The Market Your Message Show

Ch 5: Color Emotions (How to Select Your Brand Colors)

• Jonathan Milligan

Share episode

Send us a text

Welcome to Day Five (Chapter 5) of my new audiobook for Launch Your Platform!

To grab a copy of the book, go to: PlatformGrowthBooks.com

In today's episode, we explore the importance of choosing the right brand colors to establish a strong visual identity. Discover how strategic color selection can differentiate your brand, evoke emotions, and attract your ideal audience.

Key Points Discussed:

  1. Subway’s Transformation:
    • The story of Subway’s rebranding in the early 2000s.
    • How the shift to vibrant green and yellow increased sales and attracted health-conscious consumers.
    • The impact of bold color choices on customer perception and brand differentiation.
  2. The Power of Color:
    • Insights from designer Rebecca Swenson on how color shapes identity and influences branding.
    • The psychological effects of colors and their role in branding.
  3. Color Psychology in Branding:
    • How fast food chains like McDonald’s use red and yellow to stimulate appetite and convey happiness.
    • Why B2B tech firms often choose blue and gray to signal professionalism and stability.
  4. Finding Your Brand’s True Colors:
    • The importance of aligning your brand’s colors with its essence and desired emotional impact.
    • Using color psychology guides to find the perfect palette that represents your brand values.
    • Example: BigCommerce’s color psychology chart and its insights.
  5. Strategic Color Selection:
    • Tips for researching competitor color palettes and finding your unique color niche.
    • Case studies of successful color strategies from various brands.
  6. Practical Steps to Select Your Brand Colors:
    • Choosing a primary color that anchors your visual identity.
    • Selecting two to four complementary secondary colors to create a cohesive palette.
    • Using tools like Coolors.co to generate and refine your color palette.
  7. Creating a Style Guide:
    • The importance of documenting your color palette in a style guide for consistency across all branding materials.
    • Tools like Google Docs and Canva Pro for creating and storing your style guide.
  8. Testing and Iterating:
    • The process of testing your color choices and seeking feedback from your target audience.
    • Being open to adjustments and iterations as your brand evolves.

Resources Mentioned:

Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content!

Implement the Blogging System that 40x My Online Business! Click here to get the training video

