Whether you’re building a brand from the ground up, or you feel like your business’s logo could use a facelift, you might be surprised to learn that there is actually a science behind effective branding and logo design. While being recognizable and memorable is priority number one in a logo, the colors you choose will elicit subconscious emotions from people. This is important to understand because these emotions should be a reflection of your brand’s meaning and values.

Before you engage a logo design firm to start work, consider how the basic element of color will impact the perception of your brand.

Choosing A Color For Your Logo Design

Science has shown that color can stimulate a wide range of emotions, from euphoria to anger and everything in between. Let’s take a look at some of the moods each color tends to invoke:

Bold, Powerful Colors

Red – The color red physically stimulates the human body by raising the pulse rate and causing excitement. In small amounts, it can be the ideal color if you want to quickly get a person’s attention, but too much red can cause stress and anger. Target, Pinterest and Coca-Cola are famous all-red logos that positively stimulate the brain with pleasure and enjoyment emotions.

Black – The color black is bold, simple and sophisticated. It is often used to represent expensive brands or products. The Nike Swoosh and Chanel double “C” are instantly recognizable all-black logos that bring to mind high-end brands.

Warm, Exciting Colors

Yellow – The color yellow brings to mind sunshine. It evokes warm, happy emotions and can reflect the positivity and helpfulness of a brand. At the same time, yellow is the universal color for caution, and is used for tape, signs, flashing lights and other applications that require attention to safety. McDonalds, IKEA and Yellow Pages are all examples of brands that effectively use yellow in their logos.

Orange – Like yellow, the color orange triggers positive emotions. Known for boosting creative, energetic and youthful moods, brands like Nickelodeon, The Home Depot and Harley Davidson all use orange effectively.

Professional, Business-Like Colors

Blue – The color blue is calming and evokes a sense of stability, confidence, power and credibility. While it should come as no surprise that professional brands such as JP Morgan, American Express, and Microsoft Word all use blue in their logo design, its prevalence in social media logos like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Vimeo, Flickr, and Skype might indicate that users are more trusting and embracing of brands with blue logos.

Tranquil, Nurturing Colors

Green – The color green represents nature and the peaceful, relaxing and hopeful emotions surrounding it. Businesses in outdoor adventure, organic cooking, and science and engineering often use green. Whole Foods Market and Land Rover are popular all-green logos that successfully capitalize on the emotions that the color inspires.

Royal, Spiritual Colors

Purple – The color purple has long been associated with wealth, royalty and luxury. It is also connected with spirituality and the arcane. Hallmark and Crown Royal use purple and physical crowns in their brands that are well-known for quality products, while SyFy and Wonka use purple to represent arcane and magical aspects of their brands.

Loving, Feminine Colors

Pink – The color pink is nurturing, warm and healing and is often associated with femininity. Although a variation of red, pink is soothing rather than stimulating, and is used by well-known and trusted brands such as Barbie, Mary Kay and LG.

Clean, Sophisticated Colors

White – The color white evoke emotions of purity and sophistication. Personal care brand, Kleenex, utilizes an all-white logo, as does technology mogul, Apple.

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Choosing a color for your logo design is one of the first steps toward creating a memorable and instantly-recognizable brand. To learn more about our services and schedule a consultation, call 630.995.7109 or visit our site.