Most of the time, when we think of a brand, the first thing that comes to mind, even without being aware of it, is the colour, just as colour is often the element that draws our attention to an advertisement or a product.
While it’s true that everyone perceives and reacts to colours differently, it’s equally true that there are certain criteria that can help you choose the right colour and colour palette to convey your message, attract attention and differentiate your design and brand from the competition.
Here we look at 5 tricks and criteria that can help you use colours effectively and to your advantage.
1. Familiarise yourself with colour psychology
Colour psychology is the study of how certain colours elicit a specific physical or emotional reaction, thereby influencing human behaviour and, in our case, the buyer’s behaviour.
So, while colour may not be the first thing you think of when building your identity, the colours you use do evoke a certain emotional response in viewers that can be critical to your brand’s success.
Here are some basic associations between colours and emotions you can consider when choosing your colour palette:
- Red: enthusiasm, passion, anger, danger, power
- Orange: friendship, creativity, enthusiasm
- Yellow: happiness, optimism, joy, originality, enthusiasm
- Green: youth, vitality, nature, stability
- Blue: calm, depth, peace, confidence
- Violet: luxury, romance, introspection, calm
2. Harmonise main and accent colours
Once you’ve established what your marketing strategy is and what emotions you want to arouse, you can set some colours that define your brand.
Once you’ve established a basic colour palette, you need to choose accent colours – those colours or shades you’ll use to highlight a particular graphic element or text.
In choosing accent colours it is essential to be very careful that they are appropriate and harmonise with the base shades. Often, you can choose the accent shade to be a stronger shade of one of the base colours, for example.
3. Takes into account the target audience and the cultural and social context
Identify and know your target audience well so that you can adapt your colour palette according to their characteristics and interests.
Certain colours may be considered too strong or aggressive by an older audience, for example, just as a colour palette that is too ‘soft’ might be considered boring by a younger audience.
Also keep in mind that certain colours have a special meaning and even symbolism in certain cultures or communities, so it’s important to be well informed.
4. Choose simplicity
It’s easy to fall into the trap of using lots of colours, especially when you find it hard to limit yourself to just two or three and it seems like they’re all important, but remember that simplicity is key.
Using too many colours or shades can give a cluttered look and can look confusing, use colours wisely, creating a balance between base and accent colours.
Keep in mind that for an effective strategy, 1-3 colours are usually recommended.
5. Analyse and take into account feedback
Once you’ve chosen your colour palette and your products have reached the public, it’s important to continually analyse customer feedback and adapt your strategy accordingly.
You can follow some criteria such as:
- If some colours are harder to read than others
- If certain design elements are too busy and hide some of the text
- If certain colours arouse an unpleasant or repulsive reaction in the viewer
In conclusion, before you start choosing colours, study and familiarise yourself with the essentials of colour psychology, take into account emotions, identify your target audience and cultural context, and once your products have reached your audience, don’t forget to adapt and evolve according to the feedback you receive.