Chatting with a colleague today we got into the subject of color and how it affects branding. She was working on a new campaign and her client who was in the dental industry wanted to use red throughout their marketing collateral. Ironically, one of the key points in her clients marketing requests was to project a calming, soothing feel. Now I don’t know about you but the color red does not project calm nor does it give a soothing feeling!
Color can definitely have a positive or negative impact on your brand. Back in my art theory class 101, we were always tested with different projects that included evoking certain moods with the colors we chose. Blue was always a secure and trusting color. Banks and law offices tend to use blue. Greens has always been used for money, success. Light greens are associated with environmental. Reds are powerful, energetic lively color. It has been proven that certain bright colors actually activate your pituitary gland and a spectrum of colors have been identified and validate through research. In an article written by Susan Gunelius of Brandcurve, 7 Ways Research Show How Color Affect Your Brand, she highlights some of that research.
Color is very crucial element in brand identity. Depending on your industry or service, your color palette should promote a certain emotion in your branding. Personally I am drawn to earth tones. It fosters in me, a sense of warmth, calm, sophisticated, yet casual – pretty much anything within the earth tone palette catches my eye and I notice I tend to remember the branding systems that have a collection of neutrals and interesting greens and earthy colors.
In searching for color and how it can make you feel I found this Color Personality Quiz. The quiz is meant for color selection of an interior home, a series of questions will give you a color profile based on the mood you are trying to create. I found it interesting that based on my answers, and the mood I wanted to portray…an earth tone pallet appeared for my profile. So make sure the color selection you pick sets the right tone for your marketing and branding efforts.
Tags: affect of color, color branding, logo color, Logo Design, market
Thank you for mentioning Brandcurve in your post!
Hi nice post, i have come across your site once before when searching for something so i was just wondering something. I love your theme, would it happen to be a free one i can download, or is it a custom one you had made? In a few weeks i will be launching my own site, i’m not great with designs but i really like the style of your site so it would be cool if i could find (or pay for) something with a similar look.
Thanks!