Colour psychology in branding

Leslie Mupeti

Each colour has a psychological meaning behind it. This is the reason why choosing colours for your brand must not always be based on taste but by a strategic decision to shape your brand’s image.

It’s important to learn how to use colour psychology in branding and marketing so you can understand the psychological impacts of colour on feelings and emotions and use them to influence how your customers perceive your brand. Different colours affect us differently. The right colour can make us happy, warm and loved and the wrong colour can instil feelings of fear, hate and darkness. Let’s look at some of the key colours in detail.

Red
Stop signs, sales tags, negative numbers and sales connotations all make use of the colour red. Red is one of the most loudest and striking colours out there. One needs to use this colour with care because it can trigger powerful emotions both positive and negative.

Positive personality traits
Red is associated with power, passion, energy, fearlessness and excitement.

Negative personality traits
Red can create feelings of anger, danger, warning, defiance, aggression and pain.

When to use red
Red creates a sense of urgency and it evokes appetite for example Chicken Inn, Chicken Slice and McDonald’s all make use of red. The colour induces excitement which is why fast cars and lingerie are usually painted red. For example, Ferrari. The colour also reduces analytical thinking.

Blue
Blue is a widely used colour in branding. Blue evokes feelings of serenity, calmness, trust and security. A lot of brands want customers to trust their work and their business.

Positive attributes of blue
Blue induces feelings of trust, loyalty, dependability, logic, serenity, trust and security.

Negative attributes of blue
Blue can induce coldness, emotionlessness and unfriendliness. Blue reduces appetite since there are no natural foods coloured blue.

When to use blue
Blue can be used to induce feelings of calmness, reason, wisdom and strength in branding. This is why health, IT and finance companies use this colour for their branding. There are no natural foods coloured blue so some people lose their appetite when they see it. This is why a few food companies use blue for their branding. Blue is mainly used by tech companies such as Twitter, Facebook, Dell and Econet.

Yellow
Yellow is a colour that represents youthfulness, happiness and sunshine.

Positive Attributes of yellow
Yellow evokes feelings of optimism, warmth, happiness, creativity, intellect and extroversion.

Negative attributes of yellow
Yellow can bring out feelings of irrationality, fear, caution, anxiety, frustration and cowardice.

When to use yellow
Yellow is a very fun and positive colour. This is the reason why it is used in a lot of emojis. Yellow is a bright colour which reminds people of sunshine. However, people need to use the colour carefully since it might be difficult for the eyesight. Companies such as McDonald’s, Shell, DHL use a lot of yellow for their branding.

Green
Green is an overused colour when it comes to eco-friendly branding. Green is a colour which represents nature and it’s a very refreshing and healthy colour.

Positive attributes of green
Green represents health, freshness, nature, growth and prosperity (money is even coloured green)

Negative attributes of green
Green might evoke feelings of boredom, stagnation, envy, blandness and debilitation

When to use green
Since green is a very overused colour it might be difficult to stand out when used. People need to be careful when they make use of it. Companies such as John Deere, BP, Land Rover, Android and Seed Co make use of the colour in their branding.

Orange
Orange is a warm and vibrant colour which attracts attention. It represents innovation, excitement and confidence.

Positive attributes of orange
Orange can bring out feelings of courage, confidence, warmth, innovation, friendliness and high energy.

Negative attributes of orange
Orange can be linked to feelings of deprivation, frustration, immaturity, ignorance and sluggishness.

When to use orange
Orange is a fun choice of colour for youthful non corporate brands. These are brands which want to stay away from formality. Orange can be used in addition to grounded colours such as brown, black etc.
Orange can also be considered as cheap.

Companies such as Amazon, Orange, Mastercard, Fire fox, Nickelodeon all make use of orange in their branding.

Black
Black is elegant, sophisticated, represents wealth and class. It is used in many luxury brands

Positive attributes of black
It represents sofistication, security, power, elegance, authority and substance.

Negative attributes of black
Black may show feelings of oppression, coldness, menace, heaviness, evil and mourning.
When to use black
Black is used in brands which want to show luxury and power. Luxury brands such as Channel and Mercedes Benz make use of black in their branding.

White
White represents purity, cleanliness, innocence and simplicity.
Positive attributes of white
Innocence, purity, cleanliness, simplicity and pristine
Negative attributes of white
Emptiness, plainness, caution and distance
When to use white
White is used for a modern, classy, clean and minimalistic look. When poorly executed white might feel lazy.
Brands such as Adidas, Cartier, Sony, Apple and Tesla make use of a lot of white in their branding.

Purple
Purple is a colour which represents royalty and luxury.
Positive attributes of purple
Wisdom, wealth, spirituality, imagination, sophistication
Negative attributes of purple
Reflection, decadence, suppression, excess, moodiness

When to use purple
Purple is used to show class, sophistication and prestige.
Cardbury, yahoo, Hallmark, FedEx and Bing are some of the brands which make use of the color purple in their branding.

How to use colour psychology in your branding

Define your target market
The narrower the market the better. You need to be specific about your market. If you’re specific, getting in front of those people you want to target will be more effective. You need to dig deep into the demographics and psychographics of your target market.

Define your brand’s positioning
You need to serve your company apart from the rest and defining your unique value to the customer. Understand how you compare to the competition and where you will sit on the market.

Choose colours that are fit for your industry while also being different from everyone else.
Crafts your brand’s personality and attributes
Write down all the words which best describe your company. You need to humanise your brand and make it more relatable. Brand archetypes come in handy at this stage.

Match your brand attributes to the suitable brand colours
If it’s a healthcare provider and you want to instil a sense of care and trust in your brand then blue us the perfect colour.

Are you a fun, cheerful and playful brand? Then Yellow or orange are the perfect colours.
Are you a luxury fashion line? Black is the best colour.