What Colors Should I Choose For My Brand?

If you’re a business owner, you’ve already had to make a lot of decisions.

You’ve decided:

• The name of your company
• What your company does
• How you will set your company apart
• And much, much more

One thing you may have trouble deciding is what color you want to represent your company. Maybe you’ll decide to go with your favorite color or two, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’re not sure your favorite color is best for your business, we’re here to share a few principles to guide your decision.

What’s in a color?
Most of us don’t realize it, but colors communicate different things to us. That being said, the colors you choose say a lot about your company. Depending on the colors you use, people may subconsciously assume certain things about your company. Below we’ve listed some of the adjectives associated with the most popular colors.

• Blue: trusted, established, traditional (think Ford)
• Green: fresh, healthy, environmental, growth (think Whole Foods)
• Orange: active, energetic, friendly (think Nickelodeon)
• Red: exciting, confident, powerful (think Coca-Cola)
• Yellow: warm, friendly, approachable (think Amazon)
• Black: bold, timeless, quality (think Nike)

If any of those words describe how you’d like your company to be seen, the associated color is a great place to start. And remember, there are endless variations of those colors. Choosing “blue” right now could lead you to navy blue, periwinkle, or even teal.

Additionally, some industries have more direct ties to specific colors. For example, if you own a landscaping company, a shade of green would make more sense as your primary color than a shade of red. While no one can force you to “play by the rules,” it’s wise to at least consider if there are certain colors that make the most sense with your industry.

How many colors should I choose?
A monochromatic logo is often seen as sophisticated and professional. A logo with two complementary colors is bold and attention-grabbing. We typically suggest choosing two strong colors for your brand.

Too many colors competing against each other dilutes your brand. If you’re worried that will be too boring, you can add a little variety to your brand by including a few sub-brand colors to create context around your one or two-color logo. Neutral grays or tans are great accent colors, but bright pops of color can also be used sparingly. Just remember that accent colors are just that…accents. They’re not meant to be used in large amounts or in every design. At the end of the day, you want your brand’s colors to attract people, not overwhelm them.

Feeling colorblind?
If you’re still not sure what colors you’d like to represent your brand, we’d love to chat and help however we can! Contact us today and let’s brand together!