How to Pick the Perfect Brand Colors

An easy guide on choosing colors to represent your brand by a professional designer and certified color dork.

A Color palette will immediately tell your customers how they should feel and what perception they should have about your brand. Fast food brands use bright red because it makes you hungry and luxury brands use navys and grays so you immediately know they are expensive. There is a reason these ideas work but you don't need 4 years of design school and color theory to make a successful palette.

1. Research and find inspiration

• Look up what other brands in your industry are doing and collect 3 you like. We want to make sure your brand stands out from the crowd while still fitting in with the public's preconceived expectations of the industry standard.

• Head over to Pinterest, type "color palettes" into the search bar, and save or screenshot 5 that you are drawn to. Just follow your gut here and collect some that immediately catch your attention.

2. Define your brands personality

• If your brand was a person what are 3 adjectives that would describe them. Are they bold, energetic, and friendly. Or are they more sensual, luxurious, and sophisticated. Personify your company with 3 adjectives. Here is a list of words I typically use to describe brands in no specific order:

  • Sleek, Bold, Sexy, Rugged, Knowledgable, Magical, Bright, Rustic, Organic, Earthy, Powerful, Playful, Calming, Refreshing, Edgy, Inviting, Adventurous, or Classy.

• Head back to Pinterest and type each word into the search bar one at a time. This will better help you understand the classic colors associated with those words. Collect your favorite 3-5 for each of your brand adjectives. These don't have to be color palettes, they can be any pin you enjoy.

3. Use a free color pallet generator

Let's make a color pallet!

• Head over to Coolors.co and click "Start the Generator." Follow the tutorial and familiarize yourself with the tool. Step 4 will take you through some classic color theory to help you create a banging color palette.

4. Edit and Refine using classic color theory techniques

Include these 3 types of colors:

• Your hero color - the one that screams THIS IS MY BRAND. Think of Coca Cola red or Tiffany Blue

• Your neutral colors - You need to define some neutral colors, think black, white, beige, greys, softer neutral colors or pastels. These will help your hero stand out and be a base for everything.

• Your accent color - A contrasting or complementary color from your hero that will bring attention to an element. You will use this for buttons, links, and overall to accent and stylize your brand.

Using Monochromatic Colors

• These are different shades, tints and tones of the same color.

Using Complementary Colors

• Complementary colors are on opposite sides of the wheel. Yellow and Purple or Red and Blue. Complementary colors are great for accent colors too.

Using Analogous Colors

• Analogous colors are all next to each other on the color wheel. Think red, yellow, orange or blue, green, and yellow.

How Saturation affects your brand

• Saturation is how much "color" is in the color. Very saturated colors like magenta, or neon green have a very bright energy. Desaturated colors like teal, or mustard are more calming and sophisticated typically.

5. Get Feedback From Friends

The final step is to save your favorite 3 color palettes and export them. Put each color palette next to your brand name and see which one feels the best! It's always a good idea to get a second opinion, but don't put too much weight in everyone else's thoughts. Sometimes it is best to just go with what feels right for you!

If you are unsure of this process or want a deeper dive, we provide a very affordable workshop that will take a deep dive into color palettes, and creating an entire brand from start to finish. You will also get a one-on-one consultation with me (the expert) to ask any questions or get my opinion!

Happy color palette making :)