exists almost exclusively in shades. Ash blonde, copper, platinum, mahogany, caramel—these aren’t primary colors; they’re subtle shades. This places hair color precisely within the range where my data locates personality information.

One difference remains, and it’s an important one: Your wardrobe reflects hundreds of individual choices made over the years. Hair color provides just one. The underlying principle is the same, but the precision is lower. Anyone who draws a diagnosis from this has failed to understand what we’re talking about: it’s about statistical trends. They allow us to make a statement about a thousand people—not about the one sitting across from you.

On the Importance of Conventions

We design our personal style as a cohesive color scheme: clothing, makeup, glasses, phone case, car, apartment. Hair color fits seamlessly into this scheme. It’s not an exception; it’s just one element among many. And this scheme conveys our personality, whether we want it to or not.

There is international evidence that strangers draw accurate conclusions from this. Judgments about a person’s character based solely on full-body photos are surprisingly often accurate, and clothing style proves to be a genuinely valid cue—not a prejudice, but a source of information. Those who choose a visibly non-conforming appearance show, above all, higher scores in a single dimension: openness to experience. Incidentally, the same pattern is also found among people with tattoos.

The direction of the inference is crucial. It leads from the choice to the person—never from birth to the person. The redhead didn’t choose her hair; the color says nothing about her. The girl with pink hair did; it says something about her.

And here’s another point that’s often overlooked in practice: Diagnostically, it’s never the color itself that matters, but rather the deviation from the local norm. Pink was a statement in 1977. In today’s creative agencies, it’s the norm. When a striking color becomes the group norm, its symbolic meaning shifts from openness to conformity. The same color, the opposite message. If you want to interpret color, you must always first interpret the context in which it is used.

The self-fulfilling prophecy

There’s one final twist left, and it’s the most eerie one.

In a Czech study, redheaded women did indeed report more sexual activity than others. A triumph for the stereotype, one might think. However, statistical modeling showed that their own desire did not account for the difference. The effect was due to the behavior of their suitors.

Because we treat people based on their hair color, we often end up creating the very differences that we had previously projected onto them. The stereotype feeds on itself—and ultimately serves as proof of its own existence.

The Last Drawer

Hair color triggers such reliable judgments of character because our brains are not optimized for truth, but for speed. Hair color is immediately visible, easy to describe—and still largely free of social stigma. It is the last major category people are allowed to use in public without having to justify themselves.

The mistake here is not that we draw conclusions about people based on color. We do that all the time, and when it comes to chosen colors, we even do so with a remarkable degree of accuracy. The mistake is that we fail to distinguish between what someone wears and what they were born with.

Drawing conclusions about a person’s character based on their natural hair color is about as reliable as predicting the weather based on the color of a wall. Reading into a person’s choice of color, on the other hand, is not superstition, but rather the psychology of perception.

If you want to try it out for yourself, you don’t need a lab. Open your closet and don’t look at that favorite piece you wear three times a year—look instead at the four items that are constantly in the laundry. Those are your colors. The diary is lying open. You just never looked inside.

This essay was prompted by a request from the BILD editorial staff. The article that appeared there can be found here: How Your Hair Color Affects Other People – BILD

Studies and Sources

Original Research

Buether, A. (2025). The Big Book of Color Psychology: What Colors Reveal About Us and How We Can Use Them in Our Lives. Munich: Droemer Knaur. ISBN 978-3-426-44763-5. Includes a study on the relationship between everyday clothing colors and the Big Five personality dimensions, as well as the color-personality test developed based on this research.

Buether, A. (2020). The mysterious power of colors. Munich: Droemer Knaur.

International Studies

Beddow, J. N. (2011). Hair Color Stereotypes and Their Associated Perceptions in Relationships and the Workplace. Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research, 16(1).

Liem, E. B. et al. (2004). “Anesthetic Requirements Are Higher in Redheads.” Anesthesiology, 101(2), 279–283.

Naumann, L. P., Vazire, S., Rentfrow, P. J., & Gosling, S. D. (2009). Personality Judgments Based on Physical Appearance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(12), 1661–1671.

Rich, M. K. & Cash, T. F. (1993). The American image of beauty: Media representations of hair color over four decades. Sex Roles, 29(1–2), 113–124.

Swami, V. & Barrett, S. (2011). British men’s hair color preferences: An assessment of courtship solicitation and stimulus ratings. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 52(6), 595–600.

Swami, V. et al. (2012). Personality Differences Between Tattooed and Non-Tattooed Individuals. Psychological Reports, 111(1), 97–106.

Takeda, M. B., Helms, M. M., & Romanova, N. (2006). Hair Color Stereotyping and CEO Selection in the United Kingdom. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 13(3), 85–99.

