Are you considering choosing your brand colors based on your favorite colors or opinion of what looks best? Before you do that, it is important to know that your business colors play a larger role than what looks pretty!
Now, you have probably heard that your brand colors should help you stand out while creating a unified look for your marketing. However, where your color scheme makes a difference is in how your business colors make your customers feel about your brand. This is why experts in the field of marketing utilize color psychology when helping business owners choose the best color palettes for their businesses.
Now, I know not everyone has thousands to spend with Branding experts. So today, I am going to walk you through some simple steps to help you choose your brand colors.
Step 1. Define What You Want Your Brand Colors to Say About Your Brand
Your brand’s colors say a lot without saying anything, so let’s ensure we control that message!
Grab a piece of paper or open notes on your phone for this branding exercise.
- Write down five qualities you want your clients/customers to consider when they think of you.
- List five words describing how they need to feel to invest in your product or hire your services.
- Write five words that showcase how you want them to feel about their experience with your services or product.
By now, you should have a list of 15 words (unless some overlapped, in which case that is alright).
From there, pick the top three words that best fit what you want your brand and client experience to be. For instance, “trust,” “professional,” and “friendly” could be your words. If you did have a word that fits all three of those questions, I would recommend making it one of your top three words.
Now that you have these words, let’s discover what color psychology suggests your brand’s color scheme should be.
Step 2. Use Color Psychology to Match Words to Colors
Research what colors align with the three words you’ve chosen. For example, the word trust is commonly associated with the color blue. That is why you often see it in marketing for financial-based businesses and healthcare (not because it was the CEO’s favorite color). A simple way to do this is Google each of your words and ask what their color meaning is for brands. Or you can search “color psychology for (insert your color here).”
Step 3. Consider the Industry You are In
While it’s not a hard-and-fast rule, certain colors have become staples in different industries for a reason. Realtors favor blue for its trustworthiness, while health-focused companies use greens. Your colors don’t have to mimic the norm, but understanding why certain colors dominate each industry can help you make an informed choice.
So what happens if you are not crazy about the color selection?
You can look at some of the other words that would be next on your list and see what colors they represent.
What if the brand colors clash based on what my three words happen to represent?
In this case, choose the color that best represents your brand and then use neutral colors that also fit your brand but may not be at the top of your list.
What if I really want to use my favorite color, but the word that color represents does not match my brand?
I get it. I am a pink girl and absolutely love pink in every shade! At the end of the day, you want your personality to shine without overpowering your brand message. One way to do this is by using it as an accent color.
Step 4: List Your Brand Colors and Grab Your Hex Codes
Now it’s time to list your three main brand colors — and remember those hex codes!
- Primary Brand Color (*hex code):
- Secondary Brand Color (*hex code):
- Accent Brand Color (*hex code):
What are hex codes?
These are six-character codes that tell computers how to display your colors. You will use them for any online or printed content so that your brand colors are consistent across any platform your brand is on.
How do I find the hex codes for my brand colors?
I recommend Adobe’s free color wheel. I love it because you can easily adjust and grab your digital swatch for your color scheme.
These colors are the first brushstrokes on the canvas of your brand’s identity. So, you want to make sure that you love them and that they truly represent the brand you are building.
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