Selecting the colours for your brand is such an exciting part of the branding process, but how do you choose the right colours? It’s more than just picking your favourite colours and adding them to your website and marketing. There are some steps to take and elements to consider before finalizing your brand colours.
Ideal Client
It is very important to really think about who your Ideal Client is. Also, think about your brands mission and vision. What feelings or emotions do you want your Ideal Client to feel when they come in contact with your brand? How do you want your brand to be perceived by your Ideal Client? I have a questionnaire that digs deep into the core of your brand to help you determine your Ideal Client.
Inspiration Board
For every brand I also create an inspiration board which reflects the look and feel of your brand and business. For this inspiration board I will have you to create your own shared Pinterest board made up of textures, patterns, design elements, and any images that capture the aesthetic of the brand you’re striving to create. If you choose many images, there will always be similarities in colour and style.
Taking your answers from the Brand Clarity Questionnaire and the images from your Pinterest board, this inspiration board serves as an overall design direction and helps us stay on track.
Choosing Colours
Once your inspiration board is created we can begin to choose the right colours for your brand. Subconsciously, you will have chosen images with similar colours, patterns, and styles. Now the right colour pallette can easily be chosen from the inspiration board.
I usually upload the image to a free software like https://coolors.co/ and they will recommend colors for you that fit to this image.
A general rule is to have no more than 6 brand colours and stick to them. Think about your logo, your images and graphics, patterns and photography, and also choose a dark or neutral colour for body text. You may need to cut back or add more in order to create balance. Typically at least one bold or dark colour, one lighter colour and a neutral will be needed to cover all bases.
Competition
In this process, we will also be looking in on your competition and who if anyone else is using your chosen colours. You want to stand out from your competition, so if we’ve chosen the same colours as them, I would go with different tones or completely different colours.
That being said, if there is another company in a different industry choosing the same colours it won’t be such a big deal as you won’t be blending in with the competition.
Determine Colour Usage
Once your brand colours have been decided, I would also determine how and where each colour will be used.
For example one colour for your product packaging, one colour only for headings, one colour for all text on Instagram images, one colour for all links on your website, or a colour for the background of your website.
This is where your Brand Style Guide comes in handy! This guide will note where, when, and how each colour will be used to help you stay consistent across your branding.
Now that you have your brand colours set, it’s time to implement them across all your platforms. Your website will match your social media, which will match your business cards, which will match your packaging, creating one cohesive brand that will represent your brand and attract your Ideal Clients!
You may also like:
