Yellow arches… a red target… a blue bird… Without even realizing it, your mind has probably figured out that I’m referring to the logos for McDonald’s, Target and Twitter, and it’s all thanks to the power of color in branding! Color plays a pivotal role in the success of attracting and retaining customers. In fact, studies have shown that a product’s color influences 60 to 80% of a customer’s purchasing decision. Whether you’re just starting up a business or in the process of rebranding an existing company, knowing the different feelings that colors evoke is a great tool for ensuring that your brand is seen in the best, most colorful light. Here’s some useful information about different colors and how they can affect a brand:
29% of brands use this color. It evokes passion, energy, love, heat and is attention-grabbing. It is most popularly used for technology, car and agricultural brands. Red has also been known to stimulate appetite (it can be found in a lot of restaurants).
Blue is by far the most popular color for brands – about 33% of all brands use this color. It is known to relax customers and give feelings of trust, calmness, responsibility and progressiveness. A lot of expensive and risky industries, such as the airline, energy and health care industries, use blue in their logos.
Purple is often associated with royalty, sophistication, elegance, mystery, decadence and style. Lighter shades of purple, such as lavender, bring out feminine and graceful qualities. Dark purples can evoke feelings of arrogance, sadness and frustration, so try to stick with bright or lighter shades.
If you’re aiming to make your logo cheery, bright and full of hope, choose yellow! It is most popularly used for food, energy and household brands. Since yellow and gold are only used by 13% of the world’s top brands, there’s a great chance that your logo will stand out from the rest of the blue, red and black logos out there.
Orange brings out the cheerful, energetic qualities of yellow and combines with red to add feelings of life and excitement. Use orange for brands that you want to appear fun, playful, friendly and inviting. Orange is used most for healthcare and technology brands but can also be used for household, agricultural and food companies.
Deeper greens are associated with affluence and prestige while lighter greens are associated with calmness, safety, freshness and health. Green also appeals heavily to eco-friendly and organic brands. When using green in your logo, ensure that there isn’t too much green in it – this could convey negative connotations including envy, greed and selfishness.
If you have a simple, durable and down-to-earth business, brown is often a great color to choose for a logo. Although not as eye-catching as other colors, brown is used commonly for apparel, technology and car businesses. It is a friendly and approachable color and evokes feelings of trust, sincerity and common sense.
Still undecided about which color(s) to select to represent your brand? Check out this site for more information on different information to consider as well as some brainstorming points to get you started. Hopefully there’s a colorful, successful future in store for your brand!
Sources: Marketo Blog, Usability Post