When you think of "organic," what color do you picture? There’s a high chance that it is Green.

This association is not arbitrary, instead, it is the result of colors having a powerful association with our perception. Colors can invoke a multitude of emotions in us based on cultural, evolutionary and psychological factors.

In marketing, brands leverage this phenomenon by strategically selecting colors to communicate their identity, values, and to evoke desired emotions in consumers. Scientific research also underscores the significant role that colors play in influencing  consumer behavior, with up to 93% of initial product assessments being based on color alone. 

Moreover, Faber Birren, a color consultant and researcher, emphasized the universality of certain emotional responses to colors. His work suggested that specific colors tend to evoke similar feelings across diverse cultures and geographic locations. For instance, red is commonly associated with warmth, energy, and passion, while blue often conveys calmness and trust. This universality adds a cross cultural dimension to color psychology, implying that certain emotional responses to colors may be inherent or deeply rooted in human psychology.

Color theory goes beyond mere aesthetic preferences; psychologists link it to human evolution. Certain color associations developed over years of connecting colors with specific objects. For instance, blood red triggers alertness for nearby danger, while the browns of dirt and rotten food tend to be unappetizing. Despite individual variations, these connections have deep biological roots, formed over millions of years. 

Cultural associations further amplify color meanings. Americans, for example, associate green with money due to the color of everyday currency. Even phrases like "spending greens" make sense in this context. With a plethora of evidence supporting the psychological effects of branding colors, understanding how to leverage them for your brand is critical.

Using Colors in Branding 

According to neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, how people feel about a brand is more influential than what they think about it. Combining this with the fact that certain colors evoke specific emotions, it becomes evident that your brand's colors can have a bigger impact on sales and performance than the actual products or services you offer. Essentially, the emotional connection created by your brand's colors plays a crucial role in shaping consumer behavior and overall success.

Furthermore, the science of branding colors extends to the concept of brand recognition. Consistency in color application across various brand elements, such as logos, website, instore design, packaging, and marketing materials, enhances the brain's ability to recognize and recall a brand. This recognition triggers positive associations, fostering brand loyalty and trust.

How to decide which color would be best for your brand? 

Selecting your brand colors becomes straightforward when you have a clear communication goal in mind. In the initial stages of brand development, defining your brand's personality is essential. 

Consider your company as a person – who are they, and what values matter to them? Once you've outlined your brand personality objectives, the next step is to identify which colors align best. Begin by understanding the emotional associations linked to each color.

You can ask yourself: 

• Why did we start this business?
• What are beliefs and values that are important to us as a company?
• What do we do better than anyone else?
• What makes us special?
• If we could describe our brand in three words, what would they be?
• What are the three words we would want our customers to use to describe us?

Once you've solidified your brand's personality, begin exploring color options with the help of the color wheel.

Understanding the Color Wheel

Ever wonder how designers pick the right colors? 

They use color theory—a mix of art and science. Isaac Newton created the color wheel in 1666, a circle mapping the color spectrum. This wheel is the core of color theory, showing how colors relate.

The color wheel visually organizes all available colors within a color space in a circular manner. Similar hues are positioned next to each other, while contrasting ones are opposite. The closer a color is to the wheel's center, the more vibrant it appears.

This wheel serves as a handy tool for identifying various color combinations like analogous or complementary. Adobe Color Wheel simplifies this process by allowing you to choose one color in the harmony, automatically adjusting the others. Precision is at your fingertips—you can fine-tune by dragging cursors or entering numeric values for each color mode component (e.g., R, G, B, and luminosity in RGB mode).

Each color theme comprises five colors, with the third serving as the base, providing ample space for creative expression. In the world of painting, photography, and graphic design, experts understand the importance of nuances—after all, there's more than one shade of yellow or blue, and those nuances make a difference.

Using Adobe Color Wheel

Adobe Color Wheel encompasses ten color harmony schemes, each serving distinct design purposes:

1. Analogous

Similar colors positioned adjacently on the wheel create a moody and atmospheric theme.

2. Monochromatic

Five colors along a single wheel ray, offering brighter or darker tones of the same color, ideal for thematic consistency.

3. Triad

Equidistant placement of three colors on the wheel, providing a balanced contrast and widely used in design.