Tate, J. C. & Shelton, B. L. (2008). Personality correlates of tattooing and body piercing in a college sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(4), 281–285.

Weir, S. & Fine-Davis, M. (1989). “Dumb blonde” and “temperamental redhead”: The effect of hair color on certain personality traits attributed to women. The Irish Journal of Psychology, 10(1), 11–19.

Willis, J. & Todorov, A. (2006). First impressions: Forming an opinion after a 100-ms exposure to a face. Psychological Science, 17(7), 592–598.

Hardly any other color touches people as directly as blue. On a summer day, we look up at the sky and feel a sense of vastness. We stand by the sea and feel freedom, freshness, or a sense of longing. We wear dark blue when we want to appear trustworthy, choose turquoise for spaces designed to promote relaxation, or ultramarine for products and works of art that radiate depth and uniqueness.

But is the sky really blue? Does the sea have a color that exists in the world independently of us?

No. Color is not a physical property of the sky, the sea, or an object. It arises only in our perception—through the interaction of our eyes, brain, body, memory, and experience.

This insight forms the starting point for a fundamental shift in perspective, which I call the “Color Turn ”: We no longer explain color primarily in terms of the physical conditions of the environment, but rather in terms of human experience.

Where is color if it isn’t in things?

Outside the perceiving human being, there is matter and electromagnetic energy. It is only our visual system that uses these to create brightness, contrast, spatial depth, and color. Sky blue, aquamarine, cobalt, and ultramarine do not arise outside of us, but rather in our minds.

The same is true of music. Outside the listener, there are vibrations and changes in pressure. They only become a melody within our experience. Language, too, does not exist in the air as a finished meaning. It arises in the conscious mind that understands it.

If the sensory organs or brain functions necessary for this are damaged, the corresponding experience disappears. Then, for that person, there is no longer any color, sound, or intelligible language.

However, that does not mean that color is merely imaginary or unreal. On the contrary: the perceived world is the primary reality of our lives.

When a person feels afraid of a dark basement room, that fear is physically and psychologically real—even if the basement is objectively harmless. Just as real is the sense of openness, confidence, and drive that a blue summer sky can evoke in us.

We do not first perceive the world neutrally and then evaluate it. From the very beginning, perception is linked to physical states, feelings, memories, and our readiness to act.

How does a blue summer sky affect our bodies?

A blue sky is much more than just a colored expanse. It evokes a sense of vastness, warmth, fresh air, good weather, and the prospect of activity, encounters, and adventures.

Our bodies adjust to activity and the outside world. We become more alert and attentive. We perk up and want to go out, travel, swim, meet friends, or start something new.

This also alters vegetative and hormonal processes. Serotonergic systems are involved in mood, well-being, and confidence, while dopaminergic systems are involved in motivation, anticipation, and drive. Circulation, respiration, muscle tone, metabolism, and readiness for movement adapt to the current state of mind.

However, it would be too simplistic to attribute these reactions solely to the abstract color blue. The blue summer sky is a multisensory experience. It encompasses temperature, air, sounds, smells, physical activity, and social experiences. The color, however, is its most powerful visual symbol. It encapsulates summer, freedom, vacation, water, movement, and well-being into a sense of life that can be experienced directly.

Why don’t we just see blue—why do we feel it throughout our whole body?

In his theory of somatic markers, neuroscientist and neurologist Antonio Damasio describes how experiences are linked to emotions, physical states, and tendencies to act.

We don’t just store a summer day as abstract information. We don’t merely remember that the sky was blue and the air was warm. Physical sensations are also tied to the experience: the warmth on our skin, the feeling of breathing freely, movement, lightness, encounters, or the joy of anticipation.

If we encounter a similar shade of sky blue later on, this entire pattern of experience can be triggered again. We don’t just see a color then. To some extent, we slip back into the state we associate with it.

This explains why a particular shade of blue can change our mood, our attitude toward a situation, and our willingness to act within a matter of moments.

Color, then, does not simply represent the world. It plays a role in how this world takes shape within us.

Why do the sky and the sea appear blue, even though air and water are transparent?

Up close, air and water usually appear transparent to us. But when viewed as a whole, the sky, streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans become the most expansive blue spaces in our environment.

We perceive the sky as a colorful experience due to the interaction of electromagnetic energy with the Earth’s atmosphere and our sensory system. In the case of water, depth, the substrate, suspended particles, reflections, and spectral absorption all affect the perceived color.

The blue we experience is never the same. It changes depending on the time of day, the season, the weather, the geographical location, the direction of view, the depth of the water, and atmospheric conditions.

