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Big ideas come from blue rooms

Study indicates that memory is sharper in a red room

Blue isn’t just the colour of a sad mood, it could also make us more creative, according to a research by University of British Columbia scientists. After studying 600 people, they found that when words are images are displayed on a blue background on a computer screen, subjects scored better on tests that required imagination. When they were on a red background, people performed better on accuracy, attention to detail and memory. If you want employees to give their best at a  “brainstorming session for a new product” or to come up with an innovative solution, then “you should put people into a blue room,” says Juliet Zhu, an assistant professor of marketing at the business school at the University of British Columbia, and a lead author of the study. The findings build on a body of research examining how colours influence our thinking and processing of information.  

The New York Times

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