According to Review 42, color influences 85% of our buying decisions 😮
On top of that, if you know how to effectively use color, you can easily boost your overall brand recognition by up to 80%.
Those two stats alone are why choosing the right color palette for your brand is a critical factor in your business and how you market your brand. This influence extends beyond mere recognition; 93% of us focus on the visual appearance and, consequently, the color of products alone when deciding whether we should buy.
So first, let's reset how we think of colors when it comes to business and branding.
We repeat: colors do not equal branding. (Just like logos do not equal branding, but we digress.)
Colors evoke emotions, unconsciously sway decisions, and speak on your brand values without saying a literal word. This is what makes selecting the right color palette for your brand not just about your personal preferences; it's about your ideal client/customer (or who we like to call "your people") and the broader cultural meanings those colors carry for them.
We know it sounds like a lot, so we're going to simplify it.
Let's tap into the psychological impact of colors in branding and talk tips for how you can choose the right colors that align with your brand — on your first try.
Download the key to choosing the right colors for your brand 👀
So we know colors play a crucial role in how we perceive, well, everything — but especially business and brands. When thinking through the colors you want to incorporate, keep in mind the emotions you want to stir up in people, what associations you want to trigger, and even how you'd like your flow to go for influencing engagement decisions.
On top of that, the psychology behind brand colors is pretty freaking fascinating. (Yes, we're geeking out over color psychology.)
Just think of how impactful colors have been on your own behavior as a consumer and how you've perceived (and judged) brands. To back your own experiences, are statistics that show just how powerful color can be in branding. For instance, blue, a highly favored color, is preferred by 35% of women and a staggering 57% of men, underscoring its widespread appeal. This preference plays directly into why so many brands — including our own — chooses blue for either their logos and/or their brand aesthetic.
Blue often signifies trust, calmness, and professionalism. It's widely used across a vast range of industries, everything from the tech world (like Facebook and LinkedIn) to banking (like Barclays and Deutsche Bank). Naturally, blue is also often associated with water and the sky, which can be seen as a symbol of freedom and openness. This makes it an ideal choice for businesses that want their customers to feel like they're in good hands — we see you AllState.
Use blue if you want to evoke:
Usually associated with passion, excitement, and urgency. It's frequently used in the food and beverage industry (Coca Cola, KFC, Burger King, Krystal's, Cookout, Chick-fil-a), and also in clearance sales because of its connection to urgency and action.
Performable.com (now a part of HubSpot) changed its CTA button color from green to red. That simple change increased conversions by 21%.
Source: Review 42
You can also use red if you want to convey a different kind of big energy. Think love and desire — or even sensuality. So if you're in the business or lingerie or the like, red is a no-brainer to include in your palette.
On the other side of its emotional spectrum is power and purpose, believe it or not. This makes it ideal for businesses or nonprofits that want their people to feel like they're a part of something bigger than themselves (Red Cross, Humane Society, Red Bull).
When you think of green does growth, nature, and relaxation come to mind? Good, because that's what it signifies. It's perfect for companies in health, wellness, or environmentally conscious industries (Whole Foods, Animal Planet (for the older folks who remember regular TV), Starbucks, Seventh Generation, Spotify).
Green holds a special place in the world of branding. It invites us to feelings of vitality, renewal, and a connection to the earth. It speaks to a sense of balance and harmony, tranquility and also stability. (Shameless plug: which is why we choose it for a recent client of ours who's already increased appointment bookings and sales consistently month over month since launching February 2024.)
Use green if you want your people to feel:
Yellow — clearly our favorite color — is all about invoking happiness, warmth, and optimism. Brands that want to project positivity, creativity, or youthful energy often opt for yellow (like Snapchat, Cheetos, McDonald's, MailChimp).
Yellow is mentally activating, psychologically stimulating higher cognition, creativity, and feelings of optimism.
Buuut the impact of yellow is not all positive. The more in-your-face yellow is, the more your people can feel frustration, anxiety or anger. So if you're going to use it, be strategic with it. Consider the emotional response you want your people to experience. Moderation is key, as too much yellow or the wrong tone can lead to discomfort or agitation.
It's giving luxury, elegance, sophistication, and power (Chanel, Mercedes-Benz). It essentially gives off the perception of premium quality.
On top of that, black has a fascinating versatility to it; as much as it can be all of those aforementioned things, it can also stir up feelings of mystery, authority, and strength.
Black is often seen in the branding of luxury products, high-fashion labels, and technology companies, aiming to appeal to consumer desires for sophistication and distinction.
Remember, these are just general associations. The interpretation of colors can also vary by culture, context, and individual experience. Basically, it's all in the way you use it and how you align its usage with your brand's framework or personality that will make it or break it for your brand.
Again, choosing the right color palette for your brand is more than just picking colors that appeal to you personally; it's about conveying the right message, emotion, and values to your audience. The colors you choose can significantly impact how your brand is perceived, affecting everything from customer engagement to brand recognition.
It doesn't help that there's so much to choose from either, so let's make it simple. Follow these steps below to select a color palette that best represents your brand and business or nonprofit — the first time you try this.
First, identify your brand personality. Is it playful, serious, minimalist, extravagant? Once you know your brand's promises to who it'll serve, what sets it apart from others in the same space, and your story through the eyes of your target audience, picking colors that match and communicate to your ideal persona(s) will be so much easier. For example, if you have a playful brand, you'll want to lean into more bright, vibrant colors, while a minimalist brand may go for a monochromatic or neutral palette. But first...
Know your brand framework, or this will be a lot harder and stressful to accomplish correctly.
Identify the core values your brand stands for and find colors that align with these values. If sustainability is a key value of your brand, shades of green will be a good fit. If luxury and sophistication are at the core of your brand, then you'll want to incorporate black or a deep purple.
Think about the people you want to engage with your brand and business or nonprofit the most. What are their demographic factors, such as age, gender, or culture — all of which greatly influence how they perceive colors. For example, younger audiences might respond better to bold, vibrant colors, while an older audience might prefer more subdued, classic colors.
What you don't want to do is choose colors that you love personally but translate horribly in your industry. The market that you're in has color norms that are essential to understand. We know you want your brand to stand out while still resonating with your target audience. Buuuut while creativity and uniqueness are key in branding, straying too far from industry standards can lead to confusion among your people and will most definitely dilute what you're trying to convey. By staying informed about the typical color palettes used in your specific industry, you can better figure out the balance between standing out and falling into the crowd.
Remember, standing out doesn't always mean breaking away completely from what everyone else is doing; sometimes, it's about finding the perfect blend of innovation and industry familiarity.
OK so you've got a good idea for what colors make sense for your brand and what you want your people to feel?
Great!
Once you've got a sample color palette going, test it out and get feedback. Use your colors in different contexts — print, digital, merchandise, etc. — to see how they look and how they resonate with your people.
(When testing and getting feedback, don't use your family and friends unless they literally match your brand persona or ideal customer profile. Otherwise, hate to say it but someone has to, they don't matter in this context. Test and get feedback from people that actually match your target audience.)
It's about shaping the perceptions of your people and their emotional responses to your brand and business or nonprofit. By reading this and digging into your own brand framework to understand color psychology, it'll be that much easier to accurately align your brand values with the right color choices.
This means you can curate a color scheme that not only visually appeals but also carries your brand narrative. So delve into the fascinating world of colors, and paint a captivating picture of your business or nonprofit that lasts!
Or skip all of this altogether and get an expert team to do it all for you LOL!