When creating or redesigning your brand, colour is up there as one of the most important decisions you will make. Some of the world’s most recognisable colours are due to certain brands, for example, the classic Coca Cola red or the velvety Cadburys purple.
So, of course, when it comes to choosing a colour for your own brand, you will want to make sure you’ll be recognisable and true to your company’s ethos.
There is a minefield of information out there so to start with here are our top 5 tips to choosing the right colour:
1.
Know your audience
Ask yourself a few questions with your company in mind: What is your ethos? What message are you trying to get across? Do you have a specific age range for your audience? In general, a 65-year-old retired woman will react differently to an 18-year-old game-playing male. Once you have these answers you will be able to have more of an idea of what you want your brand to say about you.
2.
Consider colour psychology
Research what reaction each colour evokes. Studies show that people decide on something within the first 90 seconds of seeing it and within that first 90 seconds, two thirds of their decision is influenced by their interpretation of colour. It is common knowledge that blue is a popular choice due to its calming and professional qualities, however, a less commonly known discovery is that orange is found to offer emotional strength in difficult times. It has been shown to assist recovery in grief using its optimistic and uplifting properties.
3.
Be passionate
Choose a colour that you like. Sounds obvious, but so many make the mistake of choosing a colour based on what they think others like and ignoring the fact that they themselves do not like it. You will be looking at this colour more than any client out there, so pick a colour that excites you, inspires you and makes you proud!
4.
Be creative
Start from scratch and create your own colour palette. Staying clear of having too many colours is advisable to avoid becoming unrecognisable. As they say, less is more, and in this case, it really can make the difference between a brand that comes across as complicated and a brand that is straight to the point and eye catching.
5.
Stand out
Pick a colour opposite to that of your main competitor. Research your competitors, get to know your target audience. It’s ever more important today, where there is so much choice for customers, to stand out from the crowd. You certainly don’t want to be seen as the ‘me-too’ product, you want to be different and bold.
Saying all this, of course colours can be interpreted completely differently, therefore it is important that you don’t overthink this decision or ask too many people for their opinion as with all things design, there is no pleasing everyone!