A clear morning sky appears a different shade of blue than the dense atmosphere before a thunderstorm. A shallow tropical sea appears turquoise or aquamarine, while a northern ocean appears steel blue, gray-blue, or deep navy blue. In the distance, landscapes appear bluer and less contrasted due to the atmosphere.

That is why blue is not just a color category. It is a whole world of environmental and life experiences.

Does every shade of blue have the same effect?

No. The blanket statement “Blue calms” is just as inaccurate as the claim that “Red energizes.”

It is not the abstract category of color that has an effect, but rather the specific shade of blue with its particular brightness, saturation, materiality, surface area, lighting, and surroundings.

Sky blue can convey openness, lightness, and a sense of new beginnings.
Azure blue symbolizes summery clarity and optimism.
We associate aquamarine and turquoise blue with freshness, movement, and renewal.
Smoky blue and dove blue reduce the intensity of visual stimulation and can convey a sense of calm, security, and gentleness.
Cobalt blue has a striking, energetic, and mentally stimulating effect.
Navy blue symbolizes order, competence, and reliability.
Ultramarine evokes depth, longing, and emotional intensity.
Midnight blue evokes a sense of retreat, concentration, and mystery.

A light shade of cyan can have a fresh and invigorating effect. A muted gray-blue can be calming. A deep ultramarine can appear at once focused, solemn, and overwhelming.

Color names, too, are more than just linguistic labels. They evoke experiences of the sky, water, minerals, plants, textiles, times of day, and landscapes. A term like “aquamarine” conjures up a different mental image than “steel blue,” “ice blue,” or “night blue.”

Why is blue most people’s favorite color?

In international surveys, blue is cited as a favorite color more often than any other color. For this to be true, no more than fifty percent of all people need to choose blue. What matters is that, compared to any other single color, blue has the largest group of people who prefer it.

Why is that?

The Ecological Valence Theory offers an important explanation. According to this theory, we often prefer colors to the extent that we view the things and experiences associated with them positively.

Blue has an exceptionally positive connotation. It evokes clean air, good weather, fresh water, clear views, vastness, and safety. Many of these associations are formed as early as childhood and are later reinforced through experiences in nature, travel, images, clothing, spaces, and the media.

Blue is therefore the color that represents our best environmental conditions.

Of course, some people may associate blue with cold, loneliness, storms, drowning, or loss. Yet, when we consider our collective cultural and personal experiences, the positive associations outweigh the negative ones. That is precisely why blue is so widely accepted.

Why do banks, insurance companies, and technology firms use blue so often?

Because color originates in our psyche, it can be used as a means of communication. Brands work not only with surfaces, but also with perceptions, memories, expectations, and physical states.

Banks, insurance companies, technology firms, social media platforms, and political parties often use shades of blue because these colors are associated with competence, reliability, order, and trust.

However, this effect is not based on any fixed, inherent meaning of the color blue. It is reinforced by experience, repetition, and industry conventions. Because we have come to associate reputable institutions with dark and medium shades of blue over the years, we learn to associate this color palette with reliability and professionalism.

This also presents a problem: Blue can come across as familiar, but also as interchangeable. While using the same color as all your competitors reduces risk, it may also cause you to lose your distinctiveness.

Strategic color design, therefore, does not begin with the question of which color generally has a positive effect. What matters most is which specific shade suits a brand’s personality, its offerings, the market, and its target audience—and how it is consistently applied across all touchpoints.

Can a slight change in the shade of blue be worth millions?

A well-known example from the field of digital design illustrates just how significant even the slightest color differences can be from a business perspective.

Google tested various shades of blue for its ad links. A slightly different shade was clicked on more often. A Google manager later estimated the resulting additional annual revenue at around $200 million.

Regardless of how accurately this figure can be verified in retrospect, the example illustrates a crucial connection: subtle differences in color influence attention and behavior without users having to consciously identify these differences.

In product design, blue can take on a completely different role. A deep ultramarine can convey exclusivity, material depth, and desirability. The Swiss watchmaker Rado, for example, incorporated an ultramarine shade from Le Corbusier’s *Polychromie Architecturale* into a limited-edition watch.

Here, blue is not meant to subtly guide the user to click. Instead, it becomes the central feature of the product itself, evoking a sense of quality, emotional depth, and appeal to collectors.

Color can draw attention, build trust, influence how we perceive value, and trigger impulse purchases—often long before we consciously think about it.

Can color make people healthier at work?

Spaces aren’t just seen. They are experienced with the whole body.

Color can create a sense of closeness or distance, increase or decrease the intensity of a stimulus, aid in orientation, provide a sense of retreat, and fundamentally change the atmosphere of a place.

