7 considerations when creating neurodiverse workspace designs

Last week I wrote an article called Neurodiversity and the future of workplace design where I shared some of the biggest highlights from my recent ‘in conversation’ with Laura Light , Interface 's team design lead on ‘Colour, Behaviour and the Workplace of the Future’ as part of Clerkenwell Design Week.

It’s been great to see that our discussion has sparked a lot of conversations and I hope this is just the beginning of a much-needed industry-wide conversation around designing with neurodiverse people in mind.

I’ve been watching this topic emerge significantly since the pandemic and through my own research, I’ve seen specific things we need to think about as we move forward when creating workplaces that support those who are neurodivergent so that they can do their best work.

To continue this conversation, in this follow-up article, I’m going to be sharing some key considerations when it comes to using colour because we can’t keep designing the way we have been if we want to create inclusive workplaces that are good for everyone, not just neurotypical people.

1. We’re offering social, not clinical solutions ?

I think it’s really important to recognise that as designers, we not offering a clinical solution but rather a social and environmental one.

A social and environmental solution fosters better social interactions and positive outcomes by improving well-being and physical surroundings through design, while a clinical solution focuses on medical and health related interventions.

2. We need an interdisciplinary approach

In order to create the best outcomes in workplace design for neurodivergent and neurotypical people, we need an interdisciplinary solution because humans are complex.

Which means we need experts from different groups such as clinicians, health care workers, parents, designers, management, neurodivergent people, etc, all coming together to create spaces that meet all of a human’s complex needs.

3. There’s no one-size-fits-all or quick fixes

The challenge with new or emerging areas in any industry, is that we want to quickly define it, label it, and solve it, so that we can move on to the next idea. This is a natural tendency for humans. We want to seek quick solutions because of our innate desire for efficiency.

But the problem with that as I said above, humans are complex and therefore we can’t just fit neurodivergence into a neat box.

As leading neurodivergent expert Doctor Stephen Shaw stated, “If you meet one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” This can be said for any neurodivergent style.

So the current one-size-fits-all colour palettes that some companies are coming out with as a solution to neurodivergent designs is, in fact, treating everyone like they are the same. And it’s not actually addressing the complexity of designing to incorporate neurodivergent styles.

I’ve seen the same thing for what I have coined the “home-away-from-home” design trend that are filtering into workplaces that I mentioned in my previous article.

So what we need is a deeper, nuanced approach to design that incorporates far more complexity.

4. Workplace culture needs to be inclusive of neurodivergent needs

Neurodivergent needs to be more than just a buzzword and designers need to be mindful of getting full stakeholder support to create neurodivergent supportive design in the workplace.

We have a duty of care to make sure our clients understand that this kind of work is not just about changing desks around, adding in a few pot plants or painting a wall green. These are the quintessential quick fixes we talked about above and, neurodivergent design is, as we talked about, are far more nuanced.

So in addition to management being on board, workplace culture also needs to be supportive of neurodivergent needs, their self-regulation needs and their energy management needs. When everyone is on board, it gives neurodivergent people the autonomy to meet their own needs when they arise in a supportive, inclusive workplace.

5. Colour is essential to successful neurodivergent design

One thing that is often overlooked is colour.

In neurodivergent design, there is a lot of talk around lighting, acoustics, signage and wayfinding which is great, however we can’t dismiss the powerful impact that colour has on our emotions.

And if we are looking to support people with their emotional regulation, then colour is going be integral to that outcome.

The nuances in supporting people’s emotional states through colour is recognising that we all have different needs that will change throughout the day depending on each person’s activities and location.

So there is no one size-fits-all approach which is why we need to move away from those grey or monotone place workplaces of old. Those spaces kept everyone in one emotional state, so we’re a far cry from supporting diverse needs in any workplace.

We are not homogenised worker bees, and our design needs to support that reality, so it focuses not just on function and form, but on our sensory, emotional and behavioural needs as well.

6. When it comes to colour, there can be too much of a good thing

When it comes to colour, it’s the nuances that can make or break a colour scheme and the results your client is looking for.?

Colour psychology is one of the powerful colour tools you can use in neurodivergent design for the workplace because it incorporates a greater level of nuance that goes far beyond the traditional colour wheel.

If you’re using the traditional colour wheel, you might think for example that all blues, are the same. However there are cool blues and warm blues. There are light blues, vivid blues and dark blues. And each of them will elicit a different emotional state and not only on their own but with the colours they are combined with. It’s the same for every colour whether that’s a tint, tone or shade or its saturation.

While we think we might have the right colour, it’s important to know that too much of the right colour can also flip a scheme from people experiencing the positive traits to experiencing the adverse, which is what we’re seeing with the current ‘colour trenching’ trend.

One example where I’ve seen this happen a lot is with the colour yellow. When it comes to colour psychology some of the positive traits of yellow are happiness and feeling uplifting, but if you use too much yellow or the wrong yellow, then people can feel overwhelmed, irritated and actually start to feel depressed.

So when we’re using colour in any design, we need to know when using too much of one colour will actually flip the result we’re after in the wrong direction.

7. We need to focus on behaviours, not a mood or a feeling

One of the things that makes my work different is that my signature framework focuses on delivering positive behavioural outcomes, not a mood or a feeling.

The reason I work this way is because you can measure behaviours, but you can’t measure a mood or a feeling.

So I’m really advocating for designers to create colour palettes and designs styles that focus on how people behave in the spaces that they work in, not focus on an aesthetic mood.

This is the shift we need to see if we want to create spaces into the future where everyone, neurotypical and neurodivergent alike, want to be at work, and the space supports them to do their best work.

If you are wanting to create a workplace that supports neurodivergent needs, and you’d like help with that, then contact me so we can discuss how I can support you to create that in your workspace.

Or if you’re in the design industry and would like to learn how to design using my framework which gives you measurable, repeatable results then check out my colour & design mentoring programme here.

Colourfully yours,

Karen

This article contains original ideas, theories, and frameworks. It may not be reproduced or copied in part or whole without written permission from the author.

Sources: Billy Roberts, clinical director of Focused Mind

Reference: Neurodiversity and the future of workplace design?

Image: taken at the Interface showroom during Clerkenwell Design Week 2024.