How colour can transform your brand and engage new customers

There is a psychology behind colours that businesses should consider when they are looking to establish a brand identity, enhance their brand personality and attract new customers, explains Bhavani Lee, Associate Creative Director at Vista Australia.

Let’s take Tiffany & Co or McDonald’s, for example. The famous Tiffany blue symbolises romance and luxury – and is now firmly associated with being one of the finest jewellers in the world. Whereas the iconic red and yellow we associate with McDonald’s represents stimulation and happiness.

When it comes to choosing colours to support your own business branding, there is no set of rules. But it’s important to think about what your brand represents, its values, and what you consider the key traits to be.

Is your brand fun and playful? Or do you want to be seen as stable and trusted? If you’re a cosmetics brand it makes sense to experiment with colour, whereas if you’re a financial services brand you probably want to be perceived as trusted. Choosing the right colours can help you tell your brand story.

If you want to leverage colour to transform your brand recognition and personality to attract customers, here’s where you should start.

Do your research

Start by researching ‘on-trend’ colour palettes. Explore the latest Pantone colours to spark inspiration for colourways. Keep in mind that while you want your brand colours to be fresh and current, they also need to stand the test of time.

Another tip to keep your colours interesting is to pick a base colour and then look at contrasting colours on either end of the colour wheel (complementary colours) to create visually interesting layouts.

Choosing a colour

Whether you are choosing different colour schemes, choosing a colour is choosing branding that will become synonymous with your brand, and that needs to cut through in a competitive market. Here are three steps to get you started.

• Start with three colour choices as your primary colours.
• From there, add one or two neutral tones to round out your palette. You could usually start with an off-white and a darker neutral in grey or brown to balance the colours out.
• Consider three to five secondary colours that are complimentary to your primary colour palette. The goal is to create a combination with the primary colours that you have selected.

This can create interesting but cohesive branding on your website, and across different online channels and social media.

Leveraging colours for key events

Want to help drive your sales within your business? Have a think about how you can incorporate these colours into your signs, posters and banners, both tangible and online.

If you have an upcoming sale or key event, this is an opportunity to experiment with more colour. For example, if you’re having a sale – red, orange, or even dark pink are strongly associated with discounts in a retail environment.

The colour red is associated with stimulation and is inviting, whereas the colour orange is seen as attention-grabbing and communicates affordability in some sales. Pink, specifically, is a strong colour that can stand out effectively and can show boldness and excitement within your business and service.

Always remember that every shade of colour can speak volumes and affect how customers can perceive a brand and service.
Ask yourself the important questions that make sense to what services your business is providing but also reflect your brand personality, which ultimately supports what makes your business unique.

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