What Color is Your Story?

When developing a brand, color plays a major role in telling the story. Color informs our moods in a wide variety of ways, and they are ways that graphic designers must be cognizant of when applying color to a logo or branding design.

If your logo is the face of your brand, then make sure that face is telling the whole story of who you are. Picking the right colors can go a long way towards helping make that story clearer. There are many schools of thought to look at when picking colors. Experts often say that certain blues speak to strength, seriousness, and stability, and get used by many businesses to convey that. Many fast food restaurants use yellows and reds, as these colors are said to make folks hungry. Many other color relationships are somewhat straightforward, and sometimes even obvious. If your brand emphasizes freshness or environmental issues, there’s a good chance you’re thinking of green.

But here’s where things get interesting. You want a green logo that says both “fresh” and & “we care about the Environment”. Great. Soooo, which green is the right green? If you look at a color wheel, you’ll find a wide variety of greens out there. And for every rich, warm green that speaks of forests, there is a sickly, harsh green that evokes things better left unspecified (think “The Exorcist”.) That’s something you need to consider; not just what a color makes you think about, but if that color has a broader impression with the public?

Is your red too familiar to a competing or opposite brand? Is that yellow evocative of sickness? Is that blue connected to a political figure? And what about color combinations? Red and green (for most people) says Christmas. Orange and black scream Halloween. Do your colors remind you of a famous sports team? If so, be prepared for your logo to evoke negativity in everyone that hates that team sub-consciously, as much as it might inspire loyalty from that team’s fans. You need to think of ALL these factors and more when picking the colors that tell your story.

And if that all feels intimidating, that’s because it is. Your brand is your story. And your story is who you are to the world. The colors you pick for your brand and logo are like the characters in your story. Great characters can be remembered forever. So can great colors.

Written by Blog Contributor: Dee Fish