Everything yellow. From stationery to our water bottles, our nails to our trainers. Nicola’s now even touting about a very fab banana yellow suitcase. So, you could say we’re pretty on brand most days.
But how do you go about choosing a colour for your brand? You might not actually have the colour in your company name like us, but from your logo, website, newsletter and any offline marketing material and communications, your chosen tone is going to be splashed everywhere. So first up? Make sure you really do like the those shades your carefully considering. You want to decorate your business like your home we say. Actually, we have never said that, but it sits pretty well and you get the point. Next to think about is the connotations of your chosen colour. So why yellow for us? No, it’s not because we really love bananas, sunshine or smiley faced emojis (well we kind of do). However, it has many associations of hope, happiness, energy, friendliness and radiates freshness. Some research has shown that it can represent cowardness (yellow-bellied anyone?) or jealousy, but the positive meanings definitely outweighed the negative for us! Plus, here’s a fact for you. When creating a business name, we found that a Yellow Bird is symbol of joy and a positive outlook on life, which we felt 100% suited our company values. #GoodVibes and all that. Yellow is an attention-grabbing colour and we want to be a yellow cab in a busy New York street, rather than the mellow yellow who fades into the background. My analogy here is that there is a lot of digital marketing agencies out there, and while we don’t profess to be the best (more so because we don’t want to come across as big headed), we like to think we have a positive impact on people and businesses as people and through the work we create. Plus, we are pretty darn good. (Okay blowing our own trumpet now). Google ‘colour and meanings’ and you’ll see there is a whole science behind the different shades. But when it comes to choosing your own brand colour for your business, think of what feelings it stirs, ask a few people their thoughts and go with your gut (something we definitely always say). This is much more powerful of choosing a colour than just because a stat and figure said you should use it! But since we are in the know, we can’t let you go without giving you a couple of tips to consider;
- Who is your target audience? Appealing to children? Then they love bright primary colours. More upmarket, luxury? How about gold and silver tones?
- As mentioned above, consider what is your brand personality? Fun and friendly? Caring? Girly? Or technical and detailed? Find out what screams you.
- Have a look at the competition. Do you want to fit along an industry standard? Or is your aim to stand out? Plus, in a crowded market, with a limited colour palette, it’s up to you to tell your story of why you are different if you find similar businesses are using identical branding to you.
- Planning to work or trade overseas? Beware of any culture differences with the colour you choose. And don’t forget colour associations change over time too. Goodbye and so long blue for boys and pink for girls.
It’s not an exact science. People will always have personal preferences but when starting up your business remember to enjoy your journey through the colour wheel as you find your brand identity. Play around, see what works for you. Need help? Then that’s where we come in.