Chapter five. Day five, select your brand colors. In the early two thousands, fast food giant subway. I struggled to differentiate itself from competitors. The branding consisted of muted greens and yellows, blending into the restaurants interior. A new VP of marketing suggested embracing vibrant green. As the dominant brand color. Though controversial, subway rolled out a bold green and yellow logo redesign across all locations. Customers immediately took notice of the eye catching green, exterior and interior decor. The color made subway stand out from the muted brown and red competitors. Sales increased as the energetic green branding. Attracted health conscious consumers. This example demonstrates the power of strategic color selection in shaping brand identity. Color is powerful brain color choices, shape customer perceptions. And guide visual identity as designer Rebecca Swenson said. Color creates identity. It's one of the most powerful tools for branding. In this chapter, we'll explore the psychology of color. And best practices for choosing brand colors that attract your ideal audience. Day five, select your brand colors. Color evokes emotion. It's the first thing we notice that makes a lasting impression. Different hues trigger different reactions and associations. Brand's leverage this to connect with customers on a subconscious, emotional level. For example. Fast food chains often use red and yellow in logos and marketing. Why. Studies show red stimulates excitement and hunger. While yellow conveys joy and optimism. Now, you know why you might crave those McDonald's French fries. B2B tech firms, however, often stick to the colors, blues and grays. To signal, professionalism, security, instability. Choose brand colors strategically based on your target audience and desired brand personality. Don't leave it to chance. As entrepreneur Renee Cal bay said. Your brand colors, communicate without saying a word. Make sure they're telling the right story. Finding your brand's true colors. Determining the right colors to represent your brand requires some soul searching. What qualities capture your brand's essence? What emotions do you hope consumers experience? When engaging with your product or service? Once you crystallize your brand identity, consult color psychology guides to find your perfect palette. These guides show the emotional association of colors. Allow science and strategy. Not mere preference. To be your guide. As an example, big commerce has a handy color psychology chart. It maps out Hughes to brand's personality traits. I read conveys excitement, intensity, boldness. Use this attention grabbing color. If energy and drama aligned with your brand values. Orange exudes, a friendly and enthusiastic spirit. Does your brand aim to connect with consumers through spirited, warmth. Orange gets the message across. Yellow inspires optimism, creativity and mental clarity. Brands can use a yellow rose to encourage consumers to see the world through rose colored glasses. Green signals, growth, renewal health, and peacefulness. Consider this color. If your brand offers grounding guidance amid life's chaos. Blue means stability, trust, confidence, and reassurance. Financial companies or traditional institutions often leverage blue tones. To Telegraph credibility. Purple embodies imagination, spirituality, and luxury. Purple builds an aura of exclusivity. Perfect for premium or luxury brands. With color associations mapped to its traits. Identify the attributes you most want to communicate. Some paired colors look good together. But avoid color combos that give mixed messages. Study your competitors. Before picking your pallet research, how top brands in your field use color? See what works well for industry leaders and competitors. I make notes about any color patterns you notice. Does one brand dominate or stand out with their palette? Comparing colors can reveal open spaces or help you avoid copying others. Jot down the exact shade codes of colors that catch your eye. Sites like brand colors.net. Compile brand pallets. So you can easily reference real examples. You don't need to start from scratch. Find inspiration from proven color trends in your area. Then give it your own spin and stand out. And interior design firm called Becca interiors saw most competitors using expected dark greens and Browns. They stood out by going lighter with peach and Sage green. Uh, smart color research means picking a palette that attracts your crowd, but stays unique in a busy market. Pick a primary color. Start by selecting one dominant brand color that serves as the core of your visual identity. This primary color will feature heavily in logos websites, packaging, another branding. It's the shade most tied to your brand personality. For example, Tiffany's Robin's egg blue or Legos, firehouse red. These signature Hughes come to mind instantly when consumers think of those brands. Ask yourself. What color best represents my brand values, mood and tone. Which Hugh stands out while fitting my niche. What color would catch my audience's eye on crowded shelves or web searches. If you sell eco-friendly goods. Maybe vivid green makes sense as a primary color. Tech startups often lean on retro tea or orange as bold primaries. Limiting yourself to one dominant color creates cohesion. And makes branding instantly recognizable. Choose complimentary colors. Now build out a full pallet by picking two to four secondary colors that compliment your primary hue. Tri coolers.co. That is spelled C O O L O R s.co. Which is a free color palette generator. And put your primary color and pick a palette. With suitable shades. Make sure secondary Hughes reinforce not distract from your primary color. Too many random colors look disjointed. Emily, the founder of stationary co said. I struggle, juggling five pretty colors. I liked. Simplifying to a soft blue primary plus two accent shades gave a consistent elegant look. Aim for colors, spaced evenly across the color wheel for contrast and visual interest. Don't pick multiple shades too close together. Amazon nails this with the bright blue and orange combo. Complimentary Hughes, maximizing vibrance, and energy. Uh, design a style guide. Record your final brand color palette in an online or printed style guide document. Include the name plus the exact hex code for each color. This ensures consistency across branding, such as logos, websites, and products. I used a simple Google doc when I first created my style guide. Today. I use my Canva pro account, which stores all of my logos and colors for easy access. Interior designer, Sarah Hughes struggled with inconsistent colors across projects. She said finally creating a style guide, improved my visual branding instantly. Test. Get feedback, iterate. Don't fall in love with your initial colors. Be willing to test options and make changes, try showcasing logos or webpage. Mock-ups in different colors to target demographics. See which combination elicits the most positive, emotional response. Asking users, colleagues, industry experts, and business partners. For honest feedback. Tweak Hughes that feel off-brand or get poor reactions. Home goods went through for logo, color iterations. Before finally landing. On today's Bert orange. Remember. Color selection. Isn't a one and done process. As your brand evolves. You can refine the palette. Day five exercise. Select your brand colors. Now it's your turn to put color psychology guides to work. Set a timer for five to 10 minutes and work through these steps. One close your eyes and imagine the core emotion you want people to feel when they encounter your product service or brand. Do you want them to feel energized? Calm. Joyful. Trusting. Get clear on the primary feeling, driving your brand identity. Next. Go to brand colors.net. And make notes next to two to three colors. Matching that target emotion. Circle the color that feels most aligned with your brand's purpose. This will be your dominant primary Hugh. Use coolers.ceo. That's C O O L O R s.co and online palette generator tool. Input your chosen primary color. Then output a five color complimentary palette suited to your brand. Tweak the secondary shades, if needed to reinforce your primary color. Four. Try creating a simple logo mock-up with your chosen colors, by going to free logo, design.org. Make minor adjustments to perfect. The combo. Ask a friend or colleague for their gut reaction to the colors. Five. Record your final color palette, including official shade names and color codes. In a basic brand style guide document for future use. Day five key takeaways. Use color psychology to determine the mood you want to convey. Research competitor color palettes to find your niche. Pick one primary color that anchors your visual identity. Select just two to four complimentary secondary accent colors. Document colors and a style guide for consistency. And seek feedback and iterate your pallet over time.