Subdued shades of turquoise and blue can convey a sense of freshness, calm, and distance from the hustle and bustle of work in break and relaxation rooms. When combined with warm earth tones, wood, textile surfaces, and a cozy atmosphere, a deliberate shift takes place: from clinical tension to a sense of safety, relaxation, and renewed energy.

In an intensive care unit at Helios University Hospital in Wuppertal that Gabriele Wöbker and I studied, staff absenteeism due to illness decreased significantly within a year following an evidence-based redesign that incorporated color, lighting, materials, and spatial function. At the same time, satisfaction with the break room, perceived relaxation, job satisfaction, and identification with the work environment all improved.

Color alone was not the cause of these changes. The overall atmosphere was the decisive factor. However, color played a central role because it links perception, memory, physical state, and spatial meaning.

Spectra, reflectance, and material properties can be measured. However, what really matters in people’s everyday lives is whether a space conveys a sense of safety, tranquility, belonging, spaciousness, or activity.

Can color evoke a response even when we don’t recognize a subject?

Art discovered the psychological autonomy of color long before modern neuroscience did.

The Blue Rider, Expressionism, and later Color Field painting increasingly detached color from the subject. Blue no longer had to represent the sky or the sea. It could become an emotional experience in its own right.

Kandinsky described blue as a color that draws people into its depths. With his intense ultramarine, Yves Klein sought to liberate color from the boundaries of the object. In color-field painting, large swaths of color become resonant spaces in which viewers experience a state of being rather than recognizing a specific motif.

Just how immediate this approach can be was demonstrated in a qualitative study that Leila Rudzki and I conducted in forensic psychiatry. Patients with severe impairments in perception and communication responded not only to representational landscape paintings but also to abstract color compositions developed from the atmospheric hues found in those landscapes.

Joy, laughter, excitement, rejection, or tears were evident even where no objects or landscapes were any longer recognizable.

The color didn’t have to represent anything to trigger a reaction.

Atmospheric color can thus provide a nonverbal window into feelings, preferences, and inner states. Often, the body reacts even before the mind has found an explanation.

So what is the true power of the color blue?

Blue fascinates us not because it has a single, universal effect. Its power lies in the extraordinary variety of experiences we associate with it.

Blue can open up and draw people in, energize and soothe, build trust, and stir a sense of longing. It can convey technical precision, social closeness, natural freshness, intellectual depth, or luxurious exclusivity.

Its effect changes with every shade, every material, every space, every culture, and every personal story.

The most important shift in perspective is therefore:

Color is not a property of the world, but rather a way in which we experience the world.

Because color arises in perception, imagination, memory, and design, it can alter our psychological and physical reality. That is precisely why it is one of humanity’s most powerful tools for communication and design.

Color does not simply represent the world. It plays a decisive role in shaping how we experience it.

You can find more of my coverage on this topic in the following media outlets:

Tagesspiegel: “Color Psychology: Sky and Sea: Why the Color Blue Makes Us Happy,”

WELT: “Psychology: Why the Color Blue Has a Special Effect on Our Brains“

Deutschlandfunk: “Psychology: People with anxiety disorders are more likely to have gray as their favorite color“

ntv: “Panorama: Sky and Sea—Why the Color Blue Makes Us Happy“

FOKUS online: “Peace, freedom, trust. A shade of blue explains why we long for the sea “

Ruhr Nachrichten, Dortmunder Zeitung Süd (DE) + Radio Ennepe Ruhr: “Sky and Sea: Why the Color Blue Makes Us Happy“

Radio Wuppertal: “Sky and Sea: Why the Color Blue Makes Us Happy“

Colors shape architecture far beyond their aesthetic impact. They influence orientation, atmosphere, well-being, social interaction, and health—mostly subconsciously, but with measurable consequences for people’s experiences and behavior.

The lecture focuses on the question of why color design in architecture and interior design today requires a shift in scientific perspective. While many design principles are still based on formal-aesthetic theories from the early 20th century, findings from neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and perceptual psychology show how colors affect humans as biological orientation systems.

Drawing on current research and international case studies, Prof. Dr. Axel Buether demonstrates how evidence-based color psychology can help ensure that architecture is consistently tailored to the needs of its users—from educational and workplace environments to healthcare facilities and public spaces.

The lecture is aimed at architects, engineers, and anyone who views design not merely as the creation of form, but as a responsibility toward the human experience.

Presentation at the summer festival of the Frankfurt am Main Association of Architects and Engineers (AIV), Thursday, August 13, 2026

Why Enjoyment Begins with the Eyes

Even before we bring a glass of rosé to our lips, our brain has already begun to savor it. Light filters through the wine, its hue shifting between delicate salmon, cool pink, and brilliant ruby—and instantly, expectations arise: of freshness and fruitiness, of mineral clarity, summery lightness, or a warmer, fuller-bodied sweetness.

