I bet someone once said “Color is everything mannnnn.” But hey, in the grand scheme of building your brand, It’s pretty spot on! Color plays a crucial role in perception. Specifically for today's blog, the perception of a business. Studies show that 90% of product snap judgments can be based on color alone. The right color palette for a business can help :

Establish a strong brand identity
Create emotional connections with your audience
Improve brand recognition and recall
Guide customer behavior and increase conversions

In this article, we’ll go over the essentials of picking a color palette for your business, how different colors affect perception, and how to apply your brand colors effectively.

Step 1: Understand Color Psychology

As mentioned, certain colors have been shown to elicit certain emotions and influence behavior. The color experts (or the color gods as I like to call them while writing this) provide a breakdown of common color associations, and how they relate to businesses:

Red – Passion, energy, urgency (often used for sales and fast food chains)
Blue – Trust, calm, professionalism (popular among banks and tech companies)
Green – Health, nature, wealth (frequently used by organic and financial brands)
Yellow – Optimism, warmth, attention (used to grab attention)
Orange – Creativity, enthusiasm, affordability (used by fun and approachable brands)
Purple – Royalty, luxury, creativity (often used by beauty and premium brands)
Black – Sophistication, exclusivity, power (used by luxury brands)
White – Simplicity, cleanliness, modernity (common in tech and health industries)

Real-World Example:

When you find yourself making a midnight run to conquer your cravings for a greasy bad-boy meal, the drive-through menu is a sensory overload of, you guessed it, colors. Red, yellow, purple, and colors of all kinds are used to draw attention and urgency to the items the business wants you to purchase. And 99% of the time, they successfully win me over.

Step 2: Define Your Brand Personality

Before picking colors, get clear on your brand’s personality. Ask yourself:

Who are we? (one of life’s deepest questions that go beyond your amazing small business)
What services do we offer, and where is someone likely to look for us?
Are we formal or casual?
Do we want to be approachable or exclusive?
Is the brand more about creativity or reliability?

Example: If you’re running a boutique marketing firm aiming to be creative and innovative, you might lean into purples and oranges. If you’re building a financial advisory business, blues and grey’s will convey trust and stability.

Step 3: Choose a Primary Color

Start with one primary color that reflects the core of your brand’s personality. The Queen of the Palette. The one who rules them all. This color should:

Be used consistently across all platforms
Be prominent in your logo, website, and marketing materials
Evoke the right emotional response from your audience

When you think of Coca-Cola, say it with me, you think of the red.

Step 4: Build a Complementary Color Scheme

Once you’ve picked a primary color, build a balanced palette around it. Use the 60-30-10 rule (I just found this while writing, so I say this as someone learning something new). It’s a pretty killer rule:

60% - Primary color (backgrounds, main branding elements)
30% - Secondary color (used to highlight key areas)
10% - Accent color (used for buttons and calls to action)

Common Color Schemes:

Monochromatic - Different shades of the same color (calm, minimalist look)
Analogous - Colors next to each other on the color wheel (harmonious feel)
Complementary - Colors opposite each other on the color wheel (high contrast, attention-grabbing)

Step 5: Test and Adapt

Before rolling out your color palette across all platforms, test it in different contexts:

Does the color look good on a website home page?
How does it look on a flyer?
Is the text legible against the background color?
Does the palette reflect your brand’s personality?
Is the palette able to be interchanged to avoid fatigue down the line?

Remember, it’s important to love your palette, cause once you pick one, you’ll see it everywhere.

Step 6: Apply Consistently Across All Platforms

Consistency is key to building a strong brand identity. Apply your color palette to:

Logo and business cards
Website and social media
Email marketing and newsletters
Product packaging
Merch and branded materials

Step 7: Avoid Common Mistakes

Using too many colors - Keep it simple to avoid overwhelming your audience. Take a lot at some of the biggest brands in the world and notice how menial their palette is.
Ignoring contrast - Make sure the text is easy to read against your background colors. Accessibility is key, don’t just pick something that is attention-grabbing if it causes audience alienation.
Picking only “What I like” - Although you should love your palette, make sure this decision is rooted in what your consumers will love. Make sure it's not an “I” decision, and a decision that you think others will love.

Step 8: Refresh When Necessary

Trends and customer expectations change over time. Don’t be afraid to update your color palette if it feels outdated or no longer reflects your brand. Change is good, just don’t do it too many times to where people forget who you are.

In conclusion, choosing the right color palette is more than just aesthetics—it’s about creating a cohesive and memorable brand identity. By understanding color psychology, defining your brand personality, and applying your palette consistently, you’ll create a strong, recognizable brand that resonates with your audience. Then you can focus on all the cool stuff your business does, feeling confident that your brand adequately reflects said business.

Need help creating a professional and effective color palette? Chase Digital Co. is here to help! Let’s work together to build a brand identity that reflects your business and drives results.

Crafting the Right Color Palette for Your Business

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