Whether we’re reorganizing an office or relocating it entirely, one of the best organizational methods at our disposal is color-coding. We certainly don’t live in a monochromatic world. But amid the fluorescent lights and white papers of the traditional office setting, bursts of color have a way of really making themselves noticed. Color-coding seems simple at first glance, but there are a few nuances to this strategy that you should keep in mind before you start slapping the entire rainbow across your papers and filing cabinets. Take note of the most effective color-coding methods and techniques and use color like a pro.
Keep Colors Bright
Slate blue, burgundy, beige, and moss green are tasteful colors for an interior decorator. For the office organizer, they’re quite a bit less desirable. Color-coding needs to be striking to be effective. You want to see this information loud and clear. The strength of color-coding labels from Chromalabel isn’t just that they’re as durable as they need to be—they’re also vivid. Our labels and stickers come in eye-catching, bright colors that won’t fade, allowing your color-coding system to endure in the face of direct sunlight and the passing of time.
Keep Colors Distinct
There are only 360 degrees on the color wheel. Once you start using too many colors, the method loses its efficacy. Sure, you can tell the difference between red and magenta, or cyan and cerulean. However, you can’t expect everyone who uses your system to decipher the subtle nuances of similar hues. If you get to the point where you’ve assigned lime green to one group of items and neon green to another, you may have stretched the color-coding scheme beyond its limit.
Use Existing Color Associations
Your brain has naturally been doing color-coding long before you implemented this system at your office. The most effective color-coding methods and techniques account for this. For example, consider the use of red. We associate this hue with stoplights, urgency, and aggression—it is, after all, “code red” and not “code taupe.” Make sure that anything you color-code with red receives the same emergency connotation. The same goes for yellow, the color of caution. Fluorescent hues like bright green, bright orange, electric blue, and hot pink tend not to have the same pre-existing connotations to contend with. The same goes for pastels such as lavender, pastel green, and the ever-popular creamsicle orange. These are all colors that Chromalabel has to offer across our lines of products.
