28.05.2021
How to build a color palette for your brand
Posted by
You take a few steps back. Try to envision the bigger picture. ‘How can I better use all the tools I have at my disposal?’ and ‘What are the best practices I must put to work?’ are questions you quietly address to yourself. When beginning to build a brand, your start line looks pretty much like this and, amongst many other things, colors are a key aspect of your brand identity. Curious to find out why branding colors matter so much and how they better mix & match together? Then keep on reading, because we have plenty interesting key facts in store for you today.
Color is emotion
First off, let’s start by understanding why color matters so much when it comes to brand identity. Color is what gets your audience to see what you want them to see, feel what you want them to feel, and to do what you want them to do. Color has an impact on how we think and behave. Color makes us hungry, thirsty, happy, sad or melancholic. Color helps us put content into context.
So, never underestimate the power of color in constructing a brand.
How to choose the right color for your brand
When you know exactly what you want to communicate, choosing the right color is piece of cake. If you’re brand personality is determined, your choice of color will only further emphasize what you’re standing for. Learn that each and every color has its own emotional associations.
Down below, you can find a brief presentation of brand color meanings and their potential effect on people:
Red — passion, excitement and anger, often used for pointing out importance and commanding attention
Orange — playfulness, vitality and friendliness, orange is full of vitality and energy
Yellow — happiness, youth and optimism, but also attention-grabbing or affordable
Green — stability, prosperity, growth and a link to nature
Light Blue — tranquility, trust, openness and also innocence
Dark Blue — professionalism, security and formality
Purple — royalty, creativity and luxury
Pink — femininity, youth and innocence, ranging from modern to luxurious
Brown — rugged, earthy, old-fashioned look
White — cleanliness, virtue, health or simplicity, ranging from affordable to high-end
Gray — neutrality, ideal for subdued, classic, serious, mysterious or mature looks
Black — ideal for a powerful, sophisticated, edgy, luxurious and modern feeling
For a full-on effect, the color combinations you make starting off with your main color will contribute even more to communicating a unitary brand image.
How to build a color palette
One thing you need to keep in mind is that there’s no secret recipe to combining colors. However, there are a few rules meant to guide your steps towards the most suitable combination for you and your brand.
1. The holy trinity
Focus on choosing 3 colors: a base, an accent and a neutral. By doing so, you’ll assure your good looks on various types of materials and you will make sure your core color stands out properly from the crowd.
2. All about that base
The base color is the most important one and reflects not only your brand’s personality and dominant trait, but will also be the one color audience will distinguish you from your competitors and call it your own.
3. After, accents
After the base color, the accent will be the color you use most frequently. Here, you have to pay a little bit of attention because, besides matching the brand’s personality, the accent color must be a good suit for your base color and must appeal to your audience.
4. Save the day with neutrals
Never underestimate the power of neutral colors. They will most likely end up being your background colors and we can all agree that backgrounds play a crucial role in the overall look of a visual. Adapt it to your base and accent color and obtain an harmonious composition.
5. Choose your character: the color scheme
Throughout the process of choosing your brand colors, don’t forget your end goal: identifying the kind of color scheme you plan on using. Typically, brands use one of these common brand color schemes:
- monochromatic: one color in many shades
- analogous: few colors close to each other
- complementary: colors directly across the color wheel
- triad: colors that form a triangle on the color wheel
Looking for someone to help you out with creating the perfect color palette for your brand? Drop us a line and let’s work together.
Till next time,
diARK team
