COLORS : HOW TO CHOOSE COLOR FOR BRAND & DESIGN?

Color is very powerful and is used extensively in all aspects of design. From the colors used on everyday household products, to the colors of logos, websites and marketing material, color is a very important element that can determine how viewers perceive your brand.

What Psychology behind color?

Color is more than just a visual experience. It is also a psychological one that can have a significant impact on mood and emotion. While reactions to color can be subjective, in general, certain colors tend to elicit specific responses.

Why Color Psychology Important in Design & Branding?

Color evokes an emotional response. These emotions have a significant impact on how we behave as consumers. A framework for understanding how and why we connect with brands in our lives is provided by brand color psychology. While the impact of colors on our emotions can vary by gender, personal experience, cultural setting, and neurological differences, there are certain broad guidelines that have been supported by several color psychology studies. These guidelines gives you a valuable tool in the core purpose of branding: establishing trust within your consumers and creating loyalty. Color psychology can help you strengthen your brand and even encourage a consumer to buy your products or services.

Red — Red stands for ENERGY, WARMTH, PASSION.

The color red is great for bringing images and text to the forefront of your customer’s mind. It is definitely your go-to color if you want to get people’s attention – for this reason it is an excellent choice for “click here” or “buy now” calls to action on websites and banners.

Companies that use red in their logo and branding include YouTube, Netflix and Canon.

Orange — Orange stands for PLAYFULNESS, VITALITY & FRIENDLINESS, CREATIVITY, HAPPINESS, EXCITEMENT.

The color orange symbolizes creativity and joy. Orange is a color that encourages emotional energies of happiness and understanding. It is great color to capture attention, often used by companies in the food industry, as well as companies specialized in kids’ products.

Companies that use orange in their logo and branding include Amazon, Fanta and Timberland.

?Yellow — Yellow evokes HAPPINESS, YOUTH & OPTIMISM, FRIENDLINESS, CHEERFULNESS, HAPPINESS

Yellow is a vibrant color that evokes feelings of joy and warmth in a brand.

Although yellow is widely regarded as a cheerful color, too much of it can elicit feelings of anger, anxiety, frustration and fear. Too much yellow causes impatience, while too little yellow causes negative feelings of insecurity, fear and isolation, among other things – for this reason, it is best to use the color yellow in a balanced way and to not overuse it.

Some companies that use yellow in their logo and branding include Nikon, National Geographic and Ferrari.

?Green — Green evokes STABILITY, PROSPERITY, GROWTH and a connection to nature. NATURE, HEALTH, WEALTH.

Green represents health, nature, and growth – for this reason it is often associated with companies that are eco-friendly. Darker shades of green are often used to represent money, wealth and prestige, making it a very popular color with financial companies and banks. Green is the easiest color for the eye to process, according to color psychology. It conjures up images of progress, development, and serenity.

Companies that use green in their logo and branding include Spotify, Land Rover and John Deere.

BLUE — A blue exudes TRANQUILITY, TRUST, OPENNESS, INNOCENCE. LOYALTY, STABILITY, RESPECTABILITY

Blue is one of the most commonly used logo colors for Fortune 500 companies and is especially popular among technology and financial companies. It is a color that makes customers feel secure and safe. It is even known to slow down human metabolism, creating a feeling of tranquility and is the perfect color to convey a message of confidence and success.

Companies that use blue in their logo and branding include Facebook, American Express, Skype and Samsung.

PURPLE— Purple can signify ROYALTY, CREATIVITY & LUXURY, SUCCESS, HIGH QUALITY

Purple is often associated with success, luxury and royalty, Purple logos are frequently used by luxury goods companies and beauty brands. Purple has a luxurious effect that gives those who see it a sense of sophistication and for this reason incorporating into your website and branding is a great way to demonstrate elegance and glam.

Companies that use purple in their logo and branding include Asprey, Hallmark and Cadbury and Yahoo.

WHITE— White evokes CLEANLINESS, VIRTUE, HEALTH OR SIMPLICITY,PURITY, SIMPLICITY, CLEANLINESS

White is a neutral color that is frequently used as a background, It has associated with purity, simplicity and cleanliness – for this reason it is popular in industries like healthcare, technology, and luxury products. White is also used frequently in modern design, with brands such as Apple using it to denote a chic and sleek style.

BLACK — Black evokes a POWERFUL, SOPHISTICATED, EDGY, LUXURIOUS & MODERN FEELING. ELEGANCE, SOPHISTICATION, MODERNITY,.

When used correctly it is timeless, stylish and adds an element of mystery to any design. Companies with black logos include Apple, Chanel, Puma and Sony.

FORMULA FOR BUILDING A BRAND COLOR SCHEME

Process for building a color scheme.

1. Plan on choosing 3 colors

Your base, accent and a neutral. Brand color schemes can have between 1-4 colors depending on the type, but even monochrome schemes will require some variation in hues for different purposes.?

2. Choose your base

Brand’s personality traits, which one is most important? Your base color 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.

?3. Choose your accent

Your accent will be the color you use the most after your base color. This is a bit trickier than choosing your base color because there are more restrictions: aside from matching a brand personality trait, your accent color must also pair visually with your base color, not to mention appease your audience.

?4. Choosing your neutral

Your neutral color will most likely be a background color, something chosen to avoid attention. Typically these are different hues of gray, but beige, whites and off-whites work, too. Black is also an option, but be careful; it tends to dominate any color scheme it’s a part of.

You have to keep in mind the end goal: what kind of color scheme are you using?

Monochromatic — When you have one personality trait that you want to focus in on, a monochrome scheme will emphasis the meaning of that one brand color. While great for minimalist brands, the challenge here is differentiating the hues enough that your sight doesn’t become visually stunted.

Analogous — Colors next to each other on the color wheel have harmonious relations, since adjacent colors usually have similar emotional connotations. Analogous schemes are safe bets, but as such not the best for standing out or drawing attention.

Complementary — Color complements — or opposites — are colors directly across from one another on the color wheels. Because they’re opposites, they bring out the best in each other when paired; Complementary colors are great for dynamic, stimulating visuals, but be careful of copycatting another brand since they’re so popular.

Triadic — A stable branding color scheme, triadic colors draw in equal parts for three different sections of the color wheel. Triadic schemes are stable like analogous themes, but offer a more stimulating variety like complementary schemes. The hardest part is getting the three colors to coincide with the traits of your brand identity.

How your branding colors combine will come up again and again in many different aspects of your business. Your brand color scheme determines the look of your website, logo, store design, advertisements, etc., and even trickles down into minor appearances like your social media account. So choose them all carefully.

HOW TO CHOOSE COLOR IN YOUR MARKETING AND BRANDING

The bottom line is that there are no clear-cut guidelines for choosing colors for your brand. The reality is that the answer to “What colors are right for my brand?” is always “It depends.” The context you’re working within is an essential consideration. It’s the feeling, mood, and image that your brand or product creates that matters.Choosing the right color can help your brand stand out. Consider the psychological principle, It states that an item that “stands out like a sore thumb” is more likely to be remembered.

THE RIGHT COLOR DEPICT YOUR BRAND’S PERSONALITY