It’s understood that colours can alter mood and energy levels. In children, they can have a direct role in creating the right conditions for learning.

At Playcubed, we understand how to use colour to create spaces that inspire play and expression. It may surprise you how colour in schools playground equipment impacts on children’s development.

Colour helps keep children’s futures bright
Colours influence how children feel and how they learn – so design matters.
 
Before we can read and write, we rely on what we see to describe the world and communicate with others. Children respond to primary colours as they help organise and navigate the objects they encounter. But that is only part of the complex role that colour plays in what we experience.
 
Our sight also develops over a surprisingly long period of time, from around 6 months to 10 years of age. In addition, over time, our response to colours changes over time. It’s observed that in the early years, children radiate to the primary colours of red, yellow and blue and seldom favour black, brown or greys.
 
When it comes to learning, the way colours impact on a child’s readiness to learn is gaining attention ; as colours stimulate the brain to release hormones which affects mood, mental clarity and energy levels.
 
This is a particular issue for students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) as they can be more sensitive to colour due to heightened sensory responses and strong visual processing abilities. To prevent over-stimulation, subdued colour schemes in warm neutral colours can benefit children with ASD and ADD/ADHD, helping to improve attention and motor processes.
 
Knowing how to employ which colour and where is important and affects how the body, as well as the mind, responds. Red increases heart rate and raise blood pressure, while blue has a calming effect, and sight – and hearing-impaired children frequently favour blue.
 
Researching how children respond, educator and designer Antonio F. Torrice summarised which colour influences our physical systems:
Motor Skill Activity – Red
Circulatory System – Orange
Cardiopulmonary – Yellow
Speech Skill Activity – Green
Eyes, Ears and Nose – Blue
Nonverbal Activity – Violet
At Playcubed, we understand how to employ colours in our designs and we work with schools to create outdoor spaces that inspire play, exploration and expression – whether a play area or an outdoor classroom.
 
Working with schools and children of all ages and development needs, we have seen that colour in playground equipment boosts creativity, productivity and learning for all.
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