Let’s talk about color in branding and design. Specifically, how to choose coordinating colors to be used throughout a brand.
Selecting the right colors for your brand is one the most important aspects of brand design. It all starts with the question: How do I want my brand to be perceived? Whether you’re looking for bold, eye-catching colors or more subdued tones, color plays a key role in identifying your brand – and the colors you choose will be used for years to come!
When I start a branding project, I like to think about the vision of the brand from fruition to years down the line. To me, it’s important to create a brand mood board first to really nail down the feel of your brand (after deciding who your target audience is, of course). Starting with a mood board gives us the groundwork for the imagery, textures, and colors that play into your brand. Starting with images that portray your brand can be a great way to draw color inspiration from.
Choosing colors that are cohesive, but also contrasting, can bring depth to your brand. For instance, your logo may have a bold red and a dark grey, but you may not want to always use those two colors. If your brand is bold, think about using tones and colors from the other side of the color wheel – greens and blues, maybe in softer shades to offset the louder red.
We recently created a brand and website for a local realtor whose logo uses red and grey. Although she loves red (which is why we initially chose it), we wanted her brand to have more depth and be more than just those two colors. Through her website, we were able to bring in a bold mustard, vibrant blue, and black through imagery to help portray her quirky personality and approach to real estate.
It’s also important to remind yourself that your brand doesn’t need to be full of color. Choosing subdued colors, grays, or even black/white can create an impact when paired with colors throughout a website, ads, social media, print – the list goes on! Just look for those complimenting colors to enhance your brand’s vision, and always go with your gut. The colors that resonate with you will translate into your brand, beautifully.
DARCI Creative
Total Brand Agency
