Dulux Trade has upgraded its colour schemer tool to make exploring colours and visualising schemes in healthcare environments even easier and more effective.
The Dulux Trade Colour Schemer is a multi-platform, mobile-optimised tool that can be used on any device to allow designers of public or private healthcare spaces to create professional branded mood boards, all in a few clicks.
While colour may have previously been an afterthought in the creation of new healthcare facilities; new research is emphasising the beneficial effects that appropriate colour schemes can have on both patients and staff, aiding many things from recovery to making environments less confusing or frightening for patients living with dementia.
The tool allows users to review and adapt a range of colour schemes, created by colour experts at Dulux Trade.
Schemes are created around a chosen start colour, such as flooring or furnishings already in place, or simply a preferred wall colour.
The software then renders a colour scheme within the selected image and the start colour or co-ordinating shades can be swapped in and out, or viewed in different images, until the desired outcome is achieved.
The healthcare colour schemes give users access to knowledge from decades of experience that the Dulux Trade team has experience in designing supportive environments within the private and public healthcare field.
This expertise includes the development of evidence-based design principles for healthcare, such as the Dulux Trade Healthcare Colour Palette, created with partners Procur 22; and a Dulux Trade Dementia-Friendly Colour Palette and Design Guide, developed based on learnings from a ground-breaking dementia demonstration home created at the Building Research Establishment in Watford.
Using the Dulux Trade Colour Schemer, it is straightforward to design a selection of co-ordinated spaces for a project in one session as the tool offers a variety of room types, such as treatment areas and waiting rooms.
And the resulting mood boards can be saved and shared as PDFs or accurately colour printed by Dulux Trade and delivered to site, allowing designs to be shared with clients, colleagues or building users for evaluation and sign off.
The new and improved tool now includes a wider selection of photography, pre-coloured mood boards, and the ability to toggle between different colours in the mood board.
Paul Fleming, marketing manager contractor specifier at Dulux Trade, said: “Colour is an essential element of any space and can have a major impact in a healthcare setting. We want to enable our customers to use colour more easily and effectively.
“The colour schemer allows users to draw on the expertise of Dulux Trade to build designs that create the desired outcome for a healthcare space and its occupants, whatever the sector or scale.”
He adds: “The colour schemer is already in regular use by commercial customers across the country, and with the added flexibility and choice introduced with this upgrade, it will prove an even more effective tool for creating tailored colour designs to meet our customer needs.”