Brand color, often overlooked, is a potent force in shaping consumer perception. Before a single word is read or a product is examined, customers form initial impressions based solely on a brand's color palette.
Whether you're revitalizing an established brand or launching a fresh startup, understanding the psychological impact of color is crucial.
Colors evoke emotions and associations. A splash of red can symbolize passion and energy, while soothing blues can convey calmness and trust. Understanding color psychology can strategically influence consumer behavior and foster brand loyalty.
From the iconic red of Coca-Cola to the vibrant yellow of McDonald's, successful brands have mastered the art of leveraging color to create a lasting impression. In a survey, 91% correctly guessed Google just from its iconic shades.
Your brand's color scheme will enter every aspect of your marketing materials, from your logo and business cards to your website and social media presence. Consistent use of brand colors creates a unified and recognizable brand identity, making a lasting impact on your audience.
What are brand colors, and why are they important?
Brand colors are a set of 5 to 10 colors a company uses to represent itself. Using these colors consistently and strategically can make people more aware of the brand and recognize it easily.
These colors can be used in many ways, such as:
- The company logo
- Website colors
- Social media profiles
- Business cards
- Print and digital ads
For businesses with physical stores, these colors can also be used in:
- Store design
- Staff uniforms
- Product packaging
Your brand identity is the heart and soul of your company. It's the personality and image you project to the world. Brand colors play a crucial role in shaping this identity.
Think about how colors make you feel. Red might evoke excitement, while blue suggests calmness. From brand color theory and symbolism to their impact on consumers, everything lays a role in branding and marketing.
Color | Meaning | Details |
Red | Passion, love, anger | Red is a warm color associated with passion, love, anger and heightened emotions. It can also symbolize danger. |
Orange | Energy, boldness, brightness | Orange is a warm color that feels safer than red. It can also feel youthful and energetic. |
Yellow | Happy, youthful, caution | Yellow is a color that grabs attention with its hope and positivity. It can also signify caution. |
Green | Health, growth, wealth | Green is a cool color that can symbolize health, growth, wealth, and new beginnings. |
Blue | Calm, cool, trust | Blue is a cool color that is often associated with calmness, coolness, and trust. |
Purple | Royalty, mystery, whimsy | Purple is a color that can communicate luxury, mystery, whimsy, or playfulness depending on the shade. |
By cracking the code of color psychology, you can strategically connect with your target audience. Imagine a fun and energetic fitness brand – vibrant colors like orange and pink perfectly reflect their energetic personality. On the other hand, a calming wellness company might benefit from cooler colors like blue or green.
Culture also plays a role in color perception. White is often seen as a symbol of purity in Western cultures, but in some Eastern cultures, it's associated with mourning. Red can represent luck in China but signifies mourning in South Africa. Understanding these cultural nuances can ensure your colors resonate with your intended audience.
So, how important is color choice for a portfolio website:
Legibility: The right color combinations ensure your website content is easily readable. Imagine dark text on a white background – clear and easy on the eyes. Poor contrast, on the other hand, creates a frustrating user experience.
Visual Appeal: A website's color scheme should be visually harmonious and pleasing to the eye. Understanding color theory helps you create palettes that are universally appealing. We'll delve deeper into this concept later.
Brand Recognition: Consistent use of brand colors across your website, marketing materials, and other platforms builds brand recognition. Think of iconic brands like Coca-Cola's red, Starbucks' green, or Ikea's blue and yellow – their colors are instantly recognizable.
How to choose a brand color scheme
1. Define brand personality and values
Before diving into color palettes, it's crucial to understand your brand's core identity. By clearly defining your brand's personality and values, you can select colors that align with your brand's overall message and evoke the desired emotions in your audience.
Consider these questions:
Brand Purpose: What problem does your brand solve? What value do you offer?
Brand Values: What principles guide your business? Are you eco-friendly, innovative, or customer-centric?
Brand Personality: How would you describe your brand's personality? Is it playful, serious, sophisticated, or edgy?
Brand Voice: How do you communicate with your audience? Is your tone formal, informal, humorous, or authoritative?
2. Understand brand color terminology
To effectively communicate with your design team and ensure accurate color implementation, it's essential to have a basic understanding of color terminology:
Hue: The pure color, such as red, blue, or yellow.
Shade: A color darkened by adding black.
Tint: A color lightened by adding white.
Tone: A color modified by adding both black and white.
