A new study presented yesterday on the journal Science’s Web site points out that certain colors can help in different situations, with red making people’s work more accurate and blue helping people develop a more creative mood.

The research was conducted by the scientists from the University of British Columbia and it involved 600 people. They were invited to perform a series of tasks on the computer with words and images displayed against red, blue or neutral backgrounds.

“If you’re talking about wanting enhanced memory for something like proofreading skills, then a red color should be used,” explained Juliet Zhu, an assistant professor of marketing at the business school at the University of British Columbia, who conducted the study. The red groups showed improved results on tests of recall and attention to details, which included check spelling and punctuation or remembering words.

On the other hand, in the event of “a brainstorming session for a new product or coming up with a new solution to fight child obesity or teenage smoking,” Dr. Zhu continued, “then you should get people into a blue room.” The blue groups were significantly better on tasks that demanded imagination, such as creating toys from certain shapes and finding creative uses for a brick.

The people involved in the study were asked if they believed that the colors would improve their performances, and the general belief was that blue would help in both areas, detail-oriented and creative tasks. The explanation provided by Dr. Zhu is that this response was given because more people prefer blue to red.