Read the full transcript of Dagny Thurmann-Moe’s talk titled “How The Colors Around You Impact Your Mood” at TEDxArendal 2025 on Feb 22, 2025.
Listen to the audio version here:
TRANSCRIPT:
The World is Turning Gray
Imagine waking up in a world that’s slowly turning gray. The buildings, the streets, our cars, your office, your classroom, even your own home and maybe yourself too. Everything feels muted, dull and lifeless. Now ask yourself, how would you or do you feel, tired, depressed, uninspired? I’m here today because that’s the reality for so many of us across the globe. Our surroundings have steadily lost their colors and many live in an almost full-on grayscale world. As our world becomes more advanced, our surroundings seem to have become less thoughtful and less human. In the rush toward progress, we’ve lost touch with nature and forgotten just how essential it is to our well-being. I say it’s time that we break free from the grayscale.
But what exactly is the grayscale and why does it matter? Simply put, it’s the absence of color. From white to gray to black, three non-colors that have somehow become the default answer to every single design challenge. But here’s the problem. These aren’t solutions. In fact, they may be one of the greatest obstacles to creating environments where we as humans truly thrive. What does research tell us about how we actually feel in environments deprived of color? White, while often symbolizing purity, can overstimulate our senses in large amounts, causing discomfort, problems with focus and concentration, and even headaches for some. So why is this the color that we still use in hospitals, psychiatric institutions, and schools?
Gray, associated with neutrality, can lead to emotional flatness or even depression over time as our perception of color becomes muted.
It’s also a favorite in public spaces. And black, though seen as elegant or powerful, can evoke feelings of heaviness, isolation, or anxiety when overused, as it often triggers emotional responses tied to danger and the unknown. This to me looks like the headquarter of Darth Vader or the villain of any movie you can think of. This is where they would want to be. In a nutshell, environments dominated by white, gray, and black can create stress, hinder focus, dampen our mood, and increase feelings of isolation. Understanding these psychological effects is crucial for designing spaces that promote well-being and enhance our overall quality of life.
So what exactly do we need? This is the most important question, and to answer that, let’s go back to the beginning. We humans are mammals, and we originate from nature. There’s a term for our innate connection to the natural world, biophilia. It’s the belief, and it’s backed by research, that humans thrive in environments that reflect or connect us back to nature. This is where color becomes essential. In nature, color is all around us. It’s in the greens of forests, the blues of sky and water, the vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows of sunsets, flowers, and autumn leaves. These are colors that instinctively calm us, energize us, or help us feel more connected to our surroundings.
So what do we do when we recognize that our environments are literally draining our energy, causing stress, or even contributing to feelings of depression? It’s quite easy to see, right? My team and I at Koi Color and Design Studio are dedicated to reintroducing thoughtful, intentional color into our built environments, transforming how spaces are experienced and felt. We transform buildings, streets, offices, schools, and classrooms, and homes. Let’s look at three projects where we use color to transform both the appearance and atmosphere of these pretty ordinary buildings.
This large housing development from the early 2000s was transformed from a generic and objectively speaking both chaotic and monotonous color palette, dominated by grays and non-facade colors. We didn’t just replace the non-colors with actual colors. We introduced a carefully chosen palette that draws from Oslo’s cultural and historical colors and complements the varied and challenging lighting conditions in the Nordics throughout the year. The colors not only create an inviting atmosphere, but also interact beautifully with daylight, bringing a warm, welcoming ambience that shifts during the day. This approach transformed not just the look, but also the experience of the building itself.
From a long and seemingly never-ending structure to what the homeowners now describe as their townhouses. The complex is perceived as being smaller because we’ve divided up the structure both horizontally and vertically. The top floor even got a roof color, which makes the eye perceive it as a roof and not part of the main structure. The result? A higher level of satisfaction from the homeowners, increased sales prices, and digital thank you notes sent from both the homeowners and their neighbors.
Where do I live? Large building complexes like these have popped up across the world, and what we know is that they look huge and disorientation is a common problem. Here we see the grayscale dominating the body of the building with a strange vertical split on an already slim structure, making it appear even taller than it actually is. Pops of orange feel like a sickness, some kind of parasite on the building. This is what happens when you know nothing about color and try to do something funny. A key goal for this project was to split the structures horizontally instead of vertically, giving the building a feeling of being shorter and smaller. We also used warm natural colors on the facade to create a warmer and friendlier atmosphere, abandoning the sterile look of the grayscale palette, but also making the orange squares seem more related to the rest of the building. Now they feel more at home.
Can a home look like an institution? I say yes. These terraced houses were only four years old when the homeowners contacted us in dire need of a makeover of the facade. These homes were marketed as exclusive terraced houses, but the locals were unimpressed with the newcomer, expressing their views with weekly graffiti and tagging on the facade. This made the grayish diarrhea-colored building look even worse, like something unwanted and unneeded. I was incredibly excited when we received the inquiry. This was the perfect project to show just how important colors are for how we experience a structure.
The problem wasn’t really the architecture. It was the lack of colors, the monotonous palette, and the unfriendly tones that made this new building feel disconnected from the vibrant character of the street. The building did not just lack color. It lacked belonging. It was disconnected from the rest of the area, Grimløkka, a colorful and vital part of Oslo. We decided to break up the volume. This was five home sections, not one institution. We wanted people to recognize their home, and we also wanted people walking by realizing that these are people’s homes. Homes that they care about.
The Impact of Thoughtful Color Design
We crafted a color palette inspired by the immediate surroundings, blending historical references with hues that feel warm and inviting in any weather. Soft greens, pale blue, a sophisticated pink, and a rich, deep orange, all drawn from the ultimate inspiration, nature. Each home has a unique and intricate color palette consisting of five different colors and nuances with entryways that reveal their character as you walk by. This sparks curiosity among passersby, giving the complex a warm and welcoming feel. The transformation went beyond aesthetics. It had a profound impact on the community.
We observed improvements in people’s mood, an uplifted sense of well-being, and a renewed pride among both homeowners and locals. And the graffiti stopped. This is four years ago, and there hasn’t been a tag since. People even adjusted their daily routines to work, just to pass by and enjoy the transformation. Once again, heartfelt digital thank yous flowed in from residents and neighbors alike.
Looking at these transformations, it’s clear that color is far more than just an aesthetic choice. It’s essential to our well-being. Through thoughtful design, we’ve been able to turn sterile, lifeless spaces into homes and communities that people are proud of. We’ve seen how small shifts in color can change not just how buildings look, but how they’re lived in, from increasing satisfaction to boosting a sense of belonging. But here’s the thing. It’s not just about individual cities or buildings. This is about the kind of world we want to live in.
Our environments shape our moods, our energy, and our health. By breaking free from the grayscale and embracing color, we create spaces where people feel more alive, more connected, and more harmonious, happier. So the question I leave you with today is this. What kind of world do you want to wake up to? One drained of life and energy, or one that reflects the richness of nature, the very colors that make us feel at home in the world? The choice is ours. Let’s make it a colorful and human-friendly one. Thank you. Thank you.
