HOW TO CHOOSE RIGHT COLOUR FOR YOUR BUSINESS? A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO BRAND COLOURS

Asutosh Jena
7 min readMar 21, 2022

Introduction

Identifying a brand from its colour is just matter of few seconds, but you need to do some ground work before choosing a colour palate for your brand. You need to have a clear understanding about the buyer’s persona and the personality of your business.

In this section, we will discuss the importance of branding colours and how to choose the right one.

Brand colour is an important part of branding because it can affect your customers’ perception of your brand. The colour psychology plays an important role in this process.

The Importance of Colours in Marketing and Branding

Colours are used in marketing to create a brand identity. The colour scheme of a company is also used to differentiate it from its competitors.

Different colours have different effects on people and so the choice of colours for branding should be carefully considered.

The colour scheme of a company is also used to differentiate it from its competitors.

How to Choose the Right Colour for Your Business?

Choosing the right colour for your business can be a daunting task. There are so many colours to choose from and it is hard to know which one will work best for you. This article will help you find the perfect colour palette for your business.

The first step in choosing the right colour is to identify what kind of product or service you offer and what audience you are trying to target. You should then think about who your competition is and how they use colours in their marketing materials, as this can be a good indicator of what colours they are using. Finally, think about how these colours make you feel when they are used in marketing materials — do they make you feel calm or more excited? Do they make you feel happy or sad?

Identify Your Brand Personality

Brand personality is the way in which a brand or product communicates its identity. It is the sum of all the characteristics that make a brand unique.

The brand personality spectrum can be used to identify how different brands communicate their personality to their customers. For example, some brands are more serious and formal, while others are more playful and fun-loving.

Pick a Core Brand Colour based on your Brand Personality

Colours are an important part of branding. Studies show that colours can affect people’s moods, mental states and behaviour. For example, the colour red is often associated with passion and excitement, while blue is more calming and soothing.

The colour you choose for your brand should be based on your brand personality. For example, if you are a company that wants to appear calm and professional, you may want to choose blue or purple as a core brand colour. If you want to project warmth and friendliness, try orange or yellow.

Use a formula to build the perfect brand colour scheme

We are not born with the ability to create colour schemes. But we can use a formula to create one. There are many formulas out there, but here is one that I have used before and it has been successful.

The first step is to identify the mood of the brand. Moods can be happy, sad, energetic, etc. The next step is to identify what colours correspond with that mood. For example, if you want a happy mood for your brand then you might want colours like pink or yellow.

The last step is to make sure that your colours work together well by choosing complementary colours and avoiding clashing colours or colours that are too close in proximity on the colour wheel.

Use 1 core brand colour (plus a few neutral shades)

With so many companies dominating the industry, choosing a colour for your brand becomes difficult. But there are a few things you can do to make it easier on yourself. One of them is to use one core colour and then add a few neutral shades to it.

Netflix, Coca Cola and Sportify all use one core colour with a few neutral shades to make their branding more recognizable. The same goes for KFC, McDonalds and City Bank who use red, yellow and blue respectively as their main colours with grey as their secondary colour.

PayPal, Paytm and SBI also follow this approach by using the colours green, blue and purple respectively with different shades of those colours for their branding.

How Do People Respond to Brand Colors?

Every color elicits a different response from humans. Colors can be divided into two main categories: warm and cool. Warm colors tend to be associated with energy, while cool colors are linked with calmness and security.

But how do each of the following colors affect us and what does that mean for your brand? Here’s an overview of what differentiates each color and how your brand can pick the right mix of them.

Red:

Red evokes a passionate and visceral response. It is a color that increases your heart rate, makes your breath faster, and is generally associated with energy, excitement, and passion. It’s one of the colors that is attention-grabbing, while it can also be provocative and excitable.

Color code: aggressive, energetic, provocative, attention-grabbing, passionate

Purple:

Purple is a sophisticated yet mysterious color. It tends to be used with higher-end products due to its association with royalty and elegance. Purple’s mysterious element is also linked with spirituality, and it can bring a magical element to your branding.

Color code: royalty, sophistication, nostalgia, mystery, spirituality

Blue:

Blue is the most popular color choice for the top brands. It is thought to put people at ease, as it reminds them of the sky and the ocean. Blue is also associated with trust, security, and confidence which make a great combination for the brands that want these elements in their message.

Color code: trustworthy, dependable, secure, responsible, confident

Green:

Green is a color that is synonymous with calmness, safety, and freshness. Its various shades can create a unique brand identity for your company. Green tends to be associated with health along with the feelings of peace and serenity.

Color code: Wealth, health, prestige, serenity, generosity, safety

Yellow:

Yellow is a popular color choice for brands that want to evoke a feeling of positivity in their identity. Its association with the sun on its different shadows brings out hope and optimism. Yellow also stands out among other colors, which makes a yellow brand identity creative and appealing.

Color code: positivity, light, warmth, motivation, creativity, happiness

Orange:

Orange makes an ideal color choice for brands that want to blend the optimism and the brightness of yellow and the passion and the energy of red. It is a creative and cheerful color that evokes a friendly and adventurous feeling.

Color code: vitality, fun, playful, exuberant, outgoing

Brown:

Brown represents the earthly simplicity and it is usually preferred to reflect stability and strength. It’s comforting in its simplicity and is preferred by brands that want to be classical and trustworthy, without proceeding to bold moves. Brown is associated with the earth and can also remind people of dirt, so there needs to be a careful use of it, especially if it stands out as the main color for a brand.

Color code: earth-like, natural, simplistic, durable, comforting

Black:

Black is another popular color option for brands and it tends to be one of the most classic options. It’s both classic and sophisticated and it can make a brand identity stand out. It seems to work perfectly with luxury products, blending the classic and powerful elements. Black is one of the colors that can be combined with others to add a stronger emotion, without losing the classical appeal.

Color code: Prestige, value, timelessness, sophistication, power

White:

White represents simplicity, purity, and also cleanliness. These three make it extremely popular in the healthcare sector, in the cleaning business, but also in the child-related businesses. White can also bring out a feeling of trust by tapping in to purity and simplicity.

Color code: pure, noble, clean, soft

Conclusion

When it comes to choosing a colour for your business, you have a lot of options. You can choose the colour that is most popular or the one that you like, but you also need to think about what kind of message you want to send.

There are many factors that go into choosing the perfect business colour. But before deciding on your company’s colour palette, ask yourself what message do you want to send out?

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Asutosh Jena

Digital Transformation Coach. Is a Best Selling Author, Entrepreneur & a Social Activist. Founder of #MyDigitalGurukul & #TouchingIndiaFoundation