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Your color palette is a vital part of your brand’s identity, and choosing the right logo colors entails much more than selecting your favorite colors. Colors have different meanings that convey an array of emotions and concepts and have the ability to influence our behavior and decision-making.
With a broad spectrum of colors to choose from, selecting your brand color palette might sound like a daunting task.
This guide will walk you through understanding the difference between each of the colors and how to choose the right color for your brand.
How to choose the right color for your logo in 5 steps
1. Know how many colors to have in your brand color scheme
Did you know that research has shown that people make a subconscious judgment about a product within just 90 seconds of looking at it, with up to 90% of their assessment being based on color alone? What’s more, color can increase brand recognition by 80%. If you want to encourage a strong emotional connection with your customers, your brand colors provide the shortcut straight to your target audience’s hearts.
When you first start considering colors, you may wonder how many you need to define your brand. In examining some of the world’s most popular brand color schemes, it’s evident that many highly effective palettes contain three key elements:
- Base color: This is a brand’s most dominant color. Therefore, it should reflect your most important brand personality trait while appealing to your target audience.
- Accent color: The second-most important brand color, after the base color. Not only should it convey another trait of your brand, but it must also pair well with your base color and appeal to your audience.
- Neutral color: Refers to a color that doesn’t demand attention but ties your color palette together in an understated way. Think of colors you’d typically use in the background, such as shades of white, beige, or gray.
Case Study: Dunkin’ Donuts
Let’s take a look at Dunkin’ Donuts’ brand color palette to see how to create an effective brand color scheme.
The brand’s base color is a zesty orange, conveying joy, enthusiasm, and fun. The accent color is bold magenta, which is playful and stimulating.
Together, these colors represent the brand’s colorful sprinkled donuts and fun-loving personality. Its primary neutral color is chocolate brown, which complements the two louder shades and conveys the brand’s sweet and down-to-earth identity.
2. Use the color wheel to find colors that match
On your journey to creating a brand color palette, you’re likely to come across numerous terms relating to color theory and design. One essential concept to understand is the color wheel, which is a visual representation of the relationships between primary colors and other shades.
The color wheel’s foundations can be traced back to 1666 when English physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton discovered that clear white light was composed of seven visible colors—otherwise known as the colors of the rainbow. Fundamental aspects of the color wheel include:
- Primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. These colors cannot be mixed with other colors.
- Secondary colors include green, orange, and purple. These colors are created when primary colors are mixed.
- Tertiary colors are those made by mixing primary and secondary colors, such as aqua or violet.
The color wheel can also be split down the middle to represent the two distinct color temperatures:
- Cool colors include blues, greens, and purples. These are associated with cooler seasons, including winter and spring, as well as feelings of calm and serenity.
- Warm colors include reds, oranges, and yellows. These are associated with warmer seasons, including summer and fall, as well as feelings of energy, action, and vitality.
Looking at the color wheel, we can also determine three key color schemes:
- Complementary colors refer to two colors that are opposite one another.
- Analogous colors refer to three colors that sit directly next to each other.
- Triadic colors refer to three colors that are evenly spaced around the color wheel
How does this information help you select your brand colors? An intelligent way to put this knowledge to work is to think about brands you know.
Best Buy is an excellent example of a brand that uses a complementary color scheme. The dynamic blue and yellow are opposites on the color wheel and work together to make Best Buy’s logo stand out.
With its green-and-yellow sun-shaped logo, company BP is a prime example of how to make an analogous color scheme work for a corporate brand. The colors convey both energy and nature to give viewers quick insight into BP’s core purpose.
What about a triadic color scheme? FedEx uses purple and orange, two colors evenly spaced on the color wheel, for its primary logo. The quirky purple is a departure from the staid brown of its chief competitor, UPS, and the orange conveys energy and momentum.
3. Understand the link between brand personality and color palette
Equipped with some fundamental insights on color theory, you’re ready to start thinking about the colors for your brand.
According to insights published in the Journal of Consumer Research, people prefer brands that “fit” well into their lives, and favorite brands often become part of people’s identities. Color is one tool that marketers can use to convey their brand’s core message and purpose.
To truly narrow down your palette, you should begin by paying close attention to who you are as a brand and the personality you convey to your target audiences.
A company with a fun brand personality, for example, might choose a vibrant and energetic color palette such as pink and yellow. A more serious and mature brand personality, on the other hand, should be represented with colors like blue and gray.
For more details on color psychology, you can read our in-depth guide but knowing common color associations can jumpstart your color selection process:
- Red: action, strength, energy, and passion
- Orange: emotion, youth, optimism, and enthusiasm
- Yellow: happiness, optimism, positivity, and intellect
- Green: harmony, safety, growth, and health
- Blue: security, trust, loyalty, and responsibility
- Purple: spirituality, mystery, royalty, and imagination
- Pink: compassion, love, femininity, and playfulness
- Black: protection, power, elegance, and sophistication
- White: cleanliness, purity, innocence, and perfection
- Gray: compromise, neutrality, control, and practicality
- Brown: reliability, stability, honesty, and comfort
- Gold: success, triumph, luxury, and abundance
- Silver: femininity, fluidity, sensitivity, and mystery
Keep culture in mind when choosing colors
Culture also plays a significant role in color associations and preferences. White is associated with joy and purity in Western countries, yet it’s associated with death in many Asian countries, for example. Do your research beforehand to ensure your brand colors don’t have negative connotations in countries where your target audience is based.
