What Your Brand Colors Say about Your Business

The road to business branding is filled with slippery slopes. There are a lot of things that can go wrong and every effort can go down as hit or miss. One of the aspects to branding that is often left unnoticed, but one that experts insist on playing a huge role, is color. Indeed, something as trivial as color can create a huge impact on how your brand performs in the market. Have you taken into consideration your brand colors and how it might impact your marketing campaign? If you haven’t yet, it is time you should.

Introduction to Business Branding

A business brand goes far beyond building a name or logo. It represents the company and the people’s perception of what you do and what you can offer them. That perception is of utmost importance. But here’s good news – you have full control over that perception. You create that perception. From there, you can mold it into an image of which your audience can establish expectations from the company, in case they do business with you in the future. This is the same reason why branding experts emphasize on the importance of properly constructing your brand to build a strong market base.

This is where logo and colors come into the picture. The logo and your chosen color will be used in all forms of marketing materials, whether physically or digitally. Your goal is to establish visibility for the brand. The more visible the brand is, the more recall you can have with your target audience. And business recall is another area of business branding that you need to focus more on at a later time. However, it is good to pay attention to this concept while building the brand so you know you can establish a formidable image.

Do not underestimate the role that logo and colors play in establishing visual recognition. This alone has helped several companies not only establish brand recall but also in generating billions of profits worldwide. If you want to achieve the same, you need to understand how to use colors and logos when designing print marketing with your brand colors.

Impact of Colors on Logos and Brands

The most prominent brands in the world are almost instinctively defined by their chosen colors. It is just as important as logo is to your brand. These two components are one of the first things that your potential and existing clients think of upon the mention of your brand. Hence, it is important to properly hone your business image through the logo and color so you can also relay the correct message.

According to psychology experts, color is one of the most powerful visual and psychological tools perceived by humans. Business owners have utilized the power of color psychology to send a positive message to their target market. Nowadays, the use of color psychology in the business field is not restricted to logo creation or branding. It is also utilized in choosing a book cover, creating web pages and design, among other things. But regardless of where the color psychology is employed, the goal remains the same: to manipulate people’s perception and to establish the right message.

Here is a quick guide to help you formulate ideas on how every basic color is perceived:

Black:

The color depicts authority, strength, stability and intelligence. It is also a strong color that effectively depicts strong emotions; hence, be careful when choosing black to use for your brand because it can easily overwhelm.

White:

On the other end of the spectrum, there is white. Like black, a lot of brands have used white as their color for branding purposes. The color is associated with purity, safety and sanitary. If you can use your brand colors right, it can also signify creativity and ability to achieve many possibilities.

Gray:

This color is often referred to when describing what is between black and white. However, a lot of brands have used the color due to its timelessness and practical appeal. You need to be smart about using gray for your brand, though, as it can also depict depression and a feeling of nothingness. Other negative associations with the color include old age, depression and a lack of direction. Make sure you do not evoke those associations with your branding.

Blue:

This is one of the most popular colors used for branding. To start with, blue exudes a professional image. Many people associate blue with the cool and calming waters of the ocean. When used effectively for printing your brand colors, you can deliver a sense of dependability, wisdom, reliability, and leadership. It is for these same reasons why it is a preferred color in businesses and in web page designs.

Red:

One of the main reasons why red is used for branding is that it draws attention. It is also a color of energy. Hence, it reflects a sense of vitality and energy to your business. People associate red with a sense of excitement, movement and a cheerful spirit. If you would like to get noticed, red is the color of choice. For business branding, you need to treat the use of this color lightly. It can easily overwhelm and you have to establish balance so it would not seem so overpowering.

Use Colors Effectively for Print Marketing

With an understanding of how color psychology works, you can now move on to designing print marketing with your brand colors. The age of your target audience will impact the color scheme and combination you use on print materials. For instance, vibrant colors like yellow or red might appeal to a younger audience. But if you want to attract older and more mature audiences, opt for a bolder and more conservative color like blue or black.

Consistency is the key to printing your brand colors. Use your brand colors right by utilizing so on all types of marketing materials, print materials included. It will be easier for your clients and prospects to associate the color with your brand if you are consistent in its use with all types of marketing materials. You can incorporate other colors into your print marketing pieces but your brand color should be prominently featured.

Your branding efforts do not end in choosing brand colors. In fact, it is only a start. Your ability to reinforce the brand name and image with consistent marketing efforts to use colors is crucial to your success.