Choosing colors for your brand or business is a very important step in determining your visual identity. Color may seem insignificant to lots of small business owners, but in reality, color can communicate what your brand is all about before a customer ever steps foot in your store or business.
HERE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE AREAS THAT YOU WILL USE COLOR:
- Logo
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Website
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Storefront
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Apparel
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Signs
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Print Advertisements
The more you use color repetition, the more customers will recognize your brand. For example, when I say the words “Coca-Cola,” what color comes to mind?
Did you say “red?” I bet you did. Rarely will you ever see a can of Coke that is not red. Their use of color increases their brand awareness and their overall sales!
In marketing, color is an emotional cue. There is a ton of information out there about color theory and how different colors can communicate different feelings. The wrong colors can send the wrong impression to your ideal customer. In contrast, the right colors can get your audience to feel what you want them to feel and to take action.
How to Choose Colors for Your Brand
Before you can choose the right colors to represent your business, you’ll need to make sure you’ve defined your brand’s personality. Are you more youthful? Energetic? Calm? Professional? Fun? Serious? Relaxed? High-End?
I suggest writing out several characteristics that describe your brand. When thinking about your brand personality, it’s important to always keep your target audience in mind.
Colors & Feelings
Once you’ve determined your brand personality, it’s time to start thinking about color meaning. According to 99designs, here are a few different effects that brand colors can have on people.
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Red — Passion, Excitement, Anger. It can signify importance and command attention.
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Orange — Playfulness, Vitality, Friendliness. It is invigorating and evokes energy.
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Yellow — Happiness, Youth, Optimism. It can also seem attention-grabbing or affordable.
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Green — Stability, Prosperity, Growth, and a connection to nature.
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Light Blue — A light shade of blue exudes tranquility, trust, openness. It can also signify innocence.
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Dark Blue — Professionalism, security and formality. It is mature and trustworthy.
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Purple — Royalty, creativity and luxury.
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Pink — Femininity, youth and innocence. It ranges from modern to luxurious.
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Brown — Rugged, earthy, old-fashioned.
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White — Cleanliness, virtue, health or simplicity. It can range from affordable to high-end.
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Gray — Gray stands for neutrality. It can look subdued, classic, serious, mysterious or mature.
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Black — Black signifies a powerful, sophisticated, edgy, luxurious and modern feeling.
Ready to start choosing your colors? I suggest using Coolors, a handy-dandy tool that helps you pick color schemes that look amazing!