In the current special issue of Falstaff Magazine, titled “Drink Pink,” I explore the fascinating question of why rosé is so much more than just a color—and why the enjoyment of a wine begins long before the first sip.

The brain gets its share first

Colors are not merely properties of objects. They function as sensory signals that link perception, memory, and physical reactions. Through our lifelong experiences, close associations have formed in our memory between certain shades of color and the corresponding smells and tastes.

The mere sight of a rosé wine can therefore already trigger the processes that prepare the body for enjoyment. Salivation, stomach activity, attention, and emotional anticipation all change, even though the wine has not yet been tasted. The eye provides the brain with an initial prediction of what the tongue and nose might experience shortly.

A pale, cool-looking rosé suggests mineral freshness, dryness, and elegance. A more robust, warmer hue tends to suggest ripe fruit, sweetness, and fullness. These expectations are not without consequence: they shape how we perceive and evaluate the actual taste.

Color, aroma, and taste come together to create a shared experience

Our senses do not operate independently of one another. What we see influences what we smell and taste. Color can enhance flavors, make certain scents seem more likely, and even alter our perception of sweetness, fruitiness, or spiciness.

It is precisely the pink hue of rosé that evokes a rich sensory memory: strawberries and raspberries, peaches, rhubarb, rose petals, or fresh citrus zest. Such associations are not retroactive linguistic attributions. They arise directly in the moment of perception—quickly, physically, and largely unconsciously.

That is why pleasure is never limited to the palate. It arises from the interplay of color, light, aroma, taste, memory, and context.

From Soft Pink to a Cultural Statement

Added to this is the cultural significance of the color. Pink has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent decades. Once a shade long associated with delicacy, femininity, or childishness, it has become a symbol of an urban lifestyle: self-assured, aesthetically sophisticated, pleasure-oriented, and lighthearted, without appearing frivolous.

Rosé is therefore more than just a wine. It creates a certain atmosphere and conveys a certain attitude. Anyone who chooses, opens, or serves rosé is simultaneously communicating ideas of hospitality, a zest for life, and refined enjoyment.

Color speaks before a word is even uttered.

When the Eye Keeps Its Promise

The rosé experience is a prime example of just how profoundly color shapes our perception. The enjoyment begins with the sight of the glass, continues through memory and anticipation within the body, and is finally fulfilled in the moment when what the color foreshadowed is confirmed by the aroma and taste.

Perhaps that is precisely what makes rosé so fascinating: its color holds the promise—and a good wine delivers on it.

You can read my full essay , “Rosé Is a Promise—Why Our Brains Start Drinking the Moment We See the Glass,” in the current special issue of Falstaff , “Drink Pink.”

How much health is there in a room?

More than we see—and far more than has been taken into account in many planning processes to date. Interior spaces are not neutral backdrops. Their colors, lighting conditions, materials, proportions, and spatial structures constantly influence how safe we feel, how well we can orient ourselves, whether we can concentrate or relax, and the extent to which our bodies are stressed or supported by the environment.

Under the theme “Aesthetics & Health – How Interior Design Influences Our Well-Being,” the 2026 Interior Design Summit will bring together leading voices from interior design, architecture, medicine, psychology, research, and planning practice in Berlin from November 13 to 15. I am very pleased to help shape this pioneering professional conference organized by the bdia—the Association of German Interior Architects—with a keynote address and a master class.

From an Aesthetic Choice to a Health-Related Goal

Interior design is still primarily judged on the basis of formal aesthetic criteria. The discussion centers on whether colors, materials, and shapes complement one another, conform to a particular style, or convey a contemporary impression. These criteria remain important—but they are not enough.

The crucial question is not merely what a space looks like, but above all: What effect does it have on the people who spend time there?

Does it promote a sense of direction and emotional security? Does it support concentration, communication, or recovery? Does it reduce stress and sensory overload? Does it convey a sense of protection and safety? Does it stimulate without being overwhelming? And does it take into account the diverse physical, psychological, and social needs of its users?

Health-promoting interior design begins when such objectives are not merely asserted after the design is complete, but are systematically incorporated into the planning process from the very beginning.

Keynote: Color as a Factor in Health

In my keynote address , “Color as a Health Factor,” I explain why the colors of light and surfaces should not be viewed merely as decorative choices. Colors are a fundamental component of our perceptual environment. They structure spaces, direct attention, facilitate orientation, alter the perception of proximity and distance, and shape the emotional atmosphere of a place.

Their effect is by no means created solely by individual shades of color. What is crucial is the complex interplay of color, brightness, contrast, materiality, light, the function of the space, and the context of use. The same color can have completely different effects in different spatial and social contexts.

