When we think of a brand we immediately think of their corresponding brand colors. Whether it’s the golden arches of McDonald’s or the blue bird of Twitter, color schemes are a huge part of branding and their importance shouldn’t be underestimated.
As a small business, it can be easy to get carried away with the logistics, numbers, and customer service involved in running your business, but branding is an essential part of making a business that lasts and grows – why? Read on to find out.
Why is it so important to have a recognizable brand colors?
- It makes you instantly recognizable: With a memorable color scheme, your audience immediately recognizes you as color is closely linked to memory and recognition. Whether we realize it or not, color is often much easier to recall than a brand’s name. Have you ever seen a brand with the same colors as one you are more familiar with and thought of that other brand? That’s the power of brand colors.
- Brand colors make your logo look more professional. In logo design, the general rule is that no more than three colours should be used. This rule often comes with another rule that these colors are split 60-30-10 percent. Any more colors than this and a logo can come across as messy and too busy. Think of the most famous brands: Google, Apple, PepsiCo, Starbucks, and Shell Oil. They’re all very different companies, but they all have one thing in common: their logos use three colors or less.
- Invoke a certain feeling in potential customers. Colors affect your customers’ perception of your brand. Each color represents a different set of traits and values, and these color choices can affect how your customers perceive you. The exciting red of the Coca-Cola logo, the cheery yellow of Lay’s chips, and the reliable, trustworthy blue Ford logo have solidified this unconscious perception in consumers’ minds. You can find out more about color psychology here.
- Helps you create brand consistency. A specific logo helps a brand stay consistent. It makes it easier for you as a brand to maintain the same tone, color scheme, and “voice” when reaching out to your customers. If a brand starts off chirpy with brightly-colored branding and suddenly shifts to formal wording and muted colors, consumers are likely to disengage or feel that something is “off” about your brand, or even be mistrustful of it.
- Align yourself with your target market. Remember that the colors you use aren’t all about the feelings you want to evoke, it also helps your target market align themselves with you. For example, if you are an eco-friendly brand, a green logo will help people looking for eco-friendly products notice your product on the shelf. Similarly, if you are a masculine brand, then using pink or pastel colors will likely make your ideal customers overlook you.
When it comes to selecting the right color palette for your brand, it’s all about context. It’s about creating a feeling and a mood through an image that you’re happy to associate with your company. While there are no clear-cut guidelines for choosing your brand’s colors, there are ways to make your branding choices easier. A little research into color psychology and a boost from a great graphic design team can help.
If you’re looking for a team to help you find your brand colors and create other elements of your brand so you can start establishing your business in your community (whether that be online or off), we’re here to help. Learn more about our graphic design services here.
