Color is one of the most powerful tools in a designer's toolkit. The colors you choose for your brand can shape how consumers perceive and engage with your company. But with thousands of color options out there, how do you select the ideal palette to represent your brand?
At Ladybug Studio, we've designed countless logos, websites, packaging, and other visual assets by carefully crafting customized color palettes. After years of experience, we've identified the most effective strategies to create color palettes that pop!
In this beginner's guide, we'll walk you through 7 simple tips to pick the perfect brand color palette. Let's dive in!
Step 1: Understand Color Psychology
Before choosing any colors, it's important to first understand how different hues make us feel. For example:
Red promotes excitement and urgency. It's energetic and bold.
Blue evokes trust, security, and peace. It has a calming effect.
Green represents growth, health, and harmony. It's balanced and natural.
Yellow sparks creativity, optimism, and enthusiasm. It's sunny and cheerful.
Purple embodies luxury, ambition, and imagination. It's mystical and wise.
Start by thinking about the emotions and ideas you want your brand to convey. Then you can narrow your focus to the color families that align with your brand personality and values.
Step 2: Consider Your Industry
Is your company in finance, healthcare, tech, hospitality?
Look at industry norms and conventions. For example, many financial brands use conservative blues, while tech companies embrace vibrant reds and greens.
You don't have to rigidly follow industry standards. But understand that customers connect certain palettes with specific industries. You can subtly weave in expected colors as an anchor while adding your own personal twist.
Step 3: Analyze Competitors
Research what hues your competitors use. Are their palettes dominated by bright, saturated colors or more muted and neutral shades?
You'll want your palette to stand out from the competition. If they primarily use cool tones like blues and greens, explore warm reds, oranges or yellows.
Don't copy competitors directly. But use their palettes as inspiration to identify gaps where your brand can establish its own visual identity.
Step 4: Pull Colors from Your Logo
Your logo is the centerpiece of your visual identity. So when designing a color palette, start by pulling one or two prominent hues from your logo.
This could be the color used to depict your icon or illustrate your business name. The logo color(s) will form the foundation that other shades can build upon.
Extracting colors from your logo brings cohesion across your branding. It creates an instant visual connection between your logo and color palette.
Pro Tip: Use a color extraction tool to sample the exact hex codes of colors in your logo.
Step 5: Limit Your Palette
Resist the urge to use too many colors in your palette. Stick to just two or three core brand colors for maximum impact.
With every color you add, your palette becomes more diluted and less memorable. Limit yourself to colors that serve strategic purposes.
Here are typical color roles:
Primary: main brand color featured prominently
Secondary: alternative to highlight or contrast with primary
Accent: punch of color for emphasis
A few strong colors will leave a stronger impression than a wide rainbow of mediocre shades. Prioritize quality over quantity.
Step 6: Consider Multiple Formats
Your color palette needs to be flexible across all potential brand applications like print, digital, packaging, and merchandising.
When selecting colors, define both CMYK and RGB values.
CMYK is best for physical, print projects. RGB works for onscreen digital formats. Having specifications for print and digital allows seamless usage across mediums.
Also consider having versions of your palette for contexts like black/white photocopying or embroidery where color options are limited.
Step 7: Test for Accessibility
Make sure your palette meets minimum color contrast requirements. Sufficient contrast between text and backgrounds enables easy readability for all users.
Run your colors through accessibility checkers like WebAIM or Contrast Checker. Target at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio for your primary brand colors. Modify hues and values if needed to pass contrast ratios.
An accessible palette ensures your branding reaches the broadest possible audience!
5 Questions to Ask When Finalizing Your Palette
Once you've narrowed down your color options using the steps above, here are five final questions to ask yourself before locking in your final palette:
- Does it reflect your brand personality? Aligns with your desired messaging and emotional impact?
- Is it unique and distinctive? Stands out from competitors in your market?
- Is it consistent and cohesive? Palette colors work together in harmony?
- Is it versatile and flexible? Works across branding contexts and formats?
- Is it accessible and inclusive? Can be easily seen/processed by all users?
If you can answer "yes" to all five, then you've developed a winning color palette!
4 Ways to Use Your Color Palette
Congratulations, you've defined the perfect custom color palette for your brand! Now it's time to put it to work across your visual branding:
1. Digital Design
Use your palette colors consistently across your website, mobile apps, social media, emails, banners, and other digital assets. This establishes an unmistakable visual brand identity online.
2. Print Design
Incorporate palette colors into business cards, letterheads, brochures, flyers, packaging, promotional items and any other printed materials.
3. Environments
Paint your palette colors on office walls, furnishings, and decor. Extend your brand experience to physical spaces like stores and event booths.
4. Merchandise
Add your brand colors to company swag like t-shirts, water bottles, pens, and notebooks. Color can turn merchandise into moving advertisements.
With a polished color palette guiding all designs, you'll notice an immediate boost in brand recognition and impact.
Case Study: Ladybug Studio Rebrand
To show how strategic color palettes can transform a brand, let's walk through a case study from our own Ladybug Studio rebrand.
Before, our visual identity lacked distinction. It relied on overused primary colors - red, blue, green and purple. Our palette was unoriginal and failed to capture the playful, energetic spirit we wanted to project.
Our new palette features a warm yellow as our primary brand color. This yellow pops against dark backgrounds and evokes joy, sunshine and creativity.
We coupled it with an accent teal for vibrancy. Deep blues and blacks ground the palette and add versatility. And a soft peach provides a neutral complement.
This palette aligns with the lively, fun and welcoming brand personality we wanted. It's whimsical yet refined. And it's flexible across digital, print, merchandise and environmental design.
Our new color palette was an essential part of updating Ladybug's visual identity. It's an anchor that brings all our branding to life consistently.
Explore the Full Spectrum of Branding
A stellar color palette lays the foundation for great branding and design. But it's only one piece of the puzzle. To fully convey your brand, you also need:
- A stylish and memorable logo
- Thoughtfully crafted typography
- Beautiful photography and graphic elements
- Cohesive templates for print and digital
- And much more!
At Ladybug Studio, we can guide you through the entire branding process. Our team of expert designers will unlock the full potential of your brand identity.
Want to learn more? Reach out today to start a conversation. Let's build your brand together!
Call to Action
Thanks for reading! We hope these tips help you create the perfect color palette for your brand. Don't be afraid to experiment and find colors that capture your unique identity.
For more branding advice and resources, explore the Ladybug Blog and follow us on social media. Feel free to reach out if you need any help with your design and branding projects. Our team would love to work with you!