Whether you’re just getting started on a new project or want to refresh your current branding, it’s important thinking about the role color can play in expressing your brand values. In fact, studies suggest that color may boost brand awareness by as much as 80% !
Though you might be excused for believing that picking brand colors is straightforward, picking a palette for your company was never as simple as picking three, four, or even five colors that go well together. When it comes to brand coloring, the perceived meanings of colors play a big influence, therefore understanding how to decipher color semiotics and then applying it to your own brand is a certain way to go ahead.
The bad news is that deciding on the “correct” color scheme might be difficult. Fortunately, this article will explain how to decipher color theory, choose appropriate colors, and create the ideal palette for your company. Continue reading to find out more!
1. Be aware of color semiotics
Colors have a unique role in branding since they speak to your customers’ emotions and minds rather than simply their heads. For decades, psychologists and philosophers have investigated the significance of colors, including significant works by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.
According to Dr. Pamela Rutledge, the earliest scientific study on the emotional influence of color and light was undertaken by Cohn in 1894, and research on color choice and significance extends back to that time. “With color, we can replicate life events,” she continues, implying that the appropriate color combination may elicit actual feelings and memories in the user’s subconscious mind.
Color is also a brand identification factor that appeals to our subconscious brain processes. Further study shows that perceived “warm” colors like yellow or red may really attract people and impact purchasing choices when they approach establishments!
Before delving deeply into a palette, we suggest learning all you can about color semiotics and what each color could imply to your target audience. Consider what color semiotics are compatible with your brand’s ideals and what feels good. You don’t want to have to modify them in the future if you can avoid it! Here are some instances of color semiotics that are often used:
Danger, Excitement, and Strength are all possible meanings for the color red.
Friendliness and Confidence might be represented by the color orange.
Optimism and happiness might be represented by the color yellow.
Growth, renewal, and nature might all be represented by green.
Blue Could Stand For: Honesty, Trustworthiness
Purple might stand for intuition and creativity.
2. Determine your brand’s essence
The second stage in selecting your brand colors is to determine your brand’s essence. The core of your brand is a brief statement that summarizes what your company stands for. You can figure out what your brand’s essence is by first figuring out what your brand’s identity is.
When looking for your brand essence, you’ll need to figure out what your aims are, what your USPs are, and what your values are. Nike’s “Innovation and Inspiration” and Airbnb‘s “Belonging” are two outstanding examples of brand essences that you’ve definitely heard about. These phrases encapsulate both organizations’ general vibes and help to reassure clients that they are in the correct location and linked to the proper offerings.
You’re ready to apply them to your brand colors after you’re sure in your company’s overall identity and can summarize it in a brief and to-the-point statement. Consider the color semiotics we explored before. You’ll discover the optimal brand palette if you align color semiotics with your industry, beliefs, services, and goals.
3. Examine the branding of your competitors
Competitive analysis is critical when it comes to branding. Examine what colors and hues your rivals use, how they use them, and whether or not they are successful. Keep what works and toss out what doesn’t. If you’re part of a larger marketing team, you may go even farther and do an in-depth competition study to improve your results.
In general, we advocate aiming for aesthetic consistency with other businesses in your industry, both those whose items you sell and those from whom you purchase. Incorporate your suppliers’ and customers’ colors to provide a consistent message and improve brand identification. Not only should the kind of goods or service you provide be obvious, but so should the essence of your brand.
Having said that, you want to stand out as much as possible from your competition. It is possible to maintain your colors industry acceptable and distinct from your competition by including a diverse mix of colors, using various tints, or experimenting with opposing and complimentary colors. That’s where you’ll find the sweet spot.
4. Develop your own color palette for your brand
Choosing your brand palette is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Now that you know how various colors effect your brand’s image, it’s time to get creative! Experiment with various tones and hues to see which colors go well together, where they work best, and which shades will make up your brand’s palette. You can preserve your brand palette and more using applications like Canva, enabling you to quickly generate visual material that is consistent with your brand and ready for your website or social media!
Don’t be deceived! Choosing the proper color scheme for your brand is a difficult undertaking; it takes time and effort to find the ideal match that represents your company’s values. That is why these suggestions are so crucial. You’ll want to choose colors that are professional and on-brand, as well as ones that look nice together and stand out against rivals.
Last but not least, show off your new brand palette!
Now that you’ve created your brand palette, it’s time to put it into action. That implies you should utilize them as much as possible to make your company stand out to consumers. Always utilize them while advertising your company both online and offline, particularly on social media, where millions of people may see them.
The simplest method to expand your company is to use marketing automation. It has the potential to save you a lot of time and work while also assisting you in achieving fantastic outcomes. When you set things up using the tactics described above, you’ll be able to build excellent marketing campaigns that bring more value to the consumer. You can now build your company with significantly less effort.
