When choosing colors for your logo, it’s important to consider how you wish to be perceived by your customers. By tapping into the subconscious reactions people have to color, the intentions of your business can be communicated just through your logo. Color psychology has found a strong connection between colors and emotional response, so it’s important that you design your logo in a way that evokes the right emotions from your potential customers.
Red-dy Set Go
Red is the most powerful color in color psychology. It can raise heart rates and evoke strong desire because of its association with passion, excitement, and urgency. Even though it immediately grabs attention, it’s important to use this color sparingly because it can trigger danger. Instead, you could opt for saving this color for action calls or sale icons.
The color red works well in entertainment industries such as Netflix, Nintendo, and Lego because it evokes excitement and action. It also works well in the food industry such as Coca Cola and in many fast food chains like Wendy’s, Arby’s, and McDonald’s because red evokes happiness, attraction, and energy which results in increased metabolism and therefore hunger.
There is also a “ ketchup and mustard theory” that says that yellow and red make for the ultimate combination for making people hungry. Yellow’s cheeriness, warmth, and comfort combine with red to stir up all sorts of happy emotions and metabolism gets sped up more.
Hello Yellow
Yellow is the color of sunshine and the sun. So in color psychology, yellow can call up feelings of happiness, warmth, positivity, and optimism. Putting a touch of yellow in your logo or website can help customers view your company with happiness and positivity. For example, people may associate shoppings trips to Best Buy and Ikea with happiness, especially since both stores are frequented by people with new beginnings.
It could also signify safety and warning, like in the logo of CAT, a company that specializes in construction machinery.
Orange Opportunity
Orange can represent youth, creativity, and enthusiasm. It also grabs the attention of viewers but unlike red, orange doesn’t hold the possibility of signaling danger. Instead it can call people to adventurous action.
For example, the Nickelodeon logo’s bright orange and splatter shape draws in children to their wild and happy animations. Hooters also uses orange and young servers to draw in customers looking for something more than an average wing stop. And Home Depot strictly uses orange in their logo, buildings, and website to evoke feelings of endless DIY possibilities.
Green Growth
Green is strongly associated with nature, therefore evoking feelings of peace, growth, and health.
Most of the companies that utilize green in their logos are focused around the environment. John Green specializes in tools for landscaping and agriculture. Animal Planet produces documentaries focusing on the wild and its inhabitants. Markets such as Whole Foods and Sprouts advertise being environmentally friendly and sourcing food locally.
Blissful Blue
Because of blue’s association with the sea and sky, feelings of peace, stability, strength, and tranquility. Many businesses may color their guarantees or trust certifications in blue to reinforce confidence in their company.
Technology companies such as Dell, Intel, and HP may use blue to elicit feelings of trust and dependability in their products. Health related companies such as Pfizer and Oral B also focus their logos on the color blue to help their consumers feel that they are reliable, safe, and high in quality.
Powerful Purple
Purple has been associated with royalty for centuries. It creates an air of nobility, luxury, wisdom, and mysticism.
Examples of brands that use purple logos include Hallmark, which even features a crown in their logo. They have an air of sincerity and age while advertising celebrating others like royalty. The Purple Mattress is a brand that has not only used the color in their logo, but also in their name, website, and even their products. They specialize in high-end, revolutionary mattresses and the color purple is sure to evoke feelings of luxury in their buyers.
Black and White
These two colors together signify neutrality, simplicity, and balance. They can even be combined into a gray or silver, which carries a tone of timeless elegance and professionalism. Although they may seem dull compared to the brighter logos we have explored, the monochromatic choice can actually be quite striking. Companies like Wikipedia and New York Times may have opted for the monochromatic choice to imply that their content is trustworthy and unbiased. Apple and car companies such as Honda and Mercedes-Benz have silver logos that communicate feelings of professionalism and elegance in their designs.
Conclusion
Start by considering your Unique Selling Proposition and what you are promising your customers. Then, see if any of those qualities fit well with the colors to give yourself a place to start in designing your logo.
Scientists have studied color psychology and the effects hues have on our emotions and subconscious reactions for years. They have even found studies that show that color is communicated to the brain faster than any other form of communication. By choosing colors that represent your company’s purpose well, people could take away lasting impressions just from seeing your logo. It’ll also have an effect on how your products or services are received by consumers and could potentially give you the boost to bring your business to success.
Sources: