Choosing a colour palette for your branding

Branding
Mark Drever
Brand Identity & Creative
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Whether you are launching a startup or thinking about rebranding an established business – understanding the influence of colour on customer behaviour can help your brand improve its success. Colour is an essential building block of brand identity and is therefore very important; however, with seemingly infinite options, feeling confident in your colour selections may seem daunting. When choosing a colour palette, you must understand that colour is the most visible and noticeable component of the brand.

Deciding which colours to choose, how many colours to include, how to use them together, and how to make your colour palette unique from others in the industry is a challenging task, but not impossible. In this post, we will discuss the primary aspects of choosing a colour palette for your branding.

1. Start with a neutral, familiar colour

Everybody has a favourite colour. Is it yellow? Maybe it’s red. A few  colour options had likely already entered your mind the moment you began considering your business plans. It just needs a little brushing up. This is discussed when designing your logo Take inspiration from major brands and how they stick to the same colour palette for years. Coca Cola is one great example.

2. Understanding the basic colour concepts

When picking a colour, you should consider keeping one or two hero colours in mind.  With that in mind, it is important to stick with it as the colour(s) will be representing your brand. There are a few basic colour schemes that can help build the foundations of your brand’s colour scheme:

  1. Monochromatic - These colours are made up of several shades combined with tints within a specific colour
  2. Analogous - These colours are created using the combination of three colours next to each other in the colour wheel. Analogous colours add more diversity  
  3. Complimentary - These colours are created using any two opposite shades in the colour wheel. It is a powerful colour scheme that can make a user feel dizzy
  4. Split Complimentary - These colours are created using a variation of the complementary colour scheme. It incorporates a base colour in addition to two colours adjacent to its compliment
  5. Triad - These colours are created using the colours evenly spaced around the colour wheel

Some great places to research colour palette ideas are Instagram and Pinterest. These digital mood boards can help you unearth some great colour combinations that you haven’t previously considered. In addition, if you take a close look at your competition, you may be able to determine what colour combinations are appropriate for your industry .

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