Learning Through Colour

1. What is Bright and Bold Interior Design?

Bright and bold interior design is a style that works to create spaces that are visually stimulating and full of energy. The design style does this by combining three distinct elements:

The use of vivid colours such as red, yellow, blue, and green plays a central role in bright and bold design. These colours are visually striking but also have psychological benefits. For instance, yellow can boost concentration and cheerfulness, while blue can promote calm and focus. 

Incorporating these colours into educational spaces can significantly enhance the learning experience of students, by creating an environment that stimulates both the mind and the emotions.

Bold patterns, including geometric shapes, stripes, and floral prints, add texture and visual interest to any space. These patterns can be used on walls, furniture, and accessories to create focal points and break the monotony of plain surfaces. 

When used thoughtfully, bold patterns can energise a room without overwhelming it, making them ideal for educational settings where maintaining a balance between stimulation and focus is crucial.

Incorporating furniture and decor with unique shapes can add an element of surprise and creativity to a space. Curved sofas, angular tables, and sculptural light fixtures not only serve functional purposes but also act as statement pieces.

These unique shapes can make educational spaces more inviting and conducive to innovative thinking.

The strategic use of vibrant colours can positively influence the mood, behaviour, and cognitive functions of both students and teachers.

• Yellow: Boosts concentration and keeps students engaged, making it useful for highlighting important areas or creating accent walls in classrooms. It is also known to promote happiness and alertness, making it ideal for stimulating enthusiasm in classrooms.
• Blue: Encourages a calmer atmosphere that can help students focus on their tasks, improving productivity in study areas and libraries. This calming effect can also reduce help to anxiety and stress during study sessions.
• Red: Increases energy levels and can enhance performance on tasks requiring physical activity, making it suitable for gymnasiums and active learning spaces. Red can also energise and stimulate conversation, which is beneficial in collaborative settings.

Integrating bright and bold design elements into educational environments requires thoughtful planning and a balance between stimulation and focus.

• Start with a Colour Palette: Choose a cohesive colour scheme that includes both vibrant and neutral tones. This helps create a balanced look and prevents the space from becoming overwhelming.
• Use Accent Walls: Paint one or two walls in a bold colour to highlight reading corners, in libraries to create cosy study nooks, or in cafeterias to enliven the atmosphere.
• Incorporate Bold Patterns: Use geometric shapes, stripes, or floral prints on rugs, curtains, or wall decals. Bold patterns can add texture and depth to a room, making it more engaging without being too distracting.

• Choose Colourful Furniture: Opt for furniture pieces in vibrant colours to bring life to the space. For example, bright chairs, tables, and storage units can make a significant impact while also being functional. The Air Side Stacking Chair supplied in eight colours and Desk High 600 Deep 3 Drawer Metal Pedestals are two prime examples.

• Balance with Neutrals: Mix bright and bold elements with neutral tones like white, grey, or beige to avoid overstimulation. Neutrals help ground the design and provide a calm backdrop that highlights vibrant accents.
• Use Natural Light: Maximise natural light to enhance colour and create a more inviting environment. Light, airy spaces feel more open and can make bold colours appear even more vibrant.

• Incorporate Interactive Elements: Add interactive and flexible elements such as movable furniture and writable walls. These features can encourage collaboration and creativity among students. The Oripura Laptop Stand, available in bright yellow, is designed for this kind of ergonomic comfort and portability.

4. A Note on the Importance of Balance

Overusing bold colours and patterns can make a space feel chaotic and distracting, while a well-balanced design fosters a stimulating yet focused learning environment. The key is to create harmony by combining bright accents with calming neutrals, ensuring the space remains inviting and conducive to learning.

Spotlight Bright and Bold Ranges

Each product in the Wagstaff catalogue combines functionality, durability, and vibrant aesthetics to create impactful, bright and bold interiors. The Up and EN ranges are just two of the potential choices and are well worth highlighting.