4. Discover the best brand colors based on your industry
Did you know certain colors are more suited to specific industries due to the relevant messages and emotions they convey? Understanding your industry is an essential step in choosing your brand colors.
Red
Red is a common choice in the food, technology, automotive, and agricultural industries. Some famous examples of brands that utilize the color red in their logo and brand palette include Kellogg’s, Nintendo, and Ferrari.
Orange
Orange is a popular brand color among companies in both the technology and health care sectors. Brands including Firefox, Amazon, and GSK Consumer Healthcare are just three examples of companies within these fields that use orange as a brand color.
Yellow
Yellow is a common color selection for brands specializing in energy, food, or household goods. McDonald’s, IKEA, and Shell are three brands that famously use yellow in their color palette.
Green
Green is a prevalent brand color within the energy, finance, food, household, and technology industries. BP, Starbucks, and Android are three famous brands that include green in their color palette.
Blue
Blue is one of the most prevalent colors within brand color schemes, particularly those within fields relating to energy, finance, airlines, technology, healthcare, and agriculture. Twitter, NASA, and Oral B are three such examples.
Purple
Purple is popular within the finance, technology, and healthcare sectors. Three examples of companies using purple within their brand colors are Yahoo!, New York University, and Starlight Children’s Foundation.
Pink
Pink is a dominant brand color within the technology, beauty, health, toys, and food-related industries. Taco Bell, Barbie, and Victoria’s Secret are just three brands that use pink.
Black
You’ll often see companies in the fashion, technology, and automotive space utilizing black in their brand colors. Examples include Nike, Sony, and Mercedes.
White
Although it’s a neutral color, white can also serve as a dominant brand color, particularly among fashion and healthcare brands. Adidas, Chanel, and GE Healthcare are three examples.
Gray
Gray is a common brand color in the automotive, technology, petrochemical, and interior design industries. Companies including Wikipedia, Honda, and Nissan use gray within their color palette.
Brown
When it comes to the color brown, you’ll most often find it used for brands in the fashion, automotive/transport, and agricultural industries. Louis Vuitton, UPS, and Cotton are three examples.
Gold
Gold is a popular brand color for companies in fields such as fashion, gourmet food, entertainment, and automotive. Warner Bros. Pictures, Guess, and Lindt all use gold within their color palette.
Silver
Silver is a versatile brand color typically featured within fields relating to the internet, technology, watchmaking, electronics, news media, and video games. Disney, Bvlgari, and Star Wars are three brands that may come to mind.
5. Know your brand color codes
Since color is such an important part of your branding, you’ll want to ensure your chosen palette remains consistent across desktop, mobile, and print. The way you do this is through knowing each of your brand colors in their relevant color codes: PMS, CMYK, RGB, and HEX.
- PMS (Pantone® Matching System): patented, standardized color inks manufactured by the Pantone Corporation
- CMYK: a printing technique that uses a mixture of small transparent dots in four ink colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black
- RGB: a method of displaying colors on-screen using red, green, and blue color combinations. RGB is exclusive to digital applications
- HEX (hexadecimal color): a six-digit number and letter combination determined by the proportions of red, green, and blue (RGB)
Brand colors in a print
Digital and print mediums represent color very differently from one another. When printing your brand colors, such as for a brochure or magazine ad, you will represent colors using PMS or CMYK color types.
Brand colors used digitally
When displaying your brand colors digitally, such as on desktop or mobile, they use RGB (red, green, blue) and HEX (hexadecimal color) color types.
Explore top brand color palette resources
Your journey to selecting the perfect brand colors isn’t complete without getting to know several helpful, easy-to-use tools. We recommend the following resources to further assist you with choosing the best brand colors:
- Pantone Connect can determine your brand colors in HEX, HTML, RGB, or CMYK formats for you
- Fiverr’s Logo Maker utilizes AI technology to create logo designs in colors and styles that best fit your brand
- The Sessions College Color Calculator lets you choose a base color and then generates color harmonies based on geometric relationships on the color wheel.
- Basic Principles of Color Theory from the University of Missouri discusses basic principles of color theory for use in both art and graphic design.
Final thoughts
Now that you know how to choose the best colors for your brand, you’re ready to finalize your palette and put it to successful use within your business.
Your business color palette allows you to communicate what your brand is about while cultivating a strong emotional connection with your customers. Since most brand purchasing decisions rely on emotions, there’s no denying the significance color plays in the success of your brand.
As the saying goes, “first impressions count.” The first thing a consumer will see about your business is your brand colors—often in the form of your logo.
If you’re looking to complement your brand color scheme with the perfect logo, check out Fiverr’s innovative Logo Maker. Simply answer a few questions about your business and style preferences. Then, we’ll let our powerful artificial intelligence (AI) technology create logo designs that best fit your brand.
