Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Michelle Lewis of Coeur D’Alene, Idaho

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Michelle Lewis. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Michelle, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: Who are you learning from right now?
I’m getting my EMBA from Quantic University, so it’s teaching me SO much when it comes to the financial and administrative side of running a business.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Michelle Lewis, founder of The Color Institute™ and creator of the Universal Color Psychology Standard™. My work sits at the intersection of science, psychology, and design; helping organizations and leaders understand how color influences behavior, emotion, and decision-making.

What makes my approach unique is that I’ve built a framework backed by research rather than folklore. It equips universities, corporations, and creative industries with a consistent process for interpreting and applying color so they can improve branding, environments, and even employee well-being.

Right now I’m focused on expanding our partnerships with universities and corporations, developing certification programs, and continuing to educate the public on the transformative power of color psychology. It’s my mission to make color a strategic tool in people lives so they can live within the supportive field of color (the way life is meant to be lived).

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I adamantly believed I could fly. I waited at the window for Peter Pan at night and during the day I tied palm branches to my arms and tried jumping off high things. Completely convinced! I no longer believe that I can literally fly, but I dream that I can quite often to this day.

What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
I completely changed my career trajectory. I had comfortably been running my former business teaching visibility, but suffered a terrible miscarriage during the pandemic after getting sick. It felt like hitting the very bottom of rock bottom. I knew I was no longer the same person and had to rediscover my joy and work at coming back to life in a different way. The only thing that piqued my interest was color, so I threw myself entirely into its research. It led me to writing a book, starting a new business and shifted everything for me.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I’m personally committed to bringing accurate, research-backed color psychology to the world, no matter how long it takes. When I first began exploring color, its impact on us physically, emotionally and mentally truly shocked me. I saw how much misinformation was guiding major decisions in branding, design, and even wellness…people using incorrect colors and creating disastrous results. That realization became a turning point for me…I knew someone had to build a reliable standard.

For me, this isn’t just a business goal; it’s a lifelong mission. I’ve seen firsthand how the right use of color can improve environments, support mental health, and even help children self-regulate. Creating a global, universal standard for color psychology may take years, but I’m in it for the long haul because I know the impact will ripple far beyond my own work.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I used to do what I was told to do. I found a “safe” area in my business where I could teach visibility and publicity safely behind my computer screen – away from film and television sets that stole my work. It took a long time for me to turn away from careers I thought I was supposed to be a part of. The pivot to color I think is part of the work I was born to do. Every time I see someone have a major shift in their life or business or family due to different color choices, I think, “that’s it. that’s what God put color on this earth for.”

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