What The Colour?
We all want a relatable brand right? Did you know colour plays a key role in that? Often overlooked, colour (like all branding) goes way beyond the pretty aesthetics.
Colour not only evokes feeling and incites emotion in the human psyche, it also promotes certain behaviours in us and has more input into your brand’s strategy than you might first think.
By taking the time to study the basics of colours and what they mean, not only are you strengthening your brand, you are more likely to connect and attract your dream clients.
Colour psychology is the study of colours in relation to our human behaviour, aiming to determine how colours affect our day to day decisions. Things such as that little black dress, your latest beauty product or even a healing crystal we are instantly drawn to for reasons we cannot explain.
Does the colour of a brand allow us to select their products or services over that of their competitor down the street? Does the colour of a website button determine whether or not we are more likely to click on it? YES!
Determining your brand personality helps your audience make purchasing decisions and helps you in targeting the right people.
How do you figure out your brand personality? Start with the following questions:
🌻Is my brand traditionally masculine or feminine?
🌻Do I want my brand to be playful or serious?
🌻Luxurious or affordable? Is my brand modern or classic?
🌻Youthful or mature?
🌻Loud or quiet?
From here, your answers will begin to shape your brand’s personality and then you can see what colours work best to target your dream clients and best represent your brand’s values.
We have listed some of the most popular colours below...
Red
Ahh the universal sign of excitement, passion, danger, action and appetite! Think; marked down sale items, red lippy, stop signs and fast food chains.
In the colour psyche, red is the most intense colour, therefore producing the strongest emotional reactions, always tread carefully when applying this baby to your branding.
Red is the kind of friend who should be centre-stage! They are playful, attention-grabbing and always full of energy.
Orange
If your brand’s primary colour is orange, it likes to stand out from the crowd, it’s invigorating and playful (totally the love child of Red and Yellow - hello warmth and joy had a baby!)
In the colour psyche, orange is creative, adventurous, enthusiastic, successful and balanced - which is a long way of saying, it’s fun plus some! The life of the party, and whilst not as direct as red, it still attracts attention when used throughout your marketing. Call to actions, buttons on websites etc.
Even though it’s used less than its red mother, orange sure does pack an energetic punch! If this is your go-to muse, ensure you team it up with balancing, neutral-centred colours. Orange doesn’t play as nicely in harmony with other high-energy colours, which will leave your audience feeling overwhelmed.
Yellow
If your primary colour is yellow, your brand is warm, inspirational, friendly and radiates copious amounts of fresh energy (think sunflowers and happy emoji heads).
In the colour psyche, yellow revolves around sunshine, it oozes positivity, optimism and all around hella good times. Generally having the smallest fan club of all the colours when it comes to selecting palettes because it takes a fine balance of others to support its positive and uplifting energy.
Yellow looks to the future. It’s your forward-thinking, dynamic friend who is so great to be around - brightening your day with all the giggles and warm fuzzies. Yellow leaves a long-lasting, feel-good impression.
Pink
Nobody puts pink in a corner! If this is your primary colour, not only do you speak the romance and femininity language, but your brand is beyond resourceful - you multitalented thing you!
In the colour psyche, unlike it’s older sister red, you will find pink is all about playfulness. It is sophisticated, yet pragmatic and boasts femininity, unconditional love, emotional balance and physical harmony - kind of like your super cool aunty yeah?
Pink is your brand’s jam if you are versatile and can transform! Embracing the new and enhancing the old with all the compassion and kindness in the world (a side of fairy godmother anyone?)
Wanna walk pink on the wild side? Add a dash of bright purple to really push those beautiful boundaries (*smirky smirk*)
Green
If your primary colour is green, safe to say your brand is a balanced one and also versatile, it strives for continued growth, good health, fertility and generosity.
In the colour psyche, green is strongly connected to nature and money. It is the easiest on our eyes, requiring no adjustment when it hits the retina - making it super calming, peaceful and pleasing.
Green is your balanced friend - you know, the one who always has a fresh perspective on things? A green world is a ‘safe’ one, it’s lush, full of goodness and breathes new life.
Even though green has a negative side (like all colours), it is the true symbol of balance. Look above at the positive and negative triggers; health - sickness, luck - jealousy. Cool huh?
Purple
If your primary colour is purple, your brand sure is one noble, cool kid. Cutting-edge, luxurious, wise, sophisticated and brave.
In the colour psyche, purple is total royalty (cue, Prince Harry). Purple is connected to power, wisdom and spirituality. Purple sits in the shortest wavelength and is the last to be visible. For this reason, it is associated with time, space and the cosmos. It’s imbued with spirituality, contemplation, and mediation, - which suggest badass creativity and imagination.
Invite purple to the party if you’re looking for answers from a total cosmo woo-woo sesh. Oozing a sense of ‘just knowing’ sophistication in the most luxurious way, this colour is the wise friend that ‘knows you’. Who wouldn’t want a bit of wise purple magic in their lives?
White
If your primary colour is white, your brand is the essence of perfection, completion, wholeness and purity. It’s true, neutral and honest in helping people to gain clarity, insight and certainty.
In the colour psyche, white promotes wholeness and represents the presence of every single colour the the spectrum - a total completion.
White is everyone’s friend, the glue holding the mixed personalities together in harmony. White is the perfect addition to almost any colour palette - it is true balance and fair on all its other colour friends.
Black
If your primary colour is black, ohhh yeah - your brand is timeless baby, elegant and effortlessly stylish (Coco Chanel anyone?). Say no more, simply sophisticated and iconic.
In the colour psyche, black promotes mystery, power, elegance and sophistication.
When black and white rock up the party together - watch out world! A powerhouse couple is in full force! Black is the friend you look up to, admire and adore for their effortless ability to strive for the very best, every time.
Grey
If your primary colour is grey, your brand is classic, yet serious. Taking a leaf out of black’s book, grey is the middle-ground of maturity. Great to balance tones and establish negative space when white is out to dinner.
In the colour psyche, grey represents neutrality and balance - total love child of white and black.
Grey is the kind of friend that balances all the ‘big personalities’ in a room. Even though they go with the flow, they’re the ultimate sidekick and one you want on your team. Grey helps the bolder colours to ‘thrive’.
Brown
If your primary colour is brown, your brand is sturdy, reliable and stands out from the competition with its practical nature and reliance.
In the colour psyche, brown represents the colour of the earth, wood and stone - go figure! Brown relates to comfort and security, (in marketing you will find it often used in natural or food products).
Brown is the naturally cool, calm and collected cat in the group. It’s the one you feel so comfortable around and gives the best bear hugs.
Selecting the right colours when it comes to your marketing efforts can be the difference between your brand standing out from the crowd, or blending into it, like ‘just’ another fish in the ocean. Strategically speaking, you can get your audience to see exactly what you want them to see and when you want them to see it.
Delicately intertwining the perfect balance of colours that not only play nicely together, but also trigger all the right emotions from your dream clients can be a total mind boggle. When done correctly - life changing!