Brand color? The colors that represent your company reflect upon your brand. Consumers subconsciously react to certain colors in many different ways. Your brand is your promise/message and until they have reason not to, consumers should trust that message. Right? There sometimes are a myriad of factors that affect why or why not a consumer trusts a company but one that goes overlooked is the colors chosen to support the branding. We know that a name has a LOT to do with how consumers perceive a company. If they can pronounce it, remember it by relating to it then they repeat it (whether this be positive or negative). In small business branding or or even with a big company unveiling a new product, many times the best or worst name represented in the appealing colors and the name takes on new meaning.
8 Color Tips for Your Brand
1. Red. A very intense color that draws attention as it is associated with STOP. Red also vibrates when used against other colors (brown, black and yellow). It can be hard to read especially in smaller type. Red also is a color of courage (hence usage in flags) but is associated with love, passion, energy and strength.
2. Orange. A somewhat unique color that is quite popular with the younger generation. It attracts attention for being a color of enthusiasm, strength, creativity and high visibility.
3. Yellow. Generally associated with warning/danger, yellow is a color of excitement, high energy, loyalty but also has a negative connotation of resembling a coward.
4. Green. The color of money! Green is about growth but also about being new who has to grow. However, with growth comes endurance and stability.
5. Blue. A favorite amongst many brands as it is the color of expertise, stability, trust and intelligence. It is calming and relaxing.
6. Purple/Violet. Royalty, power, wisdom. Purple is not widely used as it can be somewhat feminine. In trying to stay neutral, purple is overlooked as it is rare and almost overbearing when represented as a main color.
7. Black. Many times the “go to” color as it is the color of text and so widely accepted. Black is powerful, shows strength and authority but is also a color of mystery and fear.
8. White. Safe and pure. White space in ads is always favored. White is a color that is non-aggressive, calm and a new beginning.
Colors change the visual look of a logo and marketing materials but also the emotional ties a consumer has to a brand. People connect to colors that they find appealing. There are numerous color combinations and variations that can be used and would have a different emotional response to consumers however short of a scientific study… those may never be identified.