#OhSoNatalie
Our monthly newsletter sharing Natalie’s favourite brands, the people behind them, and ideas about how we can go that little bit further with our creativity.
Karen Haller is #OhSoNatalie
Karen Haller’s The Little Book of Colour is a book I return to often — filled with profound yet practical insights into the psychology of colour. I love how colour can shift mood and energy in a space. This month, I’m overjoyed to feature Karen herself, sharing how we can use colour to live more authentically.
QUESTION 1
What is your favourite colour & why?
My favourite colour is orange, the bright, warm orange of a marigold calendula flower. I love its warmth and playfulness. It makes me smile whenever I see it. It’s a reminder of my essential fun-loving nature and connects me to the playful side of my personality.
Even though it’s my favourite colour, I don’t wear much orange because it can feel a little too high-energy for me. I’d be bouncing off the ceiling.
Instead, I love to bring it into my life in small splashes. A vase of orange marigolds, tulips, or poppies instantly brings joy into my home. I’ve a pair of orange shoes that I adore. Whenever I look down, it feels like I have fun on my feet.
QUESTION 2
What are you working on at the moment that you find exciting?
What I love about my work is that no two days are ever the same. At the moment I am working on a colour campaign for a drinks company and another for a wallpaper brand.
I am developing the branding for a client’s business. I am part of a workplace consortium preparing a proposal for a large-scale interiors refurbishment. I am judging a colour awards for graduate students which is always so inspiring to see up and coming talent.
I also run my own courses, teaching designers from around the world how to apply colour and design psychology to their work.
Alongside this, I am consulting on several projects where I am brought in as the troubleshooter to uncover what’s going on when a client isn’t happy with what they have been shown.
Even though these projects are so varied, they all have one thing in common.
Each gives me the chance to explore the emotional impact of colour. What excites me most is discovering how each choice can influence the way people feel and behave when they experience those products and spaces.
This is where my investigative side comes alive. I get to look beyond aesthetics and uncover the emotional story each colour tells. When a brand, a client embraces the idea that colour isn’t just decoration but a powerful tool for creating connection, experience and positive behaviours, that’s when the magic happens.
QUESTION 3
For anyone who has not read it yet, what is The Little Book of Colour about and why might it be for them?
At its heart, The Little Book of Colour is about showing people how to use colour to live authentic, joyful, and natural lives. It’s about using colour to express the essence of who you are and to live from the inside out in your own unique style.
Through the psychology of colour, I show how it can create experiences that nourish and support you. It can help you shine more brightly, express the essence of who you are, and transform the way you feel and live every day.
This book was written for everyone who loves colour, wants to reconnect with it, or simply wants to understand what a powerful tool it can be.
It shows how to bring colour into daily life in ways that make you feel good in what you wear, create harmonious spaces at home that support you, and boost your overall wellbeing.
If someone wants to improve an area of their life and experience how colour can nourish and uplift them, they will find the tools and inspiration inside these pages.
It's a book for the everyday colour lover. What I didn't expect was it to be so well received by the design community.
My mission to share the love of colour is well on its way, with the book now translated into 14 languages.
QUESTION 4
Where do you go for / what do you do for inspiration?
Nature is my ultimate teacher because it shows me how colour and design works in harmony. She has had thousands of years to perfect it.
We are part of nature, and when we spend time in it, we feel that connection. We see ourselves reflected in its colours and forms, and the ones we are most drawn to are the ones that express who we truly are.
I study these natural colour and design relationships in their purest form and turn what I learn into simple, practical ways.
These become the tools I bring into my client work and share with my students, helping them create colours, spaces, products that feel as effortless and alive as nature itself.
QUESTION 5
Do you have a cherished object you would never part with? What is it & why?
Other than family photos, it would have to be the painting my aunty gave me. She was originally from Austria but moved to the Italian part of Switzerland in her early twenties.
She married an architect, immersed herself in the local art scene, and even had her own fashion boutiques. She was a passionate art collector and loved to travel.
On one of my visits to her, I remember jokingly asking if she would leave a particular painting to me in her Will. She smiled and said, “I’ll do one better,” then took it straight off the wall and handed it to me there and then.
ABOUT KAREN HALLER
Karen Haller is the leading global authority in behavioural colour and design psychology. She helps brands, designers, and businesses use colour and design strategically to influence behaviour, drive engagement, and support commercial success. With over 20 years of experience, her work is grounded in human behaviour and nature’s design principles, focusing on how colour impacts the way we feel, interact, and make decisions. She consults, teaches, and speaks internationally, and is the author of The Little Book of Colour, which has been translated into 14 languages and brings colour psychology to a global audience in an accessible and practical way. Karen’s approach combines scientific insight with real-world application, helping clients bring their ideas to life with clarity, purpose, and measurable results.
Follow Karen Haller on Instagram @karen_haller_colour