Choosing the Right Sign Colour for Your Care Home
The right sign colour depends on your wall colours, lighting conditions, and design preferences -- but contrast always comes first. This guide helps you choose a colour scheme that looks great and meets DSDC accessibility standards.
Choosing a sign colour scheme is one of the most common questions care home managers ask when upgrading their signage. The temptation is to match signs to the existing decor, but in dementia-friendly design, contrast always takes priority over coordination. A sign that blends beautifully with the wall is a sign that residents cannot see. The goal is to find a colour scheme that provides excellent contrast while also complementing your interior design.
Start With Your Wall Colours#
The first step is to identify the predominant wall colours in your care home. Most UK care homes use neutral tones: magnolia, cream, pale grey, or light blue. These light-toned walls work well with most sign colour schemes because the white acrylic sign base already provides good contrast against light walls. The key is to ensure that the sign imagery and text provide additional contrast against the white sign base. Our range of colour options -- from oak and walnut tones to bold purples, blues, reds, and greens -- are all designed to meet DSDC 1A contrast standards.
Colour scheme recommendations by wall colour:
- Magnolia/cream walls: Most sign colours work well; oak, walnut, and bold colours all provide strong contrast
- Light grey walls: Avoid grey-toned signs; choose warm tones (oak, garnet red) or bold colours (purple, blue)
- Light blue walls: Avoid blue-toned signs; choose contrasting warm tones (oak, walnut, garnet red)
- White walls: Any sign colour works, but consider adding a coloured backing panel for sign-to-wall contrast
- Dark walls (rare): Choose the lightest sign colour available and ensure mounting hardware is visible
- Feature walls: Match the sign colour to the predominant corridor wall colour, not the feature wall
Pro Tip
Order a free sample pack and hold each colour option against your actual walls under your actual lighting. Colours look very different on screen compared to real life, and care home fluorescent lighting can shift colour perception significantly.
Creating a Cohesive Palette#
Consistency is more important than any individual colour choice. Select one colour scheme for your entire care home and use it for every sign type: door signs, projecting signs, directional signs, and personalised bedroom signs. This visual consistency builds a recognisable sign language that residents can learn. If your care home has distinct wings or floors, you may choose different accent colours for each area -- but the core sign design and primary colours should remain consistent.
Colour and Emotion#
Colour psychology plays a role in how residents experience their environment. Warm tones (oak, walnut, sage brown) create a homely, domestic atmosphere. Cool tones (Carolina blue, veridian green) feel clinical but calming. Bold tones (garnet red, purple) create strong visual landmarks but can feel institutional if overused. The DSDC recommends warm, domestic colour palettes for residential care settings, as these reduce the institutional feel that contributes to anxiety in residents with dementia.
If you are redecorating your care home, involve your signage supplier early in the process. Choosing wall colours and sign colours together ensures optimal contrast from the outset, avoiding the costly mistake of painting walls in colours that make your existing signs invisible.
Recommended Products
Our DSDC 1A-accredited signs are available in a range of carefully designed colour schemes, each validated for contrast performance. All signs feature textured 3D print on 5mm solid white acrylic. Try our free sample to see how each colour looks against your walls.
The right colour choice balances contrast, aesthetics, and emotional impact. Start with contrast, narrow your options by wall colour compatibility, then choose the tone that best reflects the atmosphere you want to create for your residents.
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