HSL: Hue, Saturation, and Lightness. A color model used in digital design.
CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (black). A color model used in printing.
RGB: Red, Green, and Blue. A color model used for digital displays.
HEX: Hexadecimal color code. A shorthand notation for RGB colors.
PMS (Pantone Matching System): A standardized color matching system used in printing.
3. Understand Color psychology
Color psychology is the study of how colors influence human behavior and perception. By understanding the symbolic meanings and emotional connotations associated with different colors, you can strategically select a color palette that resonates with your target audience and aligns with your brand identity.
Iconic brands like Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and Tiffany & Co. have successfully leveraged color to create a strong brand image. Their distinctive color palettes are instantly recognizable, evoking specific emotions and associations.
When choosing a color scheme, consider the following factors:
Brand Personality: What emotions do you want to evoke? Are you aiming for excitement, calmness, trust, or something else?
Target Audience: Understand your target audience's preferences and cultural associations with color.
Industry Standards: While it's important to stand out, consider industry norms and color trends.
Industry-specific color trends:
Food and Beverage: Warm colors like red, orange, and yellow are popular choices to stimulate appetite. Green is often used to signify health and freshness.
Health and Wellness: Blue is frequently used to convey trust and reliability. Green is associated with nature and healing.
Fashion and Beauty: Black is often used to convey elegance and sophistication. Red, orange, and pink are popular choices to evoke passion and excitement.
Technology: Blue is a common choice for tech companies to signify trust and innovation.
By carefully considering these factors, you can create a color palette that enhances your brand's visual identity and resonates with your target audience.
Pixpa’s color palette in action
Pixpa’s color palette feature allows users to personalize their website's visual style with ease. Choose from curated presets or fully customize colors for elements like backgrounds, text, buttons, and headers, ensuring cohesive branding. With the “Advanced Edit” option, users can adjust colors for each website component, offering full control over aesthetics. The color palette changes apply site-wide, enhancing the website’s look with a single click and enabling easy brand consistency adjustments.
4. Understand Primary, Secondary, Accent, and Neutral Colors
Your primary color is the cornerstone of your brand's visual identity. It should evoke the desired emotions and align with your brand's personality. Consider using a color wheel to explore different color options and their meanings.
Secondary colors complement your primary color and add depth and dimension to your brand's visual identity. You can choose from these common color schemes:
Analogous Colors: These are colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel, such as red, orange, and yellow or blue, purple, and violet. Analogous colors create a harmonious and soothing look.
Monochromatic Colors: These are different shades and tints of the same color. Monochromatic color schemes create a clean and sophisticated look.
Complementary Colors: These are colors opposite each other on the color wheel, such as red and green or blue and orange. Complementary colors create high contrast and can be visually striking.
Triadic Colors: These are colors evenly spaced around the color wheel, such as red, yellow, and blue. Triadic colors create a vibrant and dynamic look.
An accent color is a powerful tool to add visual interest and emphasize specific elements on your website or marketing materials. It should be a contrasting color that stands out against your primary and secondary colors. This could be a vibrant color like teal or orange, or even a neutral color like black or white. Use your accent color sparingly to highlight important elements such as buttons, headings, or icons.
Neutral colors, such as black, white, and gray, provide a clean and balanced backdrop for your brand's primary and secondary colors. They enhance readability and create a sense of professionalism.
Tip box
Try adding two pop colors
Introduce two vibrant colors that will capture attention and define your brand's visual identity. These colors should be complementary and evoke the desired emotions.
Consider the psychology of color when selecting your pop colors. Cool colors like blue and green tend to have a calming effect, while warm colors like red and orange can be energizing. Experiment with different color combinations to find the perfect fit for your brand.
5. Research your competition
To stand out in a crowded market, it's essential to analyze your competitors' brand colors. By understanding their color choices, you can identify opportunities to differentiate your brand.
Color Dominance: What colors are most prominent in your competitors' branding?
Brand Perception: How do their color choices contribute to their overall brand image?
Target Audience: How do their colors appeal to their target audience?
Brand Differentiation: How can you use color to distinguish your brand from competitors?
Lyft's bright pink logo stands out in contrast to Uber's black and white color scheme. This bold color choice positions Lyft as a more fun and youthful brand.
6. Seek inspiration
Now that you have a solid understanding of color theory and brand psychology, it's time to create a visually appealing color palette for your brand.
Mood Boards: Use platforms like Pinterest, Behance, or Instagram to collect images that inspire you.
