The Influence of Colour

When it comes to business branding and design, companies seriously need to think about colour. Whether it’s a re-brand that’s in order, or you’re just launching your new business and are starting from scratch – the colours you choose to represent your company are going to have a large impact on its success (and its voice).

What’s your brand’s aura?

The colours you use to represent your brand need to agree with your message, or the tone you’re trying to convey as a company. It’s important to ask questions like: What’s my brand’s personality? What is its core message? Who is my target, particularly on a psychographic level? By exploring these kinds of questions in-depth, you’ll be able to get a better idea about who you are as a brand.

The colour basics

There are four primary colours with regard to colour psychology. These colours are: red, blue, yellow and green. Familiarize yourself with the characteristics of each and see if there’s a particular colour that you feel your brand identifies with the most:

RED.
A powerful colour, red never fails to capture our attention. Red has the ability to evoke a physical reaction from humans (e.g., alerting us to STOP at a traffic light). Red is known for exuding energy, warmth, and perhaps even aggressiveness.

BLUE.
Blue tends to calm us down and allows us to think clearly and rationally. A popular favourite among many big brands; blue is, without a doubt, a universally appealing and rather “cool” colour.

YELLOW.
An optimistic shade, yellow inspires positive thinking and even feelings of confidence. It also thought to stimulate emotion on a higher level than its counterparts.

GREEN.
Green is the colour of balance and nature. It is often the colour of choice for brands who focus on practicing an environmentally aware or eco-friendy approach. Here at iQuest, we choose green for our branding for its universally enjoyable qualities.

What about black and white?

It’s a question many of us have asked ourselves at one point in time: Are black and white considered colours, too? Well, it's a matter of perspective. In art, white is the absence of colour and black is the presence of all colours. In science, it's the exact opposite. But let's talk about using black and white in your business branding.

Some brands have successfully used black and white to build their brand’s image. A good example would be the successful clothing retailer White House Black Market: the use of B&W for their branding was very fitting as these “colours” are a considerable part of the company’s name.

The decision is yours... but choose carefully!

As you work on your business branding, always keep colour in mind – it really is a key ingredient to your brand’s overall image and feel.

So... have you thought about which colours best represent your company? If you need any help with your branding, we will be glad to help you find your company’s true colours along the way!

Give us a call!