Choosing the right colors for your brand can be a daunting task. But have no fear! We’re here to help. This blog post will cover everything you need to know about choosing the best colors for your business, from understanding the basics of color theory to picking out shades that reflect your brand personality. Let’s get started!
1. Understand How Different Colors Impact Mood and Perception
Understanding how different colors can evoke different emotions and perceptions is important. Color psychology is the study of how color impacts the way we perceive a brand. Colors have a powerful effect on our emotions, and these associations can be leveraged to create an effective branding strategy. Men and women also perceive colors differently, with women tending to prefer blue, purple, and green, while men prefer bolder shades of red and yellow. Warm colors like orange and yellow work well for brands like Orangetheory or Smart Sweets. By leveraging color psychology, you can create a powerful brand identity that resonates with your target audience.
2. Use the Color Wheel to Find Colors That Match Your Brand
Once you understand the impact of colors on mood and perception, you can use the color wheel to find colors that match your brand. A color wheel or color palette generator can help you find a swatch of colors that match your brand aesthetic or the style you’re going for. When choosing colors, consider whether you want a warm or cool palette. Also, decide on the number of colors you’d like in your brand color scheme—it can range from one to four. You can also use complementary, analogous, and triadic color schemes to create a harmonious brand palette. To get started, analyze your competition and explore the meanings of different colors. Finally, take all the work you’ve done to pinpoint your brand identity and use it to choose your main or primary brand color.
3. Consider Your Brand Personality
Once you’ve researched and identified the emotions and impressions you want to convey through your brand colors, it’s time to consider your brand personality. Think of your brand as a person—what is their attitude? Are they serious and professional or upbeat and energetic? When mapping out your brand's personality, ask yourself if the colors you’ve chosen match that personality. If not, it might be time to go back to the drawing board and find colors that better reflect how you want your customers to feel about your business.
4. Choose a Limited Brand Color Palette
When you have identified your brand’s personality, it’s time to choose a limited brand color palette. Consistency is the key to making your brand unforgettable. Professional designers recommend choosing a limited brand color palette to maximize its impact. The dominant color should be used most frequently, as it will become synonymous with your brand. The accent colors can add excitement and bring more attention to specific elements, such as call-to-action buttons. The right colors can help you create an effective visual identity that will help customers recognize and remember your brand.
5. Find Branding Color Inspiration
Finding inspiration for your brand colors can be fun and rewarding. Nature is a great source of color inspiration; from sunsets to beach scenes, there is no shortage of beautiful color combinations to explore. Consider the mood you want to create with your brand, and look for colors that evoke the same emotion. To create a bold, energizing feel, look for bright colors like reds and oranges. To create a calming, peaceful atmosphere, look for cool colors like blues and greens. You can also look to your competitors’ brands for cues on what colors they're using.
6. Tap Into Your Brand Identity
Once you understand the basics of color psychology and have some ideas of colors that work for your brand, it’s time to tap into your brand identity. Think about what emotions you want to evoke in your customers, and use colors that can help to communicate those feelings. Consider the type of product or service you are offering and what kind of personality you want to convey. Look up your competitors’ colors as well and use them as inspiration. When you have a better idea of what colors will best represent your brand, create a mood board with images that incorporate those colors. This will help you test different colors and ensure they work together in harmony.
7. Create Mood Boards to Test Different Colors
Once you understand the different colors and their perception, you can start to create mood boards to test different colors. A mood board is a great way to visualize how your brand colors will look together. This will help you pick the right color palette for your brand. To create a mood board, start by collecting images that resonate with your brand identity. Then, use a color picker tool to determine the most prominent 1–2 colors from the images you’ve selected. After you’ve picked out your main and accent colors, use those colors together in your mood board. Visualizing how these colors look together will give you a better idea of how they will work for your brand.
8. Look Up Your Competitors
Once you've established your brand values and personality, it's time to look at your competitors. Looking at the colors they use can help you understand what works and what doesn't. It can also give you an idea of how to differentiate your brand and make it stand out. However, don’t try to copy your competitors, as that can backfire. Instead, use their colors as inspiration and add your own unique twist. Take the time to explore color meanings and how they represent different brands to create a unique palette that is uniquely yours.
9. Use Pre-Made Color Palettes
Once you’ve narrowed down the colors that best represent your brand, you can use pre-made color palettes to help you choose the perfect shades. Color palettes are collections of colors that have been pre-selected to create a cohesive and visually appealing look. Using a palette to choose your brand colors is an easy way to ensure that your colors are visually balanced. Simply pick the palette that best reflects your brand personality, and use it as a starting point for creating your own custom palette. Many free resources are available online that provide pre-made palettes, so you won’t have to worry about spending a lot of time and money creating one yourself.
10. Test Your Colors on Different Platforms
Once you have narrowed down your color palette, it’s time to test it. To ensure your color scheme works across all platforms, test it on different platforms and devices. Make sure that your colors look good on both mobile and desktop versions of your website and various social media channels. Additionally, try to create a consistent look for your brand across all platforms so that your brand is easily recognizable no matter where you are present.
Color is an essential element of your brand, so take the time to make sure everything meshes together cohesively.
