A quick guide to colour psychology and branding

Colours impact our emotions and perceptions. These impacts need to be considered when choosing brand colours.

I'm designing a logo and visual identity for a client's newly acquired vehicle transport company, and in the midst of researching logos in the marketplace. As happens in many business categories, there are some dominant colours used – dark blue, dark grey and black, with splashes of red, orange and yellow. It makes sense that transport companies would use the darker, cooler colours to be perceived as serious, stable and reliable; and the brighter, vibrant colours to show they are energetic and confident.

Colour is the number one component of your brand that people remember. So you need to choose wisely, not only for a positive emotional response and to represent your brand personality, but to stand out in the clutter.

Colour meanings

By understanding the psychology and symbolism of colours you can harness the power of colour in your branding. Below is a summary of common colour meanings and associations for Western culture. In other cultures colour meaning can be very different, so if you’re an international brand you need to consider this.

Red 

Red is the colour of blood and fire. Red is assertive, daring, energetic and exciting. It symbolises action and confidence.

It is also associated with danger and anger.

Brown 

Brown is earthy, natural, organic and wholesome. It symbolises the outdoors, stability and tradition. Brown indicates being approachable and genuine.

Negatively it can be seen as dogmatic and dirty.

Green 

Green is the colour of nature and the environment. It is associated with freshness, healing, harmony, peace, stability and fertility. It also symbolises safety and ‘go’, as well as finance and wealth.

Negatively it is associated with envy, jealousy and guilt.

Yellow 

Yellow is the colour of sunshine. It communicates joy, happiness, optimism, hope, friendliness and energy. It can be associated with intellect, enlightenment and mental clarity, as well as safety.

Negatively it can be mean irresponsible, unstable and hazardous.

Orange 

Orange is fun, friendly and flamboyant. It is associated with warmth, energy, activity, youthfulness, creativity, courage, adventure, freedom and determination.

Orange is a colour people have strong 'love' or 'hate' opinions about.

Pink 

Pink is stereotypically associated with females. It represents compassion, and is playful and cute. It’s also a diverse colour, as bright and pale pinks evoke different emotions.

Bright pink is energetic (similar to red) as well as youthful, fun and exciting. Pale pink is sensual, light-hearted and positive. It is associated with love, romance, tenderness and sweetness.

Negative associations include weakness and immaturity.

Grey 

Grey can symbolise formality, sophistication, conservatism, security, reliability and intelligence. It can be perceived as long-lasting, classic and sleek.

It is also associated with being dull, dingy, gloomy and sad.

Blue 

Blue is versatile, and is the most universally favoured colour. It is the colour of the sky and sea and is often associated with depth, stability and tranquillity. It symbolises trust, loyalty, cleanliness, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, integrity and truth.

Not all blues are serene and sedate. Electric or brilliant blues are dynamic, dramatic and exhilarating.

Negative associations include sadness, depression (feeling ‘blue’), coldness and fear.

White 

White is associated with goodness, innocence, purity and cleanliness. It represents simplicity, perfection and freshness. It has a modern, minimalist quality.

Negatively it can be stark and sterile and associated with isolation and emptiness.

Black 

Black is bold, serious, dramatic, elegant and mysterious. It is associated with protection, formality, authority, luxury and sophistication.

It is also associated with death, mourning, fear and evil.

Purple 

Traditionally associated with royalty and nobility, purple still connotes luxury, dignity, ambition and grandeur. It also has a spiritual, mysterious quality and can represent peace, creativity and magic.

Darker shades of purple are more associated with extravagance and opulence while lighter lavender shades are feminine, sentimental and nostalgic.

The symbolism of mystery may be a negative, depending on your brand, along with its association with moodiness.

And my client? 

So what colour direction is my vehicle transport client headed? We're looking at using a bold colour – hot pink or bright aqua – combined with black to make it pop. Something that's eye-catching, different to key competitors, and that says 'dynamic'. We'll certainly be harnessing the full power of colour for this brand identity.

All logos are not created equal

At the heart of a strong business brand is an identifiable logo. Developing a logo requires creativity, research, thought and considerable work. It’s not something that should be thrown together ad-hoc. You can get a cheap logo through websites such as Fiverr, and I recently saw an offer in a Facebook business group for a logo, business card design and 250 printed business cards for $299. But as with most things, you get what you pay for.

And what you should get is a customised logo that effectively represents and differentiates your unique business, and appeals to your customers – not leftover concepts from someone else’s brief, or a rip-off of another logo.

A design professional will take the time to understand what your business does, your vision, values and personality, and who your customers are. They will spend time discussing your design ideas and preferences (and they may not agree with them and they will tell you why!). They will research your business category, competitors and symbols. They will explore and test ideas and concepts, and present you with multiple logo concepts to work from.

I thought it would be helpful to take you through the logo design process so you can understand the value of engaging a professional graphic designer:

• Brief: The designer will take a detailed brief about your business – vision, values, personality, products and services, and customers. They will want to know about any design ideas and preferences you may have, dislikes and so forth. They will draw out all the information they can to determine what attributes they will turn into a visual representation of your business. They will take lots of notes!

• Research: The next step involves researching the marketplace, competitors, businesses with similar personalities in other categories, as well as relevant symbols and icons. This research will help ensure your brand is differentiated and unique.

