5 Things to Consider When Choosing Your Brand Colors
Raise a hand if you’ve ever regretted your brand color palette - or if you still haven’t landed on the perfect brand colors for your business.
I’m pretty sure most of us have been in this spot - or are in it now. Even I have gone through a few rounds of brand colors as a designer before landing on what works best for my business.
Choosing brand colors can be very overwhelming. You want something that is true to the feel of your brand, that will attract the eye of your ideal clients, AND a palette that you won’t hate a year from now.
That’s why I’ve put this quick post together for you - whether you are choosing your brand colors for the first time, or you are switching out your palette for new colors.
So without further ado, here are the 5 things to consider when choosing your brand colors.
CONSIDER HOW YOUR COLORS LOOK WITH YOUR IMAGES
One of my favorite pieces of advice to business owners when you start thinking of brand colors is to identify the colors you are already utilizing (maybe even unknowingly) in your images online.
You can have the most beautiful, perfect color palette - but if it doesn’t flow well with your images, then it won’t work for your brand.
What I love to recommend is scrolling through your Instagram and shading in the primary colors of each photo (see the image I attached here) to identify some main colors that you natural gravitate to in your brand.
This is a great starting point if you are having trouble even landing on a single color for your brand - because it will lead you directly towards the colors you are naturally using in your brand.
Even if you don’t do this step at first, it is MAJORLY IMPORTANT that you do put your brand colors next to your images before making your final decision - because cohesiveness is key.
USE PINTEREST INSPIRATION…SPARINGLY
When I’m working with my clients to choose their brand colors, I always have them do a Pinterest activity to help narrow down brand color inspiration.
Before you start looking at colors on Pinterest, I want you to think of 5 words that you would want your dream client to use to describe your business.
For example, my words are calming, classic, trustworthy, warm, and friendly.
Now, you’ll actually use these words to search for your brand colors on Pinterest!!!
For instance, look up “calming vibe”, or “warm aesthetic” and start to pin images that your eye is drawn towards.
I only recommend that you do this for about 15 minutes or so - because the more time you spend on Pinterest, the more various and less focused your colors will end up being.
Afterwards, you can scroll through your board and choose some colors that stand out to you as a inspiring place to start!
CONSIDER COLOR + FEELING ASSOCIATIONS
Usually, I like to recommend that you take some time to understand a bit behind the psychology of color (nothing too complicated!) to choose colors that really align with your brand visually.
Before you start looking at colors, I want you to go back to those 5 words you identified in your Pinterest activity.
After you have these words in mind, see if you can choose 1-2 colors that really align with these, based on their color theory definitions below:
Red - Passionate, Bold, Excited, Important
Pink - Feminine, Romantic, Soft, Friendly
Blue - Calm, Soothing, Gentle, Trustworthy
Orange - Warm, Engaging, Fun, Playful
Yellow - Bright, Joyful, Happy, Energetic
Green - Earthy, Health/Wellness, Peaceful
Purple - Creative, Feminine, Daring, Elegant
Black - Modern, Edgy, Classic, Minimal
White - Soft, Classic, Clean, Minimal
Cream/Tan/Brown - Warm, Calming, Gentle, Modern
Again, it’s important to remember that not ALL of your colors have to align with these meanings - it’s just a helpful item to consider when selecting your main colors.
CONSIDER SHADES OF COLOR
After you’ve identified 1-3 primary colors for your brand, it’s important to take the next step of considering the impact of the shade for your colors that you choose.
Different shades have different effects on your customers and the feel of your brand - so you want to make sure you choose shades that match the vibe of your brand.
If you are wanting to give off an energetic, fun-filled vibe, you’ll want to lean more towards vibrant, true-shades of the colors for your brand.
In contrast, if you want to evoke a calm, minimal look, you’ll want to lean more towards lighter, neutral shades.
Pastels are great for a more feminine, soft brand feel to lean into.
And if you are looking for a moody effect, definitely lean into the deeper, muted shades of your brand colors.
CHOOSE COHESIVE SUPPORTING COLORS
A little piece I left out earlier is that you should probably have 1-2 main colors chosen that you want to use the most for your brand.
But what is equally important is choosing colors that support your main colors - and fit cohesively with the look of your brand.
Often times, this part is where people often get lost and tend to mix in colors they end up disliking later on.
What I usually recommend is leaning 1 of 2 ways - either completely into color + black & white or filling your palette with neutrals.
You can have a palette full of beautiful pastel shades, and use white + black to balance out the mixes of color throughout your website.
OR you can use neutrals as a solid base, and pop your main color(s) throughout your brand to really draw the eye in.
There isn’t a right direction to go - but choosing a direction and sticking with it is important!
I hope that these 5 things to consider when choosing your brand colors has helped you do just that!
Brand color palettes can be a PAIN to put together - but they are super important in creating a long-lasting brand that both you and your dream clients can fall in love with.