Choosing colors is very important for any business. In fact, it is very important in a lot of ways that you may be unfamiliar with, especially with regard to your marketing efforts. Color is a very important aspect that you need to keep in mind as you choose your brand name, logo and other images that will serve to represent your company. By selecting the right color, you have the wonderful opportunity of controlling the impression that you make on your potential clients and customers.
Why Does a Business Need Brand Colors?
What impression do you want your potential clients to get from your brand and your company as a whole? Do you want to convey that the product or service you offer is both wholesome and exciting? Do you want customers to get the idea your brand is dependable and trustworthy?
You need to consider attracting the specific customer market you are targeting. For this, you may want to utilize colors which can add elements to your image unavailable otherwise. The product you’re selling might be considered ordinary but with the right colors on the package and your logo, you can ramp up the level of excitement a few notches. It’s very important to focus on the type of “attitude” your products and services need to have and start from there.
What Color is Your Brand?
Now, think about this. What particular colors enter your mind when you hear the brands Kit Kat, McDonald’s, IBM, Target and UPS? Didn’t take you a lot of time to answer, right? Colors have always been a very important aspect of any branding strategy. The reason being that colors contribute to the recognition of the brand.
A brand uses color in logos, in every advertisement piece and in communication to the point that customers automatically associate the color to the brand and the company. Each and every color has specific connotations as well as psychological effects on the one looking at it. The particular color that a brand uses can say a lot about the reputation of a company, as well as the effect it wants to have on customers.
It’s very important to keep in mind the color you choose for your brand may also turn into an issue particularly if you have other branches located in a different location, such as in another country. This is because culture can play an important role as colors may have different connotations in various countries. In fact, in some cultures, colors may have the exact opposite meaning you want them to have. For instance, you might think of yellow as something positive and bright, but if you go to Europe, it is a symbol of cowardice and weakness. White may be a good color, but in China and India it denotes mourning and unhappiness. Thus, make sure that you also take these factors into consideration when choosing a color for your brand.
Choosing the Right Color
Keep in mind that a very strong brand identity is more than just a logo. It is composed of various visual elements which work together in order to form a cohesive and distinctive whole. When coming up with a color for your brand, a palette of contrasting and complimentary colors is often used to make sure you have a wide range of diversity for your selection.
In order to choose the right color for your brand, there are some questions you need to consider:
- What emotion does your brand color need to convey?
- How does it make you standout in contrast with your competition?
- Is your color in harmony with the core business values of your company?
- Now, let’s identify the symbolism of the most commonly used colors in the world of business:
Red – depicts strength, energy, passion, love, warmth, blood, excitement, danger, enthusiasm, desire, courage, speed, joyfulness, intensity, prominence, etc. In the business sense, red can be used to portray excitement, passion and attention. This color can bring forth enthusiasm to your brand.
Blue – shows wisdom, creativity, calmness, gentleness, loyalty, trust, devotion, intelligence, comfort, confidence, harmony, ideas, patience, friendship, etc. A business may use blue as its color to represent confidence, loyalty and trustworthiness. This color is also used to build brand reliability and customer loyalty.
Green – portrays fertility, success, endurance, nature, good luck, hope, dependability, etc. In the world of business, green is often used for health and food products. It can also represent abundance, health and dedication.
Purple – depicts knowledge, spiritual power, influence, dignity, mystery, royalty, etc. This color is typically used in branding premium service businesses as it represents celebrations, wisdom and sovereigns.
Yellow – represents light, brightness, imagination, intelligence, respect, social energy, optimism, happiness, perception, honor, purity, etc. For business purposes, yellow can represent warmth, happiness and awareness. A lot of companies use yellow in order to depict a feeling of relaxation.
White – exhibits purity, peace, innocence, simplicity, cleanliness, etc. This is often seen in the medical and health sectors or hygiene products.
Black – signifies class, formality, power, wealth, fear, authority, elegance, etc. Most high end and corporate branding use black because it gives the sense of elegance, credibility, strength and power.
Once you have decided on a particular color for your brand, make it a point to incorporate it throughout your advertising plan. By including your color scheme or brand color in all of your advertisements, publicity campaigns and promotional products, you are ensuring the reinforcement of your brand so that every time observers see your brand color, they automatically think of your brand. Just be consistent and you will get the output you wish for.