Build Your Brand — 02. The Psychology of Color in Branding

In this “Build Your Brand” series of blog posts, I’m pulling back the curtain for those interested in learning more about the nuts and bolts of brand design. If you are an entrepreneur who is DIY-ing your own brand, if you are curious about fundamental design principles and terminology, or could just use a Design 101 refresher, read on for some helpful tips on how to make meaningful, strategic decisions when it comes to the visuals you use to promote your biz.

In the first post of this series, I walked through some basic color wheel relationships and discussed how they can be used to build aesthetically strong color palettes. This week, I’m diving into how color choices can influence our emotional experience with a brand. This is an important thing to consider when designing your color palette because, after all, the main goal of a successful brand is to establish a deep, meaningful connection with your client. Color is one of the best tools we have as designers to influence a consumer’s perception of our brand. Read on to learn more about the common emotive associations of certain colors and how you can capitalize on these associations to build a palette that speaks to your brand’s deeper meaning.

Warm Tones

Warm colors tend to stand out on a page and can spark a variety of passionate emotions. Colors like red, orange and yellow are naturally stimulating (which is why they are often used to illustrate the concepts of heat and fire!) Yellow and red are commonly used in the food and beverage industry because they can actually make people feel more hungry - think, for example, of the logos of McDonald’s, Lay’s Potato Chips, and Sonic.

Fresh Tones

Green is the most common color in nature, so it’s pretty obvious that we would associate it things like health, fertility, spring and the environment. It’s often used in brands that promote healthy living, like Whole Foods. Green is also associated with money, wealth, and prosperity, and can help brands instill a sense of trust (H&R Block immediately comes to mind).

Cool Tones

In opposition to fiery reds and oranges, cool tones call to mind peaceful waters and open skies. They instill a sense of serenity and calm. Blue is seen as dependable and reliable - both Ford and GE use it as their primary color. Purple (a mix between stimulating red and calm blue) is often associated with creativity, intelligence and spirituality.

Neutral Tones

Neutral colors are just that - timeless, balanced, and unbiased. Brands can use them to convey authority, sophistication and luxury. Lexus, Apple and Louis Vuitton all use this to their advantage with their branding. White is often associated with purity, cleanliness and innocence - think of brands like Cotton Inc. and packaging for things like baby powder.

Next Post: How I build Color Palettes for my clients

It’s one thing to understand the psychological impacts of individual colors and how they relate within the color wheel - but putting this knowledge into practice to formulate a comprehensive color palette for your brand is actually a bit of an art. In the next post, I’ll walk through how I use these principles to build gorgeous, effective palettes for my brand identity design clients. I’ll show you step-by-step how I find inspiration, refine the palette, and build a flexible range of colors that can be used to communicate your brand’s core message effectively.