Color Palette Generators: Tools like Coolers, Color Hunt, and Adobe Color can help you generate harmonious color combinations.
Nature: Look to nature for inspiration. The colors of sunsets, flowers, and the ocean can provide beautiful color palettes.
7. Test brand colors
Once you've finalized your brand color palette, it's crucial to test its effectiveness and ensure consistency across all your marketing materials.
Create Color Guidelines: Develop a comprehensive set of guidelines that outlines the specific usage of each color in different contexts. This will help maintain brand consistency and prevent misuse.
Test Color Combinations: Experiment with different combinations of your brand colors to see how they work together. Consider factors like contrast, readability, and emotional impact.
Create Mood Boards: Visualize how your brand colors will be used in various marketing materials, such as social media, website, and print materials.
Accessibility Testing: Ensure that your color palette is accessible to people with visual impairments by using color contrast checkers.
Organize Your Brand Assets: Create a centralized repository for all your brand assets, including color palettes, logos, and typography guidelines. This will help maintain consistency and streamline the design process.
Tip box
Selecting CTA color
- To create a compelling call-to-action, choose a color that contrasts with your primary brand colors. This will draw attention and encourage your audience to take action. Consider the psychology of color when selecting your CTA color. A bold, vibrant color can evoke excitement and urgency, while a softer color can create a sense of calm and trust. Ensure consistency by using the same CTA color across all your marketing materials.
Brand color examples
Google: Uses primary colors (red, blue, yellow, green) with high saturation for a vibrant and recognizable look.
Starbucks: Uses a monochromatic color scheme with various shades of green to convey freshness and nature.
FedEx: Uses complementary colors (purple and orange) to create a high-contrast and memorable logo.
Slack: Uses modern shades of primary colors (red, yellow, blue, green) to express a playful and energetic brand personality.
Oatly: Uses a combination of light blue, white, and black to create a calm and collected brand image.
Airbnb: Uses a vibrant color palette with a primary focus on red. This color choice evokes passion, excitement, and a sense of adventure, aligning with the brand's mission of connecting people with unique travel experiences.
Netflix: Netflix primarily uses a monochromatic color palette, with various shades of red. This creates a strong brand identity and is easily recognizable. The red color is associated with passion, excitement, and entertainment, perfectly fitting the brand's offerings.
Spotify: Spotify uses a vibrant green color as its primary brand color. Green is associated with growth, harmony, and nature, reflecting the brand's focus on music discovery and a seamless user experience.
FAQ
What are brand colors?
Brand colors are specific colors chosen to represent a brand's identity and values. They are used consistently across all branding materials, including logos, websites, and marketing collateral, to create a recognizable visual identity.
What are the top brand colors?
Top brand colors vary by industry but typically include blue (trust), red (energy), green (growth), yellow (optimism), and black (luxury). These colors are often chosen for their universal appeal and ability to convey specific brand messages.
What is brand color psychology?
Brand color psychology is the study of how colors influence consumer perception and emotions. Different colors evoke distinct feelings: for example, blue conveys trust and stability, while yellow suggests optimism and friendliness.
How do I find the right brand color?
To find the right brand color, consider your brand’s personality, target audience, and industry. Choose colors that convey the values and emotions you want associated with your brand and test them to ensure they resonate with your audience.
What are some common mistakes when choosing brand colors?
Common mistakes include choosing colors based solely on personal preference, using too many colors, selecting clashing colors, and ignoring color accessibility for visually impaired users. These missteps can lead to a confusing or inconsistent brand image.
What are the main benefits of using brand colors?
Brand colors help establish brand recognition, create emotional connections, and convey your brand’s personality. Consistent use of brand colors across platforms strengthens brand identity and makes your business more memorable.
What's the most popular brand color in 2025?
While trends vary, shades of blue remain a popular brand color for conveying trust and dependability. In 2025, earthy tones and sustainable greens are gaining popularity, reflecting a focus on nature, health, and eco-friendliness.
What is the rule for branding colors?
A common rule is the 60-30-10 rule: use one primary color (60%), a secondary color (30%), and an accent color (10%). This balance ensures a cohesive look and avoids overwhelming the viewer.
What are some of the most dominant brand colors?
Some dominant brand colors include blue (trust), red (excitement), black (luxury), and green (growth and sustainability). These colors are often used by major brands to create strong, recognizable identities that resonate with consumers.
