The importance of color in your branding
A strong visual identity is a powerful force. In a saturated marketplace, it can help you stand out, communicate who you are, and ultimately, entice people to form a connection with you. Color, of course, is a significant part of that visual identity. But choosing the right colors for your brand shouldn’t be done arbitrarily. Let’s break it down!
First, how exactly do the right colors benefit your brand?
Color isn’t just an aesthetic element; it's the swiss army knife of branding. When used well, color enhances your brand experience at every touchpoint, from your product design, to your website, to your content.
1 - Differentiation
There is a reason that color TV took over the world. Color naturally grabs attention and makes things more enticing. It’s important to use it to differentiate yourself from your competitors, whether you’re trying to stand out on a store shelf or in a social feed.
2 - Emotional Response
Imagine coming home from work, turning on your television and only seeing black and white. Better yet… imagine looking at your smartphone in black and white. There is a reason color tv and outrageous pixels packed onto a little screen has taken over our world. Color is particularly powerful because of its ability to elicit emotional responses and influences people's moods. If you want to cultivate a particular emotion or reinforce your brand value, color is the most effective way to do it.
Often time long-term brand success relies heavily on the connection you create. Whether you want people to view your brand as a trusted advisor, a fun best friend, or a relaxing retreat, color can do a lot to elicit those emotions.
3 - Engagement
Your brain is previewed to process visual content faster than text. Hence, visuals are particularly effective when you want to communicate nonverbally. When you use elements like color in your design, you can make things easier to understand. Whether you highlight notable information in the form of an infographic or use color in a data visualization, you can make it easier to engage and synthesize content. In fact, research has found that adding color can enhance content comprehension by up to 73%!
When you’re trying to communicate information about your brand, using color effectively can drastically enhance your content, increasing its impact, and compelling people to take the action you want.
So, how do I choose my brand's colors?
Having helped and worked on many brands, both small and large, domestic and global, I’ve found that the right colors don't always start with picking palettes. You need to think about your overall brand goals, personality and how color can help you accomplish those.
1 - Consider your personality
Color is highly subjective, but it absolutely elicits an emotion. What do you want to say about yourself? Bright, bold colors are expected if you’re playful and fun. Muted tones will lend an air of seriousness and sophistication. Again, while color can be subjective, certain meanings have been traditionally ascribed to specific colors.
2 - Who is your audience
You know who you are and what you’re trying to achieve, so how do you communicate that to the people you are targeting? Also think about who you’re competing against. How can you use color to stand out?
3 - Think about the emotional benefits
What product or service do you sell? What feeling do you provide? Happy and light? Serious and professional? Consider how you can cultivate that feeding through color.
4 - Consider how your colors will be used
Some colors don’t render well on screens, so be cognizant of how you’ll be using them. You want to give designers the right tools to work with.
Once you’ve thought through these important facts, it’s time to start playing with color. Yay, play, play, play :)
A few tips to get started with your brand identity
Whether you’re starting from scratch or editing and existing palette, here are some simple tips to follow to find the right colors for your brand.
1 - Start with a mood board
Whether it’s a color tool, collage magazine cutouts, or Pinterest board, explore color imagery, patterns and textures that speak to you. Some of my favorite tools include:
Adobe Capture CC - helps you turn photos into color palettes
Branding Color Quiz - quiz to find out what colors are good for your company
Coolors.co - Color scheme generator
Color Palettes of the Fortune 500 - Explores the primary and secondary color palettes of major companies
2 - Play around!
Experiment, experiment, experiment! Think back to elementary school, complementary colors! Create contrast, add light and dark tones.
3 - Keep it consistent
Once you’ve selected your brand palette, you need to make sure it's applied consistently. Make sure it works seamlessly, everything from the logo to the iconography, from print to digital, and everything in between. Be sure to choose a typography that compliments and helps bring your identity together in the most cohesive way possible.
Pro tip: create a full brand style guide that includes RGB, CMYK, HEX codes along with real world examples for easy application. This will become critical as you start building out your brand. Trust me, you’ll thank me later!