Based on my many years of research and the latest work from the Institute for Evidence-Based Color Psychology, I will explain how color design can help to,

To reduce stress,
promote a sense of direction and security,
support concentration and performance,
facilitate recovery and rest,
strengthen communication and social participation,
and create health-promoting environments.

This makes color a key design factor in virtually all areas of interior design: for healthcare and long-term care facilities as well as for workplaces, educational spaces, residential buildings, public facilities, and the renovation of existing buildings.

Master Class: Designing Spaces for People – Translating Impact Goals

The masterclass “Designing Spaces for People—Translating Impact Goals” focuses on the practical application of scientific findings in planning practice.

Terms such as well-being, safety, engagement, comfort, and regeneration are frequently used in design processes. However, it is only once it has been clarified what these goals actually mean for a specific user group, activity, and spatial context that sound design decisions can be made.

Together, we explore how abstract requirements can be translated into clear spatial objectives. Building on this, we develop strategies for tailoring color, light, materials, contrast, spatial organization, and atmosphere specifically to the needs of future users.

Participants will gain insights into current research findings and explore a methodological approach that goes beyond personal preferences, conventional color symbolism, and general impact tables. The focus is on evidence-based, user-centered design, in which decisions are grounded in expertise, communicated within the project, and evaluated in terms of their intended impact.

A Necessary Shift in Perspective in Interior Design

The 2026 Interior Design Summit takes place at a crucial turning point for the discipline. In light of growing mental health challenges, an aging society, new ways of working and learning, and increasing demands on care, prevention, and inclusion, the health impact of interior spaces can no longer be treated as a secondary consideration.

Interior design bears responsibility for people’s living conditions. It can exacerbate stress—or counteract it. It can make it harder to find one’s way—or instill a sense of security. It can exclude people—or enable their participation. It can create institutional coldness—or create spaces where dignity, self-determination, and human connection can be experienced.

This is one of the key challenges facing our profession in the future: not to pit aesthetic quality against health benefits, but to view them as inseparable components of good design.

I look forward to professional exchanges with interior designers, planners, researchers, and everyone who not only designs spaces but also seeks to understand their impact on people and use them responsibly.

Interior Design Summit 2026
Aesthetics & Health – How Interior Design Influences Our Well-Being

November 13–15, 2026
AXICA Congress and Conference Center
in the DZ BANK building
Pariser Platz 3, Berlin

Friday, November 13, 2026

Masterclass:
Designing Spaces for People – Translating Impact Goals

Keynote: “
: Color as a Factor in Health“

Link to register with the organizer bdia

With the advent of classical modernism, a design culture emerged that viewed color primarily as a formal means of expression. The Bauhaus, De Stijl, and the color theories of Kandinsky and Albers shaped generations of architects. However, the scientific foundations upon which these concepts were built have changed fundamentally.

In a recent interview with *Bauwelt*, Prof. Dr. Axel Buether explains why color design today must undergo a shift in perspective: away from a predominantly formal-aesthetic approach and toward evidence-based design that focuses on people and their biological needs.

From Form to Effect

Traditional design theory is primarily concerned with how colors, shapes, and compositions relate to one another. Evidence-based color psychology asks a different question:

How do colors affect people?

Neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and perceptual psychology show that colors are far more than just visual properties of surfaces. They influence orientation, attention, emotions, stress regulation, motivation, and social interaction. As a result, design becomes not only an aesthetic task but also a biological and psychological one.

Architecture Needs a Scientific Shift in Perspective

While medicine, psychology, and ergonomics have consistently been guided by empirical research in recent decades, the field of color design is still largely based on historical design theories whose scientific foundations are now outdated.

Evidence-based color psychology views this shift not as a rejection of design tradition, but as its further development. Design thus gains a new scientific foundation that aligns with current findings on perception, behavior, and health.

Design begins with people’s needs

Therefore, the starting point for a design is not the question of an attractive color scheme, but rather the people who will use the space.

What activities take place here? What kind of atmosphere supports them? Should a space be calming, energizing, provide orientation, or encourage communication?

Only once these questions have been answered can color concepts be developed that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also have an impact in everyday life.

Atmospheres Can Be Planned

Colors never have an effect on their own. It is only through their interaction with light, materials, surfaces, and usage that atmospheres are created that convey a sense of security, promote concentration, or support relaxation.

The goal of evidence-based color psychology is to scientifically understand these effects and apply them to architecture, healthcare facilities, educational spaces, work environments, products, and brands.

The future of design is people-centered

The interview ends with a thought that sums up this shift in perspective:

“Clothing is the first space we design. Next come our home, our workplace, and the city.”

