SHOW YOUR TRUE COLOURS

A few posts ago I chatted to you all about the importance of colour psychology​ in branding. But, as I said then and I’ll say again now, it’s a huuuuuge subject area so with this blog I wanted to go into a little bit more detail on the key colours for styling your brand, and what they mean for your ideal client.

Here’s a quick recap on the colour psychology basics. So the idea is that everyone reacts to, and feels colours in specific way. Each colour has its own personality, which means, if you can marry up your brand values, with a colour that matches, in a style that your ideal client loves, you’ll be on to a winner.

Once you’ve got that on point, colour psychology flows through everything from your next post on social media, to your website, your office or your next client meeting. And if it’s consistent, it will have a massive effect on your ideal client’s experience of your brand. Creating that emotional connection is the fastest way to build the know, like, trust factor.

COLOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Colour works wayyyyy faster than words, or even images. It can create that emotive and instinctive reaction, which attracts your ideal client and makes the just have to order. Here are the top colours and what they mean, so you can match them to your brand values and create a brand identity that really works for you.

PURPLE

The go to colour for businesses on a mission. With a huge range of tones you can go for something strong and visionary (deep purple), calm, serene and relaxing (soft purple) or create a spiritual feel (light violet).

Key attributes: Visionary. Purposeful. Truthful. Authentic. Luxurious. Spiritual. Quality. Mystical.

BLUE

A very popular colour, mainly due to its ability to create so many emotive reactions. From intelligent, strong and trustworthy deep blues, to the clarity of bright, intense and the reflection, calmness and serenity of soft light tones, the spectrum here is massive.

Key attributes: Intelligent. Logical. Cool. Trustworthy. Soothing. Tranquil. Calm. Serene. Peaceful.

GREEN

From deep olive hues to racing greens or light, pastel tones green is the perfect way to add natural balance and freshness to a colour palette.

Key attributes: Natural. Refreshing. Peaceful. Balanced. Harmonious. Restorative. Abundant.

YELLOW

Happy, optimistic, brimming with confidence and full of promise. What else would you expect from one of the key colours of Spring? Be careful though, sometimes yellow can be tough to work with certain fonts.

Key attributes: Confident. Optimistic. Happy. Friendly. Youthful. Fresh. Energetic. Uplifting. Successful.

ORANGE

This colour has suffered from some negative association in the past. But don’t rule it out! It has a huge range of tones, ranging from bright and vibrant to light and delicate.

Key attributes: Creative. Positive. Passionate. Energetic. Encouraging. Exciting. Warm. Inspirational.

RED

From bright and bold, to soft pastel and warm burgundy, red is a great addition to a colour palette if you’re after maximum visual impact and in an industry where you need to assert yourself.

Key attributes: Strong. Assertive. Determined. Courageous. Warm. Energetic. Vibrant. Attention grabbing.

PINK

Despite strong feminine associations there’s still room to create a modern, edgy identity using pink. Soft blushes and nudes create a sense of class and elegance, while bold magenta’s and neon’s scream confidence.

Key attributes: Compassionate. Warm. Tranquil. Soothing. Romantic. Kind. Sensitive. Love. Optimistic.

BLACK

Industrial, edgy, sophisticated, there are so many ways to use and describe black. It’s massively on trend right now and guaranteed to make an impact for your audience.

Key attributes: Glamorous. Powerful. Safe. Secure. Sophisticated. Refined. Elegant. Confident. Opulent.

WHITE

Whether you use white as a specific colour, build it in as a texture or simply use white space within your designs, this is a great colour to lighten everything up and create that fresh feel.

Key attributes: Clean. Pure. Clean. Illuminating. Sophisticated. Ethereal. Uncompromising.

GOLD

A perfect way to build in luxury, especially on business cards or brand stationery when you can use foil – which always works a treat by the way!

Key attributes: Rich. Opulent. Warm. Successful. Wise. Enlightened. Powerful. Generous. Luxurious.

SILVER

Similar to gold, this is another great way to build in that luxury feel and again, always looks stunning when printed in foil.

Key attributes: Reflective. Illuminating. Prestigious. Balanced. Calming. Glamorous. Responsible. Soothing. Calm.

GREY

From light complementary tones to dark charcoals, grey creates a modern, edgy vide with just the right amount of class and sophistication.

Key attributes: Sophisticated. Glamorous. Substance. Efficient. Refined.

Once you’ve been through these colours and found the ones that best represent you, it’s time to shortlist the tones and hues you think will work best. That’s where your design studio, or branding designer comes in. They should pull together their recommendations and create a palette that pops off the page and makes you feel excited – the way you want your ideal client to feel.

There’s no right or wrong when it comes to this, it’s all about what suits you, your story and your brand best. But once you have the colours decided then the fun can really start. That’s when you can start styling your design elements and seeing your vision really come to life.

What are you waiting for? Go get your colour on…

Nicki x