What Color Is Your Brand?

What Color Is Your Brand?

On these summer mornings you can find me up early with my cup of tea and my iPad, scanning the headlines on our third-floor balcony. The day’s heat hasn’t yet kicked in, so I’m usually wearing my slightly worn but oh-so-comfortable bright pink sweatshirt. I’m pretty high up, but those early-rising dog walkers always seem to notice me, look up and wave. That’s nice, but I don’t necessarily want to be seen that early in the morning. I’ve now replaced my loud pink look with a grey pullover, and they just walk on by.  

While I may not want to stand out at 6:00 am, when it comes to your brand, some kind of “pink sweatshirt” might be just the thing that gets you noticed. You want those passersby to take notice of you every time. 

While distinguishing yourself in an overcrowded competitive space is essential, “standing out” means different things to different people. A color doesn’t necessarily have to be “bold” to move the viewer. Your pink sweatshirt might be an elegant logo in charcoal grey and pale blue. There’s a raft of research documenting the fact that certain colors evoke certain emotions. And emotions, of course, are the driving factor in most buying decisions. 

Your brand and the colors associated with it need to make potential customers feel at home while capturing the essence of what makes you and your business unique. Step one in this colorful process is to take a hard look at what you do and who you do it for, and objectively consider what emotions you need to evoke in your potential customer. Do some homework and learn what colors would work for you (and do check this helpful infographic that correlates colors and emotions).  

Once you settle on the colors that authentically represent your business and brand, own them, apply them across all platforms and walk tall. It’s kind of like that pink sweatshirt; you want to be super comfortable with your choice so it will wear well and stand the test of time.