The Creative Boost of the Color Green
I have found few research projects with more immediate value than the one out of the University of Munich, conducted in 2012, when it was discovered that staring at the color green for 30 seconds had a 25% improvement on creative performance.
The researchers designed a series of creative exercises that would require participants apply a full range of creative cognitive processes. After establishing a baseline score the researchers had subsequent participants stare at blocks of color for 30 seconds and then complete the exercises. The folks who stared at red and the folks who started at blue showed no change in their scores; no other color they tested had any impact, except green.
The folks who stared at the color green had, on average, a 25% improvement in their creative performance scores.
I went out that day and bought a green folder and I carried it with me everywhere I went and took it out to stare at it two or three times a day, and especially when I was sitting down for a concentrated effort.
Now I use my creative green card in a similar fashion, and you’ll find one too if you scroll down on the home page of my website.
Why green? I’ll bet you can guess, and if you are stumped just look out the window on a spring day and describe what you see.