Color Me Brand

Clients ask me all the time if color is important to a brand identity or website? The answer, in a word, is a resounding Yes! Color communicates meaning in ways that no other aspect of your brand can.

Written Feb 16, 2008, read 1321 times since then.

Is color important to a brand identity or website? This is one of the most frequent questions I field while we are developing our clients' brand identities. The answer, in a word, is a resounding Yes! Color is the second most common way in which humans perceive and remember information. Shape comes first. Color is second. (Language is third.)

We learn the meaning of colors at preschool age and keep reinforcing that knowledge all through grade school. As young adults, we are taught the colors of brand-savvy corporations.

What color is a fire truck? What color is a ghost? How about the sky? Or the ocean? What color do you wear at a funeral? What color is UPS? How about DHL? What color is Kodak? Everyone knows IBM is blue.

Think about the colors you interact with every day. What would travel through your mind if you saw a green stop sign? How about a purple caution sign? Have you ever noticed that One Way road signs are black and white? If they were green and white, that would send a confusing message because we all know that green means go. Do you notice the color of peoples' eyes? How about their clothes? Would you buy a green steak? Or a black tomato?

You rarely see the color black used as the predominant color on food packaging. What associations do you make with black? Burn, evil, death, mystery. You wouldn't buy burnt food. At least, not on purpose.

What colors do you see when you walk into most natural food stores? Fruit and vegetables are most often positioned in your direct line of sight. It's like seeing a rainbow right in front of your eyes. Rainbows make us feel good and fill us with wonder and happiness. Vibrant colors, like those found in fruits and vegetables, are associated with health. We like buying healthy food, particularly when we are happy.

Have you ever seen a doctor with a bright red business card? Probably not. What enters our minds when we see bright red? Emergencies, blood, danger, fire, passion, love and hate. What happens when a bull sees red? What happens when you cut yourself? The last thing physicians want their patients thinking about is blood, let alone emergencies or severed limbs. Physician brand identities are usually a picture of calm, with colors exuding that feeling. Band-aid packaging, on the other hand, almost always has bright red on it.

With these few examples, you can see how color can effect the way you feel. Color plays an unimaginably important role in our everyday lives. With so much of our perception and knowledge based on our interactions with color, it's clear to see that the colors of your brand are critical in connecting with customers. Color can effect the way people perceive and understand your identity and, therefore, your company. Color can turn them on or off, bore or excite them, send them running scared or instill confidence. Color communicates meaning in ways that no other aspect of your brand can.

Kelly Hobkirk is co-founder, senior designer and copywriter for Train of Thought, a graphic design, branding, and marketing communications firm with a sixteen year history of helping clients succeed.

Learn more about the author, Kelly Hobkirk.

Comment on this article

Posted by Mary Blalock, Seattle, Washington | Feb 17, 2008

Very insightful article and witty title. Thanks for zooming-in on a concept that is often overlooked in marketing strategy… overshadowed by the popularity of the logo. I’m going to be thinking about my blue colors all day.
Posted by Cathy Goodwin, Seattle, Washington | Feb 21, 2008

Interesting ideas! On the Internet we're conditioned to see live links in different colors, too.
Posted by David Billings, Sandy, Oregon | Feb 22, 2008

Right on. Switching up colors (black food) is great in fine art or silly picture books, but for the most part branding is different.

I'm just picturing the Bank of America logo in pink and brown.
Posted by Judy Dunn, Seattle, Washington | Feb 22, 2008

You gave us a lot to think about, Kelly.

As a marketing person, colors have always intrigued me and I do have to say that we put some thought into the color for the logo of our first business.

The only thing I do not agree with, at least from the perspective of the small business, is the hoopla over Pantone's annual "color forecast."Each year they come out with the trendy colors. (Example: The Fall '08 forcast lists Blue Iris as an "in" color because it "combines the stable and calming aspects of blue with the mystical and spiritual qualities of purple." Boy, that's asking a lot of a color.

I understand where they are coming from (selling the forecast book way ahead of time for $750 a pop, nice recurring revenues for them) but, still, the sales message, customer benefits, Unique Selling Proposition are, in the end, the most important things to focus on.

Thanks for introducing this interesting topic, Kelly.
Posted by Kelly Hobkirk, Seattle, Washington | Feb 22, 2008

Judy, I didn't mention Pantone in my article. That said, Pantone is in the business of selling color management tools, so it is in their best interest to make news of it. They have managed to make it a news item that many designers look to each year for advice.

Whether or not their annual color predictions advice is truly relevant is perhaps debatable, but as a marketing professional, I would be hard-pressed to argue that their tactic is lacking brilliance. The bottom line is that it sells.

I am not a fan of adding meaning to colors. (Your example above from Pantone's color forcast sounds like it was written by an overly enthusiastic copywriter -- thanks for the laugh.) I do, however, advocate using colors to communicate significant brand characteristics.

Thanks for reading. Kelly

Train of Thought – Strategic Branding & Websites