How To Create a Color Palette for Your Brand

If I tell you to guess the names of soft drinks from their brand colors, would you be able to do that?

Red and white? Coca-Cola

Blue and red? Pepsi

Green and yellow? 7UP

That was easy, right? That’s the power of colors, if done right.

Brand colors make your brand instantly recognizable and noticeable. They also play a huge role in how customer perceive the brand, and if done right, they can help attract the right kind of customers.

Your brand colors are also one of the first things a prospect notices when they see your brand logo or visit your website. The right brand colors can give a positive impression to the customer, while the wrong ones can have a reverse effect.

That’s the reason why choosing your brand colors and creating a distinct color palette is such an impactful choice while designing your brand.  

But the problem is that most entrepreneurs and web designers find this a very challenging task. They are not sure how to create a distinct color palette that makes their brand stand out. And they easily get lost in the vast spectrum of colors in the color wheel, not being able to make up their mind and choose the colors they should use.

Here are some ideas and tips that can help you in this crucial stage of brand design.

3 Ways to Create a Color Palette for Your Brand

1. Choose the primary color based on psychology
2. See what your competitors are using
3. Gather color inspiration

1. Choose the Primary Color Based on Psychology

Your brand’s color palette will include one or two primary colors and some secondary colors that can be used as accents. You can choose the primary color based on color psychology.

Here are some primary colors and how they are perceived.

Yellow

The happiest color of all, it presents positivity, happiness, cheerfulness, optimism, joy, playfulness, and warmth.

It’s a very attention-grabbing color and can also represent caution. It’s usually not recommended for brands targeted towards men, as they perceive it as a childish color.

If you want your brand to radiate youthful energy, yellow is the way to go.

Blue

The classic “king” of color, this color is perceived as trustworthy, loyal, dependable, secure and stable. This is the reason why it is the primary color used by banks and financial institutions and even social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Blue is also the most preferred color of men.

Green

The color of nature, green symbolizes balance, peace, and harmony. It is associated with growth, freshness, health, healing, nature and eco-friendliness.

Darker green is associated with money and wealth, while light green has a calming effect.

Purple

Purple is the color associated with luxury, royalty, and nobility. It also symbolizes creativity, mystery, and fantasy.

Red

The color of fire and blood, red symbolizes excitement, action, adventure, passion, love, vigor, and energy.

Red is also known to stimulate appetite, which is why it is often the color restaurant chains use.

Orange

Orange is often associated with creativity, enthusiasm, youth, warmth, energy, joy, sunshine, and cheerfulness.

Pink

There is more to pink than a girly and feminine feel. Pink gives brands a modern, luxurious, and youthful look.

Brown

Brown will make your brand appear rugged, masculine, and serious. It also symbolizes security, structure and protection, which is why it is often used by construction and law companies.

Black

The sophisticated color of all, black symbolizes seriousness, authority, and control. It also gives a slick, modern, and luxurious look.

2. See What Your Competitors Are Using

Other than color psychology, it’s also a good idea to do some research and find out what color your competitors are using.

For example, if you are an eyewear brand, do some research and find out what colors your competitors are using. You might want to go with something similar as well.

The accent or secondary colors could be distinctive from the primary color. For example, if you find that pink and peach is most prominently used in the women’s eyewear industry, there might be a good reason behind that. And so, using the same primary color yourself would make sense.

3. Gather Color Inspiration

Now, after you have picked your primary color, it’s time to gather inspiration from your surroundings.

Luckily, there are many design websites that can give you a good dose of inspiration. You just need to keep looking until you find something that truly resonates with your brand. Here are some resources from where you can gather inspiration:

• Pinterest: This image-sharing site is a good place to get inspiration from. You can start looking for images related to your industry, and if something strikes, you can save it in a secret board.
• Designspiration.net: This website will feed you a good, healthy dose of inspiration. You can even search for inspiration based on the primary color you have chosen.
• Design-seeds.com: This is another good resource for creative designers and entrepreneurs. You can search for images based on the color you have chosen. Plus, it gives you a list of all the colors you can use in your color palette.

• Adobe Color CC: It’s a powerful resource that lets you create and save color palettes.

Don't be afraid to use other brands or resources to get inspiration for your color palette.

Find the Right Color Palette for Your Brand

The right color for your brand varies based on your customers, competitors, and style.

You can choose your main color based on psychology, replicate what your competitors are doing, and gather color inspiration from mediums such as Pinterest.

The color of your brand will be how customers see you. Choose wisely.

About the Author

Faiza Farooqi E-Commerce Manager, Codup

Faiza Farooqi is an Ecommerce Manager at Codup who accepts challenging strategies and puts amazing ideas on the table! She is an active community manager and loves to teach.

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