Carvill On Marketing blog

Colour is a powerful force; it grabs you at a deep psychological level and helps you remember. The world’s most successful brands have made good use of this fact. We know that Coke is red, British Airways is red, white and blue, UPS is brown and Apple Macs come in all the colours of the rainbow. Their use of colour gives them instant brand recognition. But colour can also send out more complex messages, with each shade evoking a range of emotions.

To help you get it right it’s worth bearing a few basics in mind.

Colours roughly divide into two camps; the warm vibrant ones with lots of energy and zing, and the cool calm ones.  So think about what you want to say and then pick a colour that helps you say it. Once you’re happy, make sure the colour you choose appears on all your promotional material including your logo, website and packaging.

BLUE  
Calming and relaxing like sky and sea, blue is a spiritual colour. But blue can also be dependable, intelligent and conservative and is often favoured by financial corporations.

RED  
A headline grabber, demanding attention. It makes the heart beat faster and is particularly important in Asia, often being seen as lucky.

YELLOW  
Optimistic and positive. Some say it makes you alert, clear-headed and decisive. It is the colour of sunshine.

GREEN  
The colour of nature of health and calm. It soothes the emotions. Darker shades, like British Racing Green equals class and wealth.  

ORANGE  
Fun and outgoing, it can lift the spirits and is associated with youth and humour.

PURPLE  
Mysterious, psychic and creative colour, suggesting imagination and intuition. Traditionally associated with royalty it is also the colour of mourning for widows in Thailand.

PINK   
Light pinks are romantic, hot pinks are young and exciting.

BROWN  
Stable, traditional and lasting like the earth.

WHITE  
Pure, clean and simple. It is the colour of space and freedom but can also seem cold and alienating if over-used.

BLACK  
Classic, sophisticated and serious, maybe even a little sexy, but it is also the colour of death and infinity. Just a ‘blue’ is the colour for little boys in the UK, black is the colour for little boys in China.