Anyone who wants to understand color should therefore look not only at facades and floor plans, but also at the people for whom design is created in the first place.

Link to the full interview in BAUWELT

My new article in *Betriebliche Prävention – Arbeit, Gesundheit, Unfallversicherung* (Occupational Prevention – Work, Health, Workers’ Compensation Insurance ) is the first to consistently classify color and lighting design as an integral part of occupational safety and health. This gives the needs-based design of spaces and workplaces new professional, social, and possibly even legal significance.

In architecture, colors are still often viewed as a matter of taste, aesthetics, or cosmetic enhancement. Light, too, is often planned primarily on the basis of technical specifications. The effect that the overall visual atmosphere of a workspace has on perception, the nervous system, behavior, and health, however, is often overlooked.

This is exactly where my article “Color Design Is Occupational Safety” comes in. It explains why light and the colors of walls, ceilings, floors, surfaces, and furnishings are not merely decorative details. They constitute constant environmental stimuli to which the human body reacts continuously—long before we consciously assess a room.

Work environments can make it easier or harder to find one’s bearings, instill a sense of security or create uncertainty, support concentration or cause additional stress. They can have a calming, energizing, or motivating effect and facilitate recovery. However, they can also intensify visual distraction, sensory overload, monotony, stress, and mental fatigue.

A supposedly “neutral” design featuring white walls, gray floors, and uniform artificial lighting is therefore by no means ineffective. Design monotony, too, influences perception and well-being. The crucial question is not whether spaces have an effect on people, but how they affect them.

From Aesthetics to Preventive Health Care

The particular significance of this publication lies in its professional context. The article does not appear in an architecture or design magazine, but rather in the professional journal *Betriebliche Prävention – Arbeit, Gesundheit, Unfallversicherung* (Occupational Prevention – Work, Health, Workers’ Compensation).

This fundamentally changes the perspective: color and lighting design are no longer discussed solely as a design element, but as a potential component of prevention.

If visual environmental conditions have been shown to influence stress regulation, the ability to concentrate, orientation, emotional stability, motivation, and social interaction, they must also be taken into account in occupational safety and health. A needs-based color scheme therefore affects not only the quality of architecture but also the conditions under which people work every day.

This reassessment could have far-reaching consequences. It opens up the discussion of whether visual and atmospheric impacts must be incorporated more systematically into planning processes, risk assessments, and occupational prevention strategies in the future.

Workplaces affect the nervous system

People spend a significant portion of their lives indoors. There, they are constantly exposed to colors, lighting conditions, contrasts, reflections, and visual stimuli. These influences are not only consciously perceived but are also processed largely subconsciously.

The autonomic nervous system reacts immediately to the quality of the environment. Light influences activity levels, alertness, and biological rhythms. Colors shape perception, direct attention, provide orientation, and influence the emotional assessment of a space.

This is particularly relevant in work environments that are already associated with high levels of mental, physical, or emotional stress—such as hospitals, nursing facilities, schools, government buildings, manufacturing facilities, control centers, or open-plan offices.

In this area in particular, design must not be considered only after all functional and technical decisions have already been made. It must be understood from the outset as part of an overall plan that promotes health.

Evidence-Based Design Instead of Personal Color Preferences

A prevention-oriented color scheme does not mean making rooms as colorful as possible or applying general color guidelines. It must be tailored to the activities, stressors, and psychological needs of the respective users.

Various atmospheric qualities are required:

• Focus and precision,
• Orientation and safety,
• Communication and Collaboration,
• Rest and Recovery,
• Engagement and motivation,
• Identity and Social Belonging.

The appropriate lighting and color qualities depend on the context of use. An intensive care unit has different requirements than a classroom, an administrative office, a production hall, or a break room.

Evidence-based color design therefore does not begin with the selection of individual shades, but rather with an analysis of the usage context. Only then are lighting, room colors, materials, surfaces, and furnishings combined to create an effective overall atmosphere.

Prevention begins with shaping the environment

Drawing on scientific findings and completed research projects, this article demonstrates that needs-based design can promote well-being, orientation, concentration, motivation, and job satisfaction. At the same time, it becomes clear that good design does not necessarily entail higher construction costs.

Often, the key difference lies not in the price of the materials, but in the quality of the design. Once colors and finishes have been determined, they can either be chosen based on personal taste or systematically tailored to their intended effect and function.

This holds significant potential that has hardly been tapped so far: color and lighting design can become a relatively cost-effective tool for workplace prevention.

The workplace of the past century was optimized primarily in technical, functional, and organizational terms. The workplace of the 21st century must also be understood as a biopsychosocial environment.

After all, people don’t just work with their minds and bodies. They always work with their nervous systems as well.

