Part 8: Joy and Equity: Everyone Deserves Color and Beauty

Welcome to The Everyday Science of Joy, a 13-part series for educators and caregivers brought to you by the ESSDACK Resilience Team and inspired by the work of Ingrid Fetell Lee around The Science of Joy. We’re diving into what brain science tells us about joy: why it matters, how it shapes our nervous systems, and how we can design classrooms, homes, and communities that help people truly thrive.

Each post, we’ll explore one joyful concept and connect it to practical, brain-based strategies you can use right away. Think of this series as a little dose of inspiration and science, wrapped up with curiosity, compassion, and maybe even a laugh or two because joy is serious business (and seriously good for us)!

Here’s the hard truth: joyful design is often treated as a luxury. But joy is an equity issue. Yep.

Look at nursing homes, detention centers, low-income schools. Too often they’re beige, bare, and too often they feel punitive. Yet paint costs the same in the color beige as it does in turquoise. When we withhold color and beauty, we unintentionally communicate that joy must be earned. It must be deserved.

We on the ESSDACK Resilience team believe joy is a human right, not a reward. When we infuse under-resourced spaces with art, light, and warmth, we say: you belong here too.

✨ Joy Practice Challenge: Notice who in your environment has the least access to joy, then give it freely. Add color, care, or comfort where it’s missing most.