Tips For Choosing Brand Colors
When you are establishing a brand, picking colors is one of the most important (and fun) steps! According to a University of Loyola, Maryland study Color increases brand recognition by up to 80 percent.
A few things to keep in mind…
Stick with 1-4 colors. When you pick too many, it won’t be instantly recognizable as your brand!
In most cases, your color palette will be much more interesting if you choose shades and tints of colors instead of true primary colors. (The primary colors are blue, red, and yellow. To read more about primary colors read this article.)
There are many ways to choose brand colors, below are a few of my favorite!
Find a photo you love and pull out the dominant colors! There are a lot of websites out there that let you upload a photo and it will help you identify a palette. Here is one example.
Research color psychology and align your colors with your company values. Blue is peaceful, red is passionate, and white is clean and safe. An article like this one can help you figure out how color is used in marketing and how you may utilize color psychology.
Look at your environment. Do you love the beach? (I do!) Pick some airy and bright colors. Do you love mountains? Try deep greens and blues. Are you more of a city dweller? Maybe greys and silver is more your speed! Inspiration can be found everywhere!
Finally, the most important part of choosing brand colors is to make sure you like them! At the end of the day you are the one who is going to have to live with these colors day in and day out, so make sure you can enjoy them!
*To see some visual color palette inspiration, check out the TSSC color inspiration Pinterest board!
*To learn more about color theory and color research we recommend checking out the Color Matters Website!