PRINCIPLES OF COLOR SELECTION IN HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

Among the human senses, sense of sight has always been the strongest sense for obtaining information about the world. On the one hand, the visual quality of the environment has positive effect on the feelings of area users. This issue seems more important for hospitals and other healthcare centers, which their aim is accelerating the recovery process. In this regard, color is one of the most important aesthetic and functional factors that can provide attractive and appealing conditions for patients, visitors, and staff. According to the importance of color in improving the visual quality of the designed environment, this study has been started by examining the necessity of color design in healthcare environments, and through investigating a diverse range of patients referring to these areas, studies aesthetic and functional factors of color that can be effective on their physical and mental health. This issue includes desirable and undesirable elements of applying color n the environment for all age groups; in order to specify that the best basis for color selection in healthcare environments is recognizing the audience of that area. In the following it is mentioned that this recognition has the most efficiency when it is associated with understanding the user type of that area. Thus, healthcare environments have been studied in terms of user type and requirements of color design that are determined based on each of them.Accordingly, it is specified that how skillful use of color can help overcoming sensory deprivations, as a result of lack of view motivation in the lifeless healthcare environments, and accelerating the recovery process by facilitating movement and routing besides creating a refreshing environment.