If you want to build a better brand for your business, it is essential to have a color palette that makes sense and is memorable in the eyes of your target audience. Surely you’ve noticed that red is used for the Emergency Department and Urgent Care centers. The color choice is strategic – red is a color that elicits feelings of urgency and action. What does your color palette say about your business? Find out in this month’s blog.
What is the Psychology of Color?
Color psychology theorizes how certain colors can elicit a physical or emotional response in a person. These responses impact their behavior on a subconscious level. That’s why the colors you use in your home can impact how you feel when you’re in them. Blue is a popular color for bedrooms because it has a calming effect on the mind.
The same is true in marketing. Colors can create a sense of prosperity or feminity, trust or health, calm or excitement. Therefore, depending on your brand and your business type, the colors you choose to use in your branding should make sense and elicit an appropriate feeling in your prospective customers. If you choose well, your brand will be memorable and actionable.
What do Colors Mean in Marketing?
Color has a subconscious impact on a person’s feelings. For marketing purposes, it is important to choose colors that align with the brand and elicit a positive response from the consumer. As mentioned earlier, the color red is used for hospitals and urgent care centers because it elicits feelings of urgency and action. Conversely, the color green is often used in healthcare as it imparts feelings of health and safety.
How to Effectively Use Color in Marketing
Before you choose your colors, consider the psychology behind your marketing. What is your business? Who is your target audience? What color comes to mind when you ponder your business specialty? How do you want people to feel when they engage with your brand? Use the color wheel shown below for guidance on certain colors’ meanings. Bare in mind that in different cultures, color can mean different things. For example, red in western cultures means danger and action, while in far eastern cultures, it means vitality and good fortune.
Create a Brand Color Palette
Create a palette of colors that can be used in your marketing. A good rule of thumb is to have at least five colors in your palette that can be used in different scenarios. However, you should have certain colors – usually those in your logo – that are consistently used for brand recognition. A few palettes to consider are:
Analogous – colors that are located next to each other on the color wheel.
Complementary – Opposite colors on the color wheel
Monochromatic – Different shades or tones of the same color
When done right, your brand colors can leave a memorable impression on customers. Take the time to consider you want your business to be perceived by the public and develop a palette that aligns with it. If you need help developing your brand palette, give us a call. We’d be glad to assist you.