Choosing the Perfect Colour for your Brand

It’s Not Enough to Just Pick a Random Colour and Roll With It

People have preconceived notions of what certain colours mean (generally based on personal experience) — i.e. yellow = happiness, green = growth, pink = girlishness. Though colours can broadly align with certain traits, you shouldn’t choose colours based solely on what you think is universal to everybody.

Your Company’s Style and Culture

When it comes to choosing colours, you want to find one that speaks to your company’s style and culture. If your company sells motorcycles (think Harley Davidson) you would probably want your customers to feel “rugged”, “cool”, or “tough”. You could assume that colours like a rusty orange, solid red, or deep blue for your brand would make more sense than a soft pink would. Or, say you were a company that sold authentic leather. You would most likely steer towards tan and maroon tones rather than something like bright yellow or green.

Image credit The Logo Company

Colour Plays a Huge Role in Persuasion

Up to 90% of fast judgements on products can be based on colour alone! If customers can determine the “personality” of the brand and whether the colour fits what is being sold, then their purchasing intent rises. Think about it. Who would buy a Harley motorcycle if they didn’t get that initial feeling that Harley’s were rugged and tough? Essentially, matching colours to the personality of the brand is what you want to focus on. It’s all about the connection to the brand that today’s consumers look for.

Be Different

Also, think about making your main colour different from other brands. This helps with recognition. If your competitors’ colours are all blue, you’ll stand out using something different but still relevant. For example, if I had the social media apps Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Tumblr all lined up, which one visually stands out? Instagram—it’s a blue, purple, and yellow ombre!

How Gender Can Affect Colour Choice

Another key thing to think about is that there are preferred colours for different genders. According to a study, blue seems to be a colour that both women and men favour while orange seems to be a colour that both favour least. It has also been found that men prefer bolder colours (shades) while women prefer softer versions (tints) of such colours. It would be important to take this into consideration while deciding on your brand’s colour palette if your ideal buying audience is predominantly male or female.

Overview

As you can see, there are many factors to consider when choosing the perfect colour for your brand: your company’s style and culture, your target audience, colour traits and whether you want to stand out or blend in. There’s so much more to how colour can help your brand; but for now, keep this information in mind when starting to colour design!