Up Stools Bright and Bold Range

• Up Junior Stool: Perfect for younger students, this low-level, height-adjustable stool introduces movement into everyday activities. The Junior model is available in six vibrant colours, ensuring a perfect match for any educational setting.
• Stand-Up Stool: Designed for older students, the Stand-Up Stool comes in the same bright colour options as the Up Junior Stool. It features a higher adjustable height range, making it suitable as both a stool and a standing aid. Its intuitive design and clean aesthetics promote flexibility and mobility.

EN’s Classroom Chair - Wide variety of student heights

Bright and Bold Range

• EN Classic Size 6 Polypropylene Chair: Available in an array of bright and bold colours, including purple, blue, yellow, green, red, and orange. This chair is ergonomically designed to encourage attention and improve circulation with its waterfall front. It features an anti-tilt frame and anti-tamper fixings, making it a durable and safe choice for classrooms.
• EN Bob Floor Chair: An innovative and award-winning product, offering a stable sitting position for floor activities. It provides excellent back support and promotes good posture, making it suitable for both children and adults. Available in 16 vibrant colours.
• EN One SM1 Polypropylene Stacking Chair: This chair is designed for durability and strength, moulded from reinforced polypropylene – it is lightweight, easy to clean, and fully recyclable. The EN One SM1 chair stacks up to 21 high, making it a space-saving solution for classrooms, as well as a bright and bold addition.
• EN Computer Chair, Glides: Ideal for IT suites, the EN Computer Chair features a rotating gas lift for height adjustment and is available in 16 bright colours. It can be equipped with glides, castors, or pressure-locking castors, offering versatility and adaptability to various settings.

Find more Bright & Bold Inspiration

Bright and Bold design schemes in the Real World

Yeovil College

Wagstaff’s objective for Yeovil College was to furnish a new HQ building with versatile furniture solutions supporting agile working practices. The project involved providing bespoke call centre workstations and a comprehensive range of task chairs.

The space was lifted through the use of classic bright and bold additions, such as geometric feature walls and pops of colour through chairs, balanced by the grey and white modernism of the spaces and desks.

University of East London Docklands

The University of East London (UEL) engaged Wagstaff under the CCS Framework for a comprehensive CAT B fit-out and loose furniture package at their Docklands campus. The design, initiated by IDEA architects, was focused on creating a collaborative and agile working environment with varied workspace types.

The bright and bold elements in this fitting were much softer. Pops of colour were still utilised, but in order to balance the colours with the lighter wooden elements, softer tones were necessary. This case study is also a brilliant example of how white and black can be used in bright and bold interiors – primary colours aren’t the only way.

Kingston University Town House

Kingston University Town House (KUL), an award-winning building designed by Grafton Architects, required Wagstaff to supply, deliver, and install a range of furniture to complement its innovative architecture. The building spans five floors, housing a library, dance studios, a theatre, and cafes, all designed to promote creativity and shared learning.

This university refit leant into modern elements and the existing industrial charm of the building, but subtle bright and bold pieces were still slotted in, to lift the white plaster and grey stone, giving the space depth and drawing the eye to specific high-backed seating in the communal spaces. Coloured chairs were also mixed across the tables in the cafeteria, giving the space life and movement. 

University of Sussex

The project at the University of Sussex involved furnishing a newly refurbished Student Services Centre amidst the challenges of a global pandemic. Supply chain disruptions and material shortages posed significant challenges.

This project combined the Scandi light woods of the UEL with the industrial vastness of KUL, and using bright pops of green, orange, and blue, the space was dynamised. Large blocks of colour were best for the centre, as each room was quite large – this left space for the use of chequered elements too, found in the carpet and storage lockers. In a more confined space, these patterns could have been overpowering. To tie them in, they were replicated in the seat fabric of several chairs across the centre. 

DISCOVER MORE CASE STUDIES

Bright and bold interior design can significantly enhance educational environments, creating spaces that stimulate learning, creativity, and well-being. Wagstaff offers a diverse range of products that perfectly align with this statement design approach.