4. Complementary

Opposite colors on the wheel, featuring two similar to the base color and two complementary ones, offering a vibrant contrast.

5. Split Complementary 

A variation of the complementary scheme with four colors closer to the base color, allowing user adjustments.

6. Double Split Complementary

Two colors similar to the base color and two to the complementary color, with user-defined similarity.

7. Square 

Three colors at equal distances from the base color and one very similar, creating a joyful and appealing scheme.

8. Compound

Two similar and two almost perfectly complementary colors, placed on the same side for a harmonious effect.

9. Shades 

A minimal variation monochromatic theme with five colors.

10. Custom

Unrestricted creativity, allowing users to imagine any five-color combination without tool constraints or guidance.

What do colors mean?

Let's delve into the concrete meanings of different branding colors instead of just the abstract concepts. Here's a concise overview of what various colors represent and the impact they can have on people:

• Red: Symbolizes passion, excitement, and importance. It commands attention and may also convey anger.
•  Orange: Represents playfulness, vitality, and friendliness. It's invigorating and exudes energy.
•  Yellow: Evokes happiness, youth, and optimism, but can also appear attention grabbing.
•  Green: Conveys stability, prosperity, growth, and a connection to nature.
•  Light Blue: Exudes tranquility, trust, and openness. It can also signify innocence.
•  Dark Blue: Stands for professionalism, security, and formality. It is mature and trustworthy.
•  Purple: Signifies royalty, creativity, and luxury.
•  Pink: Represents femininity, youth, and innocence. It spans from modern to luxurious.
•  Brown: Creates a rugged, earthy, or old fashioned look or mood.
•  White: Evokes cleanliness, virtue, health, or simplicity. Its perception can range from affordable to high end.
•  Gray: Stands for neutrality and can appear subdued, classic, serious, mysterious, or mature.
•  Black: Evokes a powerful, sophisticated, edgy, luxurious, and modern feeling.

Remember, the impact of your branding colors depends on their style, design, and color combinations. This is a condensed guide; our connection to color goes beyond these basics, with nuances like too much yellow potentially causing anxiety.

How to Pick your Brand Colors

Selecting your brand colors is a critical step in shaping your brand identity. In this guide, we recommend choosing three colors, but some schemes may involve up to four. When working with three colors, consider having a base, an accent, and a neutral.

1 Base Color (and few neutral colors)

Begin by determining your brand's most dominant personality trait. Your base color should reflect this trait. This color not only serves as the foundation for your brand but also influences the selection of your other colors.
Choose a neutral color. It is likely to be used as a background, so it doesn't draw excessive attention. Neutrals often include shades of grey, beige, white, or off-white.

Accent Color

The accent color plays a crucial role, appearing prominently after the base color. It should align with a key brand personality trait, complement the base color visually, and resonate with your audience. Later in this post, we'll discuss color schemes to assist in making this choice. Incorporating a contrasting accent color can elevate your brand, adding a vibrant touch. This is particularly effective for drawing attention to elements such as CTAs and stats on websites and in infographics.

How brands are using color schemes

Keep color schemes in mind, especially when determining accent colors. 

• Monochromatic Scheme

Sprout social is using monochromatic color scheme. It emphasizes a single dominant brand personality trait by using various shades of green color.

• Analogous Scheme

Brands using analogous scheme utilizes colors next to each other on the color wheel, providing a safe option with similar emotional connotations.

• Complementary Scheme

Complementary scheme pairs opposite colors on the wheel for a dynamic, stimulating visual impact, but be cautious of being too similar to other brands.

• Triadic Scheme

Draws from three different sections of the color wheel, offering a stable yet varied option. However, it requires careful alignment with your brand identity.

Remember, your branding colors play a pivotal role across various consumer touchpoints, from your website and logo to store design and social media. Take the time to ensure these colors align with your brand personality and resonate with your target market.

Conclusion 

Color choices are subjective; what brings joy to one person may cause discomfort to another. For instance, a vibrant neon yellow logo could elicit happiness for some but a headache for others. Your brand’s colors must reflect what your audience thinks are positive emotions.

Connect with Frontmatter for expert branding services. Transform your brand's colors into a powerful language that speaks to your audience's heart.