Choosing Your Brand Colors: What to Consider

The color of your logo could help position your brand well.

As a business owner, understanding your target consumers’ psychology is crucial. But, did you know that the color of your brand (and the products associated with it) are equally important? Yes, Colorcom reports that 84.7% of consumers believe color to be the biggest motivator to make a purchase decision.

What is the psychology of color in marketing?

The colors humans see represent wavelengths of light that exist all around us. In early human history, our ability to differentiate colors helped us know what food was edible, what plants may be poisonous, and what water was good to drink, among other many important survival utilities. 

Today, color has become an essential tool that helps us judge and interpret things around us. So, understanding different colors impacts our choices is important.

The psychology of some of the widely-used colors:

• Red:

Red symbolises power and dynamism that reflects our physical needs of showing either love or fear. Red is also a very energizing color that portrays friendliness and strength. So, if you want your brand to make a powerful presence, red must be your go-to color.

Coca-Cola uses red to make itself stand out in the beverage industry.

• Blue:

The blue on Facebook and PayPal brings a sense of trust and calmness. Paypal’s blue conveys that your financial transactions are safe with them. Also, it shows reliability, responsibility, and is mentally relaxing. So, if your business is primarily about trust; go for blue.

Did you know? Facebook is actually blue because Mark Zuckerberg is red-green colorblind!

• Black:

Black symbolizes luxury, sophistication, and control. And those are the exact qualities that people with black vehicles want to reflect. So, if you consider your brand a luxury, then black will exhibit that poise.

Apple uses black in a lot of its products to show sophistication and luxury and to stand out among the tech giants.

• Yellow:

Yellow is the first color an infant responds to, so it already has an evolutionary impact on us. And of course, the bright, eye-catching yellow represents happiness and optimism.

Maybe that’s why you can hardly resist eating at McDonald’s?

What should you consider while choosing the color for your brand?

• Define your focus:

Have clarity about your brand’s concept and goal. How do you want to be perceived? Undergoing this process can help you refine the most impressive colors to choose.

• Think psychological:

What impact do you want to create with your brand? Understanding the psychology of colors can help you reflect on the feelings you want to evoke from your consumers.

• Study your competitors:

Do thorough research on your competitors’ brand color. It’ll help you narrow down each color and come up with the one that can make you stand out.

• Experiment:

Lastly, don’t hesitate to experiment! Create a color chart, play with the “hex codes”, and carry out some A/B tests to find out what works.

Finally, know that there are no concrete rules for getting the “best” color combination for your brand. Not every consumer will respond to the color as expected, so make sure to experiment or conduct thoughtful A/B tests to finalize the combinations that would work.