The Color Gray (It’s a Grey Area)

Colors are a very pivotal part of any design, be it in artwork, fashion, or interior work. Colors carry with them a psychological and superstitious significance, just being around a particular shade of blue makes you feel a certain way. In today’s blog, I wanted to discuss one specific color, gray. Gray is a unique color, it’s not on the rainbow, it’s not a white, it’s not a black, but it has its places and uses, let’s see what we can find out! 

Typically, gray is a common color used in many office settings. People who say that office life is drab and dull would say that the color gray contributes greatly to this. Gray is the color of conformism. That is one of the negatives regarding the color gray, it makes you feel boredom, lifelessness, and depression. So why is it such a common color then? Well, gray teeters on a line of negative & positive connotation, it all depends on how you utilize it.  

Despite the negatives mentioned above. Gray does have some redeeming qualities that may explain why we see it so often. Gray is a color that gives a sense of balance and safety, something we’d very much like to feel while at work. Besides purple, gray is one of the formal colors associated with royalty or strong presence. So as grim as gray may be, it also offers some solidity, a visual pat on the back that your surroundings aren’t harmful in any way. Design wise, gray is a great tool. It helps create a natural more grounded color that may help balance an otherwise colorful room.  Gray is also a very notable color that peeks out in several fabrics and materials. Something that not all colors have in common. 

All in all gray is a mixed bag, existing in a grey area of meaning. Used properly, it could be a wonderful color to spruce up any office, but if you’ve gotten tired of looking at it, then now you know why!