How Color Psychology Adds To Your Brand’s Image
⌛ By Kaylin R. Staten ⌛
Humans love colors, and often, the color of a product will make or break if someone buys it. When a company or individual pays attention to color psychology, that means they delve into primary and secondary research methods to see the impact color has inside and outside of its brand structure.
Colors are an instrumental aspect of your brand’s personality. Just like with your tone and other consistent materials, colors are part of your brand’s story.
Colors allow brands to set themselves apart from other brands within a saturated market, increase conversion rates, provide brand recognition for services and products, make the sale and reach other business and communications goals and objectives.
When you’re choosing a color or entire scheme, think about the following questions to ask during the brainstorming process:
What are my brand’s values?
What do I want my target audiences to think when they look at the colors/branded materials?
Does each color represent my company’s products and services?
How does the color’s meaning tie in to my brand’s calls to action? What do I want my target audiences to do?
How will my brand’s color scheme tie into other graphics, photographs and visual elements?
Is this color sustainable for the next 5-10 years for my brand? Do I want it to last for the long haul?
How does Hourglass Media’s colors tell its brand story? Here are our five colors and their respective meanings to our brand and culture:
Teal: Healing, balance, introspection, creativity, unique. Reminds us of lush landscapes and tropical waters, 1920s velvet fainting couches, our own hue of The Emerald City and color filter of our daydreams.
Gold: Wisdom/knowledge, vintage, valuable, prosperity, quality. Reminds us of Art Deco embellishments, embossed lettering on the spine of a Great American Novel, the gold Bond Girl in “Goldfinger” and our own version of the yellow brick road.
Black: Elegance, strength, authority, classic, protection. Reminds us of newspaper fonts, storybook lettering, quill ink, the mystery of a new day ahead.
White: Light, simplicity, optimism, unity, renewal. Reminds us of blank slates, overcast days, and the sands of an hourglass.
Red: Passion, motivation, power, determination, attention-grabbing. Reminds us of heart containers in “Legend of Zelda,” red-ink edits on paper, urgent “For Immediate Release” notes on press releases, and ruby slippers.
How can your brand’s colors tell your story? Here are a few ways you can remain consistent with your brand’s colors:
Create a stylesheet for your brand. Include everything pertaining to your brand, from its logos and color schemes to fonts and graphic sizes. That way, anyone from your organization can ensure consistency at any time.
Pay attention to CYMK, RBG, HEX codes and other color identifiers. You’ll have a perfect match for your digital and printed materials!
Have a master list of your brand’s values to refer to when needed. Are your colors in line with your mission, vision and values?
Research your target audiences’ favorite colors, industry trends, case studies and more. The more you learn, the more effective you will be with your color scheme.
Learn more about color meanings here.
Kaylin R. Staten, APR, is an award-winning public relations practitioner and writer based in Huntington, WV with nearly 16 years of professional communications experience. As CEO and founder of Hourglass Media, she uses her compassionate spirit and expertise to delve into the heart of clients’ stories. She is a recovering perfectionist, mental health advocate, wife, cat mom and Leia Organa aficionado. Connect with Kaylin on LinkedIn.