Hues and Cues:
How Colors Help With Brand Marketing

Brand marketing often starts with creating an iconic logo representing your company's vision. This brand logo will go to your packaging and promotions, aiming to reach your target audience and understand your mission just by looking at it. In the long run, you want your audience to know the quality and trustworthiness of your product or service just by seeing your brand.

Now, you may have ideas for a clever and fun design for your brand logo, but aside from the creative images and logo shapes, you also need the right color combinations to make your brand stand out. This is where color psychology and color perception come in.

What is Color Psychology?

Color psychology studies how color affects behavior and emotions. It is a scientific observation of people's connection with colors psychologically, and how the different colors can categorize their usual perceptions and feelings, they see.

Think of the most popular companies in the U.S. and how colors are associated with their brand. In brand marketing, using the right color combinations can help you create lasting impressions and be perceived to uphold the same values people associate with certain colors.

So, how does color psychology work? The colors we see have specific connotations and perceptions that most people consider. Red could symbolize a particular emotion, while blue represents something different.

Moods, feelings, and color preferences also fall under color psychology, and learning the basics of what each color means will give you a proper grasp on the right color combinations which can prove to be helpful when you’re designing brand elements. In this article, we’ll analyze some colors and how each of them could influence human behavior.

A Minor Caveat

Color psychology is often used as a basis to create unique and clever brand logos that attract audiences and influence consumer behavior. However, the study is not a surefire way to bring customers to your brand. Color psychology only serves as a creative guide; startups shouldn't rely heavily on it like marketing research. First impressions are not always positive, either. Always exercise caution when associating colors with your brand. In the end, overall aesthetics still matter. Think of color combinations that work and avoid mixing and matching colors that make your brand less appealing.

Warm Color Psychology: How the Bright and Warm Colors Capture Emotion

Warm colors like red, orange, and yellow are often seen associated with people’s feelings. Sometimes, people openly express their emotions when they see signs with these colors.

Red often symbolizes passion, energy, and power. It elicits excitement, so many entertainment companies use red as their brand color. It’s also the color that’s known to stimulate the appetite, which makes perfect sense for restaurants to use bright red signs and banners whenever they want to attract hungry customers.

Orange brand logos are not the most common since this color is usually associated with affordability. Many small businesses start with orange brand logos to attract customers with inexpensive products before transitioning and rebranding to other colored symbols. Still, orange offers positive vibes since it symbolizes creativity and wonder. Innovative brands often use bright orange on their packaging to introduce new products, while other brands use it to complement their promotional banners and signs. It’s also good that orange works well with different colors.

Yellow is the color of happiness, youth, and optimism. The color also helps excite people, which is why red and yellow are often used in fast-food restaurants where kids are the target audience. Many toy brands incorporate yellow hues with their logos. Conversely, the color is also used for warning signs and safety. The bright yellow reflects light and draws undivided attention — perfect for road signs and construction warnings with big, black, bold letters on the yellow background.

Cool Color Psychology: The Colors of Perception and People’s Beliefs

Unlike the emotionally motivating warm colors, cool colors like blue, green, and violet is often associated with people's perceptions. While the colors also elicit feelings, they are more linked to people's thoughts whenever they see them.

Green is often associated with life and health. Many brands use green logos to promote healthy living, while eco-friendly brands also use the color to represent environmental advocacies. The phrase "Go Green" is quite famous because of the color's association with nature and health. Green also represents laidback leisure, with brands promoting a chill and casual vibe with their products like games, coffee, and fun mobile apps.

Blue is one of the more popular brand colors due to its symbolism of dependability and trust. Many people view blue as their favorite color, which many brands use to highlight the authenticity and security of their products and services. Some even derive sophistication and high quality from blue-colored brands. However, despite being a popular color, blue also connotes some detachment and the absence of a welcoming vibe that warm colors have. Nevertheless, it’s still great at connecting with customers but at a more professional business-client level.

Purple is associated with mystery, class, and royalty. It is also one of the few colors that could appeal to any gender. Purple greatly identifies itself with luxury service and experience, making it perfect for hotel banners, restaurant designs, and other service-oriented brands. It’s also versatile — it can complement any color combination and a proper shade of purple can even enhance a brand logo.

Black and White Psychology: The Complimentary Dichotomy of Black and White Colors

Black and white have always been special colors and it’s still true in brand marketing. While most people perceive them as opposites of a spectrum, the colors often work best when used together.

Black in marketing usually represents sophistication. "X is the new black" has always been a famous phrase in the fashion and beauty industry since black is always viewed as chic and elegant. Luxury brands use black logos and packaging since it makes their products look sleek and refined. The "black card", for instance, represents a high-value, exclusive, and ultimate status symbol.

White, meanwhile, is always associated with purity and cleanliness. It's also a color that promotes a "what you see is what you get" type of slogan and usually depicts transparency and trustworthiness in service and products. A few well-known groups use simple white logos to promote their brands but are also considered widely successful.

Despite the seeming contrast between white and black, their dichotomy complements each other. Many brands use black and white colors on their logos and promotions and invert the colors whenever they fit their marketing strategy. The simple idea of a white design on a black background or a black logo on a white background is what makes branding using these two colors the most effective.

Final Thoughts

There’s so much more to pick up when using colors and psychology to help create a perfect brand, using it to influence customer behavior. But as stated, these are only guides to help you with your brand marketing and connecting with your audience. If you find color psychology useful to determine your brand identity, go and design your logo and taglines and find the right color combinations as you go along. Once you’re ready, visit Signs.com to order your promotional signs, banners, and business cards and start capturing people’s attention with your original and creative branding.