Using Color to Position Your Brand

Branding and Marketing professionals know that it’s important to understand color when selecting the right package, logo or to position for your brand.

You’ll want to know the feelings and meanings of colors when you are marketing your product, developing a logo to represent your brand or creating your website. There are so many color choices and they all communicate emotions. It’s important to know those feelings when choosing something that is a representation of your brand.

Looking at the competitors’ choices is one place to begin, but when selecting colors for your brand, whether it is for a website with call to action buttons or golf shirts for your trade show or the accent colors on your product, you must know the connotation and denotation of the colors.

Even when selecting the color pallet for your business office, you’ll want to consider the emotional connection of the color that your potential customers might feel, particularly in the areas where decisions will be made.

Some people scoff at hearing about the principles of decorating and color, but it shouldn’t be ignored if you’re having your customers in the space and/or if you have employees working there that you want to keep happy and motivated.

Often small business owners feel that holding a market research study is way too expensive. Just asking your spouse or other family members if “they like it” isn’t enough. In this case, learning more about colors and their meanings before you start directing and choosing only makes sense.

I recently read a short article about color where I learned a few more meanings of colors that I hadn’t known before.

This article outlines the color meanings and symbolism of colors. It talks about the positives and negatives of each of the main colors. Even though I’ve been reading/writing about color meanings since 1981, I learned a few things from this article and it inspired this post.

When I think about being strategic about decorating, I can’t help but think about Feng Shui, the Chinese system of harmonizing with the environment, which includes not only color but object placement.

Branding with Colors: A Look at Color Trends in Marketing

If you are a graphic designer, marketing or branding professional, you know how much color matters. Here’s some resources on color trends that you may find helpful.

1) Fashion Trend setter has more forward thinking color trend info for fall 2007 and spring 2008.

2) The “Color Speaks” conference by the Color Marketing Group (CMG), an international, not-for-profit association of 1,500 color designers and the worldwide authority on color, is in Chicago today. Any bloggers there? I’m interested to find out what was said. A quick search of Goggle Bloggers and Technorati didn’t show anything yet.

3) In the midst of selecting some 2007/2008 colors? Here’s a cool tool: color wheel with an “internet safe” color option. Nice resource for mixing/matching.

4) The Color Marketing Group says about color in 2007:

Green rules! - The idea of green means the color green, too. But look for softer, more botanical greens inspired by nature.Blues from Nature The color of the sky, the color of water, true blues from nature will be everywhere.

New Natural Neutrals The newest neutrals, especially medium to dark browns, are soul-satisfying. Beiges, browns and tans will be more earthy and grounded, reflecting the colors of rock and stone and soil.

Rich, Ethnic Accents Lighter, neutral settings will be punctuated by warmed-up accent colors from a rich mix of countries and cultures. Deep, rich ethnic reds and warm, glow-y oranges are the punch colors for 2007.

5) The infamous PMS color experts: Pantone says that Chile Pepper is the color of the year for 2007.