• Concept development: Alongside the research, ideas will be noted and sketched. There will be brainstorming, experimenting and then filtering and refinement of concepts until the strongest designs emerge.

• Presentation: Once the initial concepts are developed the designer should present at least two, but ideally three distinctly different logo concepts (not just different colours or slightly varied logos – that’s later in the process).

• Feedback: The designer will be interested in your initial feedback, along with your thoughts as you contemplate the designs over a few days.

• Revision: Your feedback will be incorporated into revised designs and updated concepts will be presented. Then there’s more feedback and further revision of the concepts – this may loop through two or three times.

• Development: Once you’ve decided on a concept, the final logos will be developed – perhaps in vertical and horizontal versions, to work as a single colour and in reverse; as well as versions for social media icons. Logos should be created in various colour formats (PMS, CMYK, RGB) and in various file formats (eps, png, jpeg).
  Many clients also engage their designer to develop the visual identity that will accompany the logo, including colour palette, typography, graphic style and imagery. This would be refined at this stage and designs developed for stationery and marketing collateral.

• Delivery and support: You will receive your logos, and ideally a design style guide that outlines correct logo use and specifies colours, typefaces and more. A good designer will be able to help you roll out your new logo design, and be able to provide future services to build your visual brand identity.

As you can see, it’s quite a process! Although there are cheaper logo design options out there, they really don’t compare to the value you get from investing in an experienced graphic design professional. Remember, all logos are not created equal.

If you're looking to develop a new logo, or evolve an existing one and want to chat, please get in touch with me.

Have you defined your brand personality?

Brand personality is attributing human characteristics to a brand.

Having a defined brand personality differentiates your business brand from other brands and helps you to stand out and break through the clutter. It will guide the way you express and portray your brand (how your brand speaks, behaves and looks), and ensure your brand is represented consistently. It will help the right people to connect with your brand, and increase brand awareness.

If your business doesn’t have a defined brand personality, it’s worth determining one. (And then reviewing your brand alignment and strategy against it!)

There are various brand personality models, however, I think for small businesses it’s satisfactory to select a set of keywords to describe the essence of your business personality. Three (max. four) are enough.

For example, an organic produce company might define its brand personality as honest, friendly and principled.

A high-end hair salon could describe its brand personality as glamorous, exclusive and professional.

You can use the extensive (but not exhaustive) list of keywords above to help define your business’s brand personality. Or use a thesaurus to help you come up with the right words. Nuances are important – happy, cheerful and exuberant mean similar things, but each word gives a different feeling (this is also important for your brand language and writing).

Once you have a brand personality defined, your visual identity and brand language and voice will flow from this. And you can get your branding on target.

Is your branding on target?

A brand is a valuable asset. It must be carefully crafted to appropriately represent a business and to resonate with the right people.

At the heart of branding is an identifiable logo, combined with a strong visual identity. The visual elements need to be aligned with business vision and values, brand personality and voice, products and services, and customer experience and expectations.

Authenticity, clarity and consistency across a brand are critical.

Is your business brand consistent? Is your brand correctly aligned? If not, it might be time to invest in reviewing it.

Visual identity for the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme

The Executive Committee of the International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Programme is aware that brand identity is a valuable asset, and visual consistency is an essential part of good communication strategy. With the Programme’s work achieved through the collaborative efforts of multiple members across multiple countries, this is a challenge.

The IEA SHC Programme recently engaged me to improve their visual identity and its uniform application. I created a visual identity for them based around their existing logo, and encompassing colour palette, design elements and fonts. To help improve consistency, I documented the visual identity in an official style guide, and developed Word and PowerPoint templates for reports, presentations, stationery and promotional materials.

The Programme will roll out their strengthened brand identity as they continue their global promotion of the use of solar thermal energy.

To find out how I can help to energise your brand visit http://mayburyink.com.au

To find out more about the great work of the IEA SHC Programme visit https://www.iea-shc.org/

It's time to check the health of your brand

The start of the New Year is the perfect time to check the health of your brand, and set your organisation up for success.

A good brand requires a strong visual identity (logo, colour palette, graphics) and consistent key messages and written voice, aligned with your mission and business goals. Your organisation’s workspace, people and customer service also form part of your brand.

Is your brand relevant, engaging and consistent? Has your business changed focus, expanded or moved? Have there been changes in your target market that affect how your products/services are perceived or used? Are there inconsistencies in your marketing and communication materials (digital and print)? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, it’s time to review and realign your brand.

Your brand is a valuable asset, and it must be carefully crafted and evolved to ensure it effectively represents your organisation, and resonates with your intended target public. A healthy brand is essential to ensure your organisation flourishes.

Does your brand have a visual style guide?

Your business’s brand is a valuable asset, and it must be carefully maintained. Which means consistency in all visual representations of your business. A visual style guide is a valuable document that helps ensure the consistency of your brand. And it will save you time briefing designers.

A visual style guide can give instructions on how to use your logo correctly and how sub-brands/co-brands fit within the brand architecture. It specifies the corporate colours for print and online, details fonts, and shows the preferred style of imagery and graphics. It links to your writing style guide (but that’s another story).

Contact me if you want to discuss developing a visual style guide for your business brand. http://www.mayburyink.com.au/designcomm_intro.html