The psychology of colour in branding

Choosing the right colour scheme for your corporate branding is extremely important. The right colour and combination of colours can deliver on something so much more powerful than words: emotions. And getting it just right will elicit a very specific emotional connection from consumers to your brand - something that all businesses aim for.

The four psychological primary colours

• RED: Physical Positive: Physical courage, strength, warmth, energy, basic survival, ‘fight or flight’, stimulation, masculinity, excitement. Negative: Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain.
• BLUE: Intellectual Positive: Intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection, calm. Negative: Coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion, unfriendliness.
• YELLOW: Emotional Positive: Optimism, confidence, self-esteem, extraversion, emotional strength, friendliness, creativity. Negative: Irrationality, fear, emotional fragility, depression, anxiety, suicide.
• GREEN: Balance Positive: Harmony, balance, refreshment, universal love, rest, restoration, reassurance, environmental awareness, equilibrium, peace. Negative: Boredom, stagnation, blandness, enervation.

Colour psychology in brand and logo design

While a brand’s logo is made up of several visual cues, such as shapes, symbols and words, the number one visual component that people remember the most is colour. In fact, colour increases brand recognition by up to 80%.

Even further, in a study on the impact of colour on marketing, researchers found that up to 90% of snap judgments made about products can be based on colour alone, depending on the product category.

The above colour chart is by no means exhaustive, but it offers a great start to the psychology of colours and how you can consider them in your branding and marketing. And it’s not only colours that contribute to the psychology behind your brand and logo design; even your choice of fonts impacts the psychology of your brand.

Icon Visual Marketing is a full-service marketing agency in Sydney. Our branding experts are skilled in the choice and use of fonts for all graphic design work. Call us on +61 409 501 065 for a free one-hour marketing consultation to see how we can grow your business, or complete the form below and we will be in touch

1. http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours