Colors For A Brand
A brand color palette sets the mood, attracts attention, and makes a statement. When choosing colors for a brand, it’s essential to consider several factors, including the brand identity, values, target audience and desired brand personality.
Captivating colors and images make people stop and look. Your story can be powerful and well-written, but it’s “the look” that will provoke people to read it. The first impression is crucial and the colors, are a big part of it.
A consistent color palette, used across all your media and publications is necessary to be recognized and remembered. It is one of the basic elements of a good branding strategy.
How to Choose your Brand Colors
1. Define Your Brand Identity and Values
Consider your company’s mission, vision, and unique selling propositions. Think about the emotions you want to evoke in your target audience. This understanding will serve as a foundation for selecting colors that align with your brand.
2. Research Colors Psychology
Different colors are associated with different emotions. For example, blue can evoke trust and professionalism, while red can signify energy and passion. Research the meanings of different colors. Consider how these meanings can align with what your company wants to offer. For your convenience, I prepared here a PDF file listing the meaning of several popular colors:
3. Consider Your Target Audience
Study the demographics, preferences, and cultural backgrounds of the people you want to reach. Different colors have different cultural and regional associations. For example, while white signifies purity in Western cultures, it represents mourning in some Eastern cultures. Younger people prefer colors that are bold, bright, and flashy. A mature audience may respond better to a harmonized and toned-down color palette.
4. Evaluate Industry Standards
Research the color schemes commonly used in your industry. While it’s important to differentiate your brand, it’s also essential to fit within the industry’s norms and standards. Analyze the colors used by your competitors and identify opportunities for differentiation. This will help you strike the right balance between standing out and fitting in.
How Many Colors Do You Need for a Brand?
The number of colors in a Brand Palette can vary depending on several factors, including the brand’s industry, target audience, and overall brand identity.
That being said, this is a case when less is actually more.
It is recommended to start with two colors: a primary and a secondary. The primary color is typically the dominant color used in the brand’s logo and overall visual identity. The secondary color complements the primary color and can be used to provide visual contrast or to highlight specific elements.
Some brands may choose to include accent colors or additional shades and tints of the primary and secondary colors. These additional colors can be used to create visual interest, differentiate various brand elements, or accommodate design needs across different platforms or media. The key is to ensure that the selected colors work in harmony and create a cohesive and visually appealing look.
How to choose colors that look good together?
There is a rhyme and reason behind how colors work together (or not), and the color theory advises how to group colors to create something that is pleasing to the eye. The Color Theory is based on a Colors Wheel and basic colors concepts that can guide you in selecting colors that naturally look together well.
- Complementary colors are the colors opposite to each other on the color wheel. As the name suggests – they complement each other.
- Triadic colors are three colors equidistant from each other on the color wheel. They should work well too – so you may use this concept when looking for an additional accent color.
- Analogous colors are the colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel. They are close, often similar – they work together too.
- You can also include some monochromatic colors. They are just different shades and tints of your primary color. You create them by adding to the color black (shades) or white (tints).
There is also the visual balance of colors to respect.
It means to use light and dark colors, as well as warm and cool colors, throughout your palette.
Using established color schemes can help create coherence in your brand palette. Unless you are sure that your target audience will appreciate bold and clashing schemes, you should strive for balance, where the colors work together without competing with one another.
There are numerous color palette generators out there to help you build the color scheme. I rely on the good old Adobe Creative Suite applications like Photoshop and Illustrator. But these are paid options.
If you rather test something for free consider the Color Wheel provided by a free version of Canva Color Wheel. Recently I also tried ColorSpace and was pleased with the results.
If you want to dig deep into the topic of color theories, there is a workshop book I would recommend. The third edition of Color a Workshop for Artists & Designers. It contains exercises that clarify the connection between color theory and practice and inspire confidence and understanding in your brand design.
Disclaimer: Links to the Amazon store on this page and the sidebar are my Affiliate Links. That means if you click on them and make a purchase I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Nevertheless, because I update the links, I also look out for the best deals and the most up-to-date, and relevant materials. And, I don’t recommend what I would not use myself.
I love colors and could spend my life playing with them. But if you’re a bit overwhelmed, or very indecisive, that is where professional designers can help. Consider visiting the “To Delegate a Project” link on the sidebar of this page and check the creatives at Fiverr.
Test And Refine
Create mood boards and mock-ups using the colors that you contemplate. Experiment with different combinations, proportions, and placements of colors to find the most pleasing arrangement. Consider how they appear in various media, such as print and online. Often the same colors look different on paper than on the screens. If you have a favorite print shop – check with them about your final choices too. Some colors are not easy to replicate in the printing process.
The process of selecting colors for your company’s branding is complex. It may require multiple rounds of testing, feedback, and refinement to achieve the desired result. Take your time and be open to adjustments. It will be an investment you will not regret.
Very important: when you finally decide on the perfect palette create a record of it.
Colors are defined by sets of numbers. The most often used are Hexadecimal, RGB, and CMYK. Make sure you have your colors with numbers listed in a Brand Guidance Kit. Share the guidance kit with all your future marketing services with a clear order to follow them religiously. Otherwise, your palette will disappear in their own aesthetics before you know it.
Very helpful post! Branding is truly important for any business, online or otherwise. And color is a powerful and aesthetically pleasing way to do that. Going over this guide to try to improve my own color scheme. Thanks for the tips!
Thank you! I could tell you like colors when I saw your blog. The photography style you are using is great! If you plan to add more graphics in the future, try to build your color scheme by selecting colors from your best photos and then using the free color palette generators listed in this blog. Looking forward to reading more about your travels!