Read the full article “Color Design Is Occupational Safety” in *Betriebliche Prävention*

An international study involving 593 Muslim women who wear headscarves from Germany and Turkey yields surprising insights into color, personality, and religiosity

Wuppertal/Berlin, 2026 – What color does a devout Muslim woman wear, and why? In Western social and political debates, the headscarf is often subject to extreme stereotyping and discussed as a symbol of oppression, patriarchal homogenization, or mere conformity. A new groundbreaking study by the University of Wuppertal and the Berlin Institute for Islamic Theology (Humboldt University of Berlin) now empirically challenges these clichés and shows that the choice of color among Muslim women who wear headscarves is not primarily determined by religious precepts. Rather, women consciously use colors to express their personalities, manage their social impact, and adapt their visibility to different everyday situations.

For the study *Colors of Faith*, 593 Muslim women who wear headscarves from Germany and Turkey were surveyed. For the first time, the study systematically examined how personality, religiosity, and social context influence the choice of headscarf color.

The study reveals a finding with explosive sociopolitical implications that directly contradicts common preconceptions: An overwhelming 97 percent of the women surveyed cited only their personal taste as the most important factor influencing their choice of color. Family, religious authorities, social media, and societal expectations, on the other hand, play a completely minor role in everyday life. The key finding: While religious norms do limit one’s freedom of action, they by no means erase individual personality or women’s self-determination.

“We were able to show that personality remains visible even when religious expectations and social norms influence color choices,” says color psychologist Prof. Dr. Axel Buether of the University of Wuppertal. “Colors are not merely decorative details. They are a tool for visual self-expression.”

One finding regarding religiosity is particularly surprising: It is not being white, but being Black that shows the strongest correlation with a pronounced orientation toward taqwa. This central guiding concept of Islamic practice does not describe a rigid dogma, but rather a comprehensive attitude of inner mindfulness, moral integrity, and ethical self-cultivation in everyday life. While white is often associated with purity and spirituality, black apparently stands more strongly in everyday practice for modesty, seriousness, and a consciously reduced visibility.

At the same time, the data contradicts a widespread stereotype: 97 percent of the women surveyed cite their personal taste as the most important factor influencing their choice of color. Family, religious authorities, social media, and societal expectations play a significantly smaller role.

An international comparison also yields remarkable results. Although the formal expression of basic religious orientation among women in Germany and Turkey is at a comparable level, the way this faith is embedded in their everyday lives differs considerably. Women employ entirely different visual strategies within their respective social contexts. While Muslim women who wear headscarves in Germany more frequently use color choices as a means of expressing individuality and openness within the context of a pluralistic society, everyday practice in Turkey is more strongly shaped by traditional patterns of modesty and the visual principle of “not standing out.”

For religious education specialist and theologian Prof. Dr. Tuba Işık, the study thus sends a clear message to the public: “Our data show unequivocally: Muslim women are diverse—one simply has to be willing to recognize this diversity. In light of these findings, generalizations that reduce the headscarf to a homogeneous, one-dimensional symbol are finally a thing of the past.” In practice, the headscarf proves to be a highly complex, multidimensional system of identity. “Faith is actively and aesthetically shaped by these women. The choice of color is not an act of blind conformity, but an internally rooted, independently reflected practice through which women subtly harmonize their spiritual focus, their personal identity, and the demands of everyday life,” Işık continued.

For the first time, this study combines evidence-based color psychology, personality research, and practical Islamic theology within a single research design. The researchers view this as the beginning of a new interdisciplinary field of research: the empirical study of visual self-communication in the context of personality, religiosity, and social context.

Key Findings at a Glance

• Personality remains visible in the choice of colors, even within the framework of religious norms.
• In all areas of life examined, an openness to new experiences correlates with a more expressive use of color.
• Women systematically adapt their choice of colors to different social situations.
• Black—not white—is the color most strongly associated with taqwa in the study, based on empirical evidence.
• 97% cite their own taste as the most important factor influencing their choice of color.
• Despite comparable levels of religiosity, Germany and Turkey differ significantly in their practices regarding color.
• Color choice serves as a form of visual self-expression that reflects one’s personality, religiosity, and social context.

Scientific Information

To download the study: Colors of Faith – Clothing Colors, Personality, and Religiosity Among Muslim Women Who Wear Headscarves in Germany and Turkey

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20824510

Download English version Colors of Faith

Press Release from the University of Wuppertal

Authors:

Prof. Dr. Tuba Işık

Islamic Religious Education and Practical Theology | Humboldt University of Berlin

Berlin Institute for Islamic Theology

Prof. Dr. Axel Buether

Institute for Evidence-Based Color Psychology | University of Wuppertal