Colours
purpose
Important facts about colours and why they matter when it comes to your branding:
- Colours have qualities that can cause certain emotions in people which tells us that colours impact moods and behaviours (known as colour psychology).
- Studies have shown that colours influence customer’s decision and brand recall while making purchases.
Colour Psychology
OBJECTIVE
Your brand should be built on truth, not trend. This means that rather than just randomly picking colours you think you like, it is important to take a step back and choose colours that evoke feelings that align with your business’s identity.
When you do this you will notice that your branding will stay relevant regardless of what societal trends are happening.
The outward expression should communicate what you want your brand to communicate. And in order to achieve that you will need to do some inward thinking about the values and beliefs you stand for and what emotions you want to inspire or spark in people when they see your branding.
Colours are an integral part of creating the overarching theme and personality of your brand.
Process
When choosing colours for your branding there are a few things to consider to ensure you will not only become obsessed with your branding and want to use it, but have the resources to be able to stay consistent and cohesive no matter where you use it.
- The colour psychology
- The quantity of colours you have in your palette
- The type and intention of the colours
The colours you choose should feel aligned to you but they should also evoke the same feelings as what your customer will experience when they work with you (e.g. fun, calming, exciting etc.)
When choosing colours, be conscious of picking enough that allow you to have options when layering designs. If you only choose 1 or 2 colours you will find that you will get bored and will continually choose additional random colours to add to your designs. This blurs your branding and makes it impossible for people to tell what your actual brand colours are. So instead, even if you are clear you only want 1 colour, add different tones of that colour to your brand palette.
When selecting colours you also need to be thinking about where and how you will be using them (logo, website, storefront, social media, uniforms, advertisements etc.)
Here is a standard branding colour guide:
Colour 1 > Should be a dark neutral (black or nearly black) which you can use for text as well as backgrounds
Colour 2 > Should be a light neutral (white or near white) which you can use for text as well as backgrounds
Colours 3 & 4 > Should be your “Primary” core brand colours most used for association. Your primary colours should reflect not only your brand personality’s most dominant trait, but also appeal to the target audience you’re trying to reach. You’ll choose the remaining colors based on how well they match with this one.
Colours 5 & 6 > Should be your “seconday” accent colours that look good when paired alongside or on top of your primary colour(s).
Colour 7 > Should be a standout colour that is totally different and can be used to draw attention to it.
Remember, just because you have the brand colours in your palette does not mean you need to (or should be) using them all at once every time. It is to make sure you have options so that you can keep your branding visually appealing and engaging whilst achieving brand awareness.