Just found out blue light doesn't actually make you more productive and it threw off my whole office palette

I've been designing workspace color schemes for years and always threw in a cool blue accent thinking it helped focus. Then I stumbled on a study from the University of Nottingham that tested actual task performance under different colors. Turns out blue does nothing measurable for productivity. Warm muted yellows and soft greens actually scored higher on sustained attention tests. I was PISSED honestly. Redid my whole home office palette after that. Now I'm wondering if I should ditch the blue accent wall too. Anyone else built a whole design philosophy around a color myth?

2 comments

2 Comments

rose_murray3d ago

My friend actually painted her whole startup's office walls that specific "productivity blue" from some design blog back in 2019. Spent like $3k on it. Then last year she read the same study and had a meltdown because she'd been telling everyone it was scientifically proven. She ended up putting those peel and stick wallpaper panels over half of it in a warm mustard color just to test the theory before committing to repainting.

michaelcoleman3d ago

Wait, did your friend @rose_murray actually end up preferring the mustard color more than the blue? I mean it's wild how much faith people put in those "scientifically proven" design trends without ever checking the actual study. The peel and stick test is honestly a smart move though, way cheaper than repainting the whole office again. I bet that warm mustard looks way better for a startup vibe anyway.