Colour Psychology - choosing the right colours for your brand and creating the right impression.
Color psychology is fascinating as it studies how colours can impact people's emotions, attitudes, and behaviours. As a business owner, understanding the psychology of colours can help you choose the right colours for your brand that will appeal to your target audience and create the right impression.
In this post, I will explore how different colours can affect the way customers perceive a brand and provide some tips on choosing the right colours for your own brand.
Blue
Blue is a colour that is often associated with trust, reliability, and professionalism. It’s a popular choice for corporate branding and is often used by financial institutions and technology companies.
Depending on the tone used, blue can also evoke feelings of calmness and serenity, making it an excellent choice for brands that promote health, wellbeing, and relaxation.
Example of blue brands are; IBM, Dell, LinkedIn, Salesforce, Facebook, Oral B, P&G, Nivea, and Ballygowan Water.
Green
Green (oh my very favourite) is a colour that is typically associated with nature, growth, and health.
It is often used by brands that promote sustainability, organic products, or environmental causes. Green can also evoke a sense of harmony, balance and calmness, making it an excellent choice for brands that promote wellness or lifestyle products. Darker and richer tones of green can promote tradition and heritage.
Examples of brands that use green are; Whole Foods, The Body Shop, Starbucks, Tropicana, and Failte Ireland.
Yellow & Orange
Yellow and Orange are colour that are mostly associated with creativity, adventure, optimism, positivity, and energy. They will often be used by brands that want to create a sense of fun, excitement or playfulness. Both evoke feelings of warmth and friendliness, making them an excellent choice for brands that want to create a welcoming and inviting environment.
Examples of brands that use yellow are: McDonald's, National Geographic, Snapchat, Mailchimp, Nikon, Nickelodeon, Fanta, Mastercard, Amazon, and Soundcloud.
Red
Red evokes passion, heat, energy, and excitement and creates a sense of urgency or action. But it’s a tricky colour, and can evoke feelings of danger or aggression. So it is important to use in the right context, that fits within your audience demographic and industry.
Good examples of brands that use red are: Coca-Cola, Target, Netflix, Lego, CNN, and H&M.
Pink
When you think pink, you usually think femininity, love, and romance. So it’s a colour that is traditionally used to target women or promote products related to beauty or fashion.
Paler pinks create feelings of innocence and sweetness, making it an excellent choice for brands that want to create a playful and lighthearted tone. While hot pinks can be loud and bold, making those tones a great choice for brands that are more adventurous and daring. Paired with a bold contrasting colour, pink can be a fun colour to work with.
Think pink, think: Victoria's Secret, Barbie, Lyft, and T-Mobile.
Purple
Purple is an authentic, purposeful, creative, luxurious, and spiritual colour. If you want to create a sense of mystery or exclusivity then deep purple is a great choice. It’s also great for businesses who are on a mission! It can also evoke feelings of royalty or nobility, making it an excellent alternative from black for high-end brands. Lighter tones will make your brand feel much calmer and relaxing.
For example, Cadbury, Hallmark, MS Teams, Yahoo, and Aspery’s London.
White
White is associated with purity, cleanliness, and simplicity and is often used by brands that promote hygiene, health, or have minimalist aesthetics. White can also evoke feelings of sophistication and elegance, making it an excellent choice for luxury brands.
Examples of brands that use white are: Apple, Creed Perfumes and The White Company.
Black
Black is sophisticated, elegant, and powerful. It's a popular choice for luxury brands targeting a discerning audience. But be careful, Black can also evoke feelings of darkness or negativity, so it is important to balance it with other colours to avoid creating a negative tone.
Great alternatives to black are dark and rich browns, blues, purples, bottle greens and warm greys.
Brands that use black are; Chanel, Mercedes-Benz, Prada, Gucci, Mont Blanc and Zara.
As a business owner, understanding the psychology of colours can help you choose the right colours for your brand that will appeal to your target audience and create the right impression.
Five tips when choosing brand colours:
1 - Understand your target audience
Different colours appeal to different demographics, so it's important to firstly understand your target audience and choose colours that will resonate with them.
2 - Consider your industry
Some industries have established cooler associations that you can use to your advantage. For example, blue is a popular colour choice for corporates, while green is often used for eco-friendly brands.
3 - Think about contrast
Choosing colours that contrast well can make your brand stand out and be more memorable. Be practical too as some lighter colours just won’t translate well with finer details or small fonts. Keep your brand colours balanced with a mixture or dark and light tones.
4 - Keep it simple
Using too many colours can be overwhelming and confusing for your audience. Stick to a few key colours that work well together and complement your brand's message.
5 - Test your colours
Before finalising your colour scheme, you can test it with your target audience to see how they respond. This can help you avoid any unintended associations or negative reactions.
Color psychology plays a vital role in how customers perceive a brand. By understanding this and following these tips, you can choose the right colours for your brand that will resonate with your target audience and create a lasting and positive impression.
