selecting colours to help deliver your brand and your message.
Have you ever wondered why most large fast food chains all use the colour red – McDonalds, KFC, Red Rooster, Burger King/Hungry Jacks? There is a very good reason.
Colours evoke emotions
Red is known to increase your heart rate and produce saliva hence the reason the food industries high use of the colour. Red also emits strength, warmth, excitement, energy and passion. If these match your business core values and main brand message, using red will help you to connect to your audience emotionally.
Once you know what emotional messages you want to send to your customer/client or values of your brand it is simply a matter of matching it up to the emotions evoked by particular colours.
Different hues impact on the tone and feeling, bright red will create a different mood to magenta or burgundy. It is essential when picking the colour for your brand that you connect the emotions of the colour to the message you are wanting to send. Selecting the wrong colour may send the wrong emotion or feeling, therefore your customers may not connect to your brands core values.
Should your Brand have One, Two or three Colours?
There are may things to consider when adding more than one colour to your brand. Will the colours be contrasting or complimentary? Different shades of a particular colour or gradients and transparencies? For contrasting colours you need to look at a colour wheel – see image below and assess if the contrasting colour matches your brand message and brand values. Having a designer help with colour balance is essential in getting the mix right.
Still using red as the sample, the contrasting colours for red are shades of green (Green – balance, rejuvenation, environmental, peace, rest). If your brand values match both red and green this may be a great selection for your brand. If green doesn’t match look at the colours bordering green such as blue and yellow.
For a subtle colour combination, select a colour next to red such as oranges or purple. Plus never underestimate the power of black and white.
Also view what colours your competitors use, try to be different and stand out from the crowd. If they are all using red – to be opposite you’d select green as long as that color remains true to your core brand values.
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