When selecting color for the workplace, schools, correctional facilities, retirement centers, factories and hospitals, aesthetics are very important, but color decisions must also be based on knowledge of how color affects human beings in order for that color design to serve human needs. To begin with, every architectural space must be analyzed in terms of its own particular situation, function, and needs. Specifying architectural color requires the creation of a special palette to anchor the structure and to assist the viewer in perceiving the space. There is no formula for exciting and correct color harmonies in the architectural environment. Years of experience working with color allows the consultant to approach the job intuitively, working with all parts of the spectrum and its variations.
Colors are mixed, studied and changed to find the right grouping or palette.
This creative facility works in tandem with knowledge and a research-based approach to color design. Betty Merken is a color consultant for architecture and is also an artist.