Picking the right colour for your branding is crucial, it will appear in your logo, promotional material and product packaging. Understanding our thoughts about a colour can help predict and help drive what your customers may think about your branding and therefore assist in selecting the right colour for your design.
Colours have different meanings in different countries. Therefore, if you plan to do an international marketing campaign, you need to consider what it represents within the recipient country. For example, in China the colour red is seen as a lucky colour and is often used in charms and keepsakes. Whereas in the UK, people associate red with temper or power.
Which colour will work best for you?
Here are some perceptions that are associated with colours…
Purple
The colour purple suggests mystery, inspiration wisdom and royalty. It is associated with luxury and has successfully been used in marketing for high end products over the years. It has also been said to have a mystical and spiritual qualities to it. Previously, musical icons such as Prince, David Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix all used shades of purple to express their individuality within pop culture. With purple marketing, clients will feel as though they can rely on you for good customer service and a high quality outcome.
Green
Refreshing green tones are used to represent nature – especially renewal and growth. It is thought to be the colour of safety, stability and freshness and works perfectly for companies who wish to convey these characteristics to their target audience. Lighter blue toned greens are often popular branding colours for dentists, spas and podiatrists.
Red
The universal colour for romance, excitement, passion and adventure. The colour red is associated with extremes, and evokes strong emotions in a marketing campaign. Sometimes it is connected with danger. It is the most eye catching colour and is believed to be the first colour a baby sees! Due to its attention capturing qualities, red has successfully been used to promote sales for many years.
Blue
Blue is voted to be the most popular colour among both men and women. Darker blue colours are seen as more traditional and trusting colours, whereas nowadays lighter and more aqua toned blues are popular. Blue is a strong colour associated with peacefulness, freedom and trust. It is used for many wildlife campaigns as it is associated with the open ocean and is believed to have positive spiritual effects on the body. However, it is also often used by financial and medical institutions for its powerful, calm and loyal appeal. It is also popular within industrial, transport and manufacturing sectors.
Orange
Orange is a positive colour that stands out from the crowd. Representing joy, warmth, enthusiasm and fascination, it works best for marketing campaigns with youthful or creative target market. In the design world, it is often used for success, encouragement and enjoyment. Peachy toned colours are perceived as being calming and work perfectly for the healthcare industry, beauty salons and spas.
Yellow
Yellow has always been known to be the happiest colour in the spectrum, it adds energy, playfulness and joy to a design, meaning it works well for summer campaigns or to appeal to children. Using it adds extra visibility and optimism to your campaign. In 2015, pantone worked with the creators of Despicable Me to create the perfect pantone of a minion – the first ever character branded pantone colour! Darker shades of yellow create gold tones, and are seen as a symbol of luxury and aristocracy. They are often used to emphasize a name or logo in order to enhance the sophistication of the product.
Pink
The gentler colours of the red family, pale, pastel pinks are associated with innocent romance and are often used in sayings such as ‘rose-coloured glasses’ and ‘rosy glow’ to express positivity and good health. Brighter pinks have more energy and are used to make designs stand out. Bear in mind that pink tones are often seen as adding a feminine touch to a design.
Black
Black is the only colour that has the ability to stir up such a wide variety of feelings. It is a strong colour that is often used for luxury items due to its association with elegance and sophistication. It is also used by organisations that want to outline themselves as serious and trustworthy. The combination of the powerful classic colour black with either white, silver or gold will definitely help you differentiate yourself from the competition in your marketing campaign. It can also be used to add depth to other colours.
Grey
People associate grey with sophistication, elegance, traditionalism and neutrality. It is a cool, neutral and balanced colour. It is a timeless and practical colour in design. Different shades of grey and silver can be used in place of white or black in some designs to make it stand out more. Greys are often used as a backdrop that can be easily combined with stronger colours to catch people’s attention.
Brown
Brown is usually perceived as a warm, relaxing natural colour. Its earthy tone means it is associated with reliability, honesty, grounding or home. The shades from beige to brown are popular with catering trades and are often used as trademarks for coffee and chocolate manufacturing industries.
White
White is associated with purity, light, innocence and peace. Used either on its own or in a combination with any other contrast colour, you will not go wrong. It works perfectly to create the illusion of clean space. In the design world, it can be used to represent a successful beginning.
What does Raphael Design Team recommend?
Our advice would be to select a colour scheme based on the nature of your marketing campaign and the services or products you offer. The right colour is a powerful tool, as it will help you to target the right audience thus ensuring the success of your marketing. If you would like any further advice, please give us a call on 01543 261220 or drop us an email.
Let’s make your marketing memorable!
Why not take a look at some colours that are currently on-trend to use in your company’s marketing? Follow the links below to see the colours that have been chosen as Pantone Colour of the year for the last three years.
https://www.pantone.com/color-intelligence/color-of-the-year/color-of-the-year-2019
https://www.pantone.com/color-intelligence/color-of-the-year/color-of-the-year-2018
https://www.pantone.com/color-intelligence/color-of-the-year/color-of-the-year-2017
