The Psychology Behind Your Logo Colors

Colors are everywhere. From blooming flowers in the spring to colorful billboards in the city center, colors make our lives more exciting. So it’s no surprise that colors are vital to a brand’s visual identity – and an integral part of its logo design.

You probably already know that it’s crucial to choose the colors that represent your brand’s values and personality when designing your logo. But you may not know that colors evoke specific emotions and create associations in your target audience’s minds.

In this article, we’ll go over the psychology of colors in logo design to help you choose the right colors for your brand.

Why Does Color Matter?

Color is a powerful visual stimulus that can elicit a wide range of feelings, associations, and reactions in people.

The colors in a logo design have been shown to affect people’s moods, improve brand recognition, and even influence consumer purchasing decisions. That’s why color is used very carefully in marketing and branding! After all, it’s a powerful tool to create a brand’s identity and establish a connection with its target audience.

What Are the Different Color Meanings?

Every color on the color wheel inspires different emotions. Here is an overview of the meanings behind the primary colors on the color palette used in logos with their hex codes:

1. Yellow (#FFFF00): Consumers associate yellow with warmth, joy, and optimism. It can also communicate a sense of caution. We can find yellow in many retail, food, or entertainment brand logos. This joyful, bright color comes in many hues on the color wheel, such as bright yellow, mustard yellow, royal yellow, or gold – each with a different meaning.

2. Orange (#FFA500): Orange is a warm, energetic color that evokes enthusiasm. Orange logos are often used in the tech or entertainment industries. Some popular shades of orange used in logos are bright orange, warm orange, carrot orange, or peach.

3. Red (#FFF0000): Red is a strong and intense color that conveys a feeling of passion. Red can stimulate appetite and evoke a sense of excitement, so red logos are commonly used for food or sports brands.

4. Green (#00FF00): Green is frequently linked with nature, growth, and health. It is a refreshing color that evokes a sense of calmness, harmony, and balance. That’s why green logos are commonly used in eco-friendly or fitness industries. Some trendy green colors are forest green, jungle green, neon green, and seafoam green.

5. Blue (#0000FF): Blue is a trustworthy and professional color that conveys a sense of reliability, intelligence, and stability. Blue logos are typically used by financial, tech, or healthcare brands. Some financial and tech company logos use navy blue, royal blue, and light blue.

6. Purple (#A020F0): Purple is a luxurious and creative color that evokes a sense of royalty, ambition, and imagination. Purple can be found in fashion or beauty brand logos. Some popular purple shades are lavender purple, deep purple, and light purple.

7. Pink (#FFC0CB): Pink is a playful and feminine color that creates a sense of gentleness, love, and warmth to logos for beauty, fashion, and lifestyle brands. You can find many beautiful pink hues in the color wheel, such as hot pink, pastel pink, and bright pink.

8. Black (#000000): Black is elegant, formal, and sophisticated, which is why it is often used by high-end and luxury brands.

9. White (#FFFFFF): White is pure and clean. White logos provide a sense of simplicity, clarity, and peace, and they’re often used by healthcare, high-end tech, and eco-friendly brands.

Best Logo Color Schemes

Combining colors in logo design can improve the overall message of the business. When selecting the ideal logo color combination, consider your brand’s values and target audience. Using complementary colors can establish a powerful and timeless brand identity that will keep resonating with your customers and fostering brand loyalty for years to come.

1. Blue and Green: This cool color combination of two contrasting colors on the color wheel conveys a sense of harmony and balance, making it appropriate for companies in the financial, environmental, and healthcare sectors.

2. Red and Yellow: These warm colors are bold and eye-catching. Therefore, this color combination is perfect for food and beverage, entertainment, and automotive brands.

3. Black and White: This timeless logo color palette is significant and elegant, making it ideal for luxury and fashion brands.

4. Purple and Yellow: This color scheme works well for cosmetics, beauty, and wellness companies that want to express creativity, sophistication, and optimism.

5. Pink and Blue: This playful and fun logo color combination works well for companies catering to children and selling toys, games, and other products for kids.

Color psychology is complex, and the meanings of different colors can vary based on culture, context, and personal experiences. So, make sure to take into account cultural biases and other factors before deciding on your final color palette.

Here are some examples of famous brand color combinations:

• – Coca-Cola: Red and white
• – McDonald’s: Red and yellow
• – Facebook: Blue and white
• – Pepsi: Blue, red, and white
• – Nike: Black and white
• – Google: Red, blue, yellow, and green
• – Apple: Silver, black, and white
• – Amazon: Black, white, and yellow
• – Adidas: Black and white
• – FedEx: Purple and orange

How to Choose a Logo Color

Establishing a logo color scheme is crucial to developing a powerful brand identity. To create a logo color scheme for your brand, follow these steps:

Establish your brand identity

Start by determining your brand’s personality before choosing your color scheme. Consider the feelings you want your brand to evoke in your customers’ minds and the values you want to convey.

Dive into color psychology

To choose the right logo colors for your brand personality, you need to grasp the psychological associations of different colors. For example, the color combination of blue and yellow evokes a sense of confidence and security. Just think about it!

Pick primary logo colors first

The primary color of your logo should best embody the character and values of your brand. This color will be used extensively in your logo and other marketing materials. It’s the foundation of your brand’s color palette. After establishing your primary colors, you can choose your secondary colors.

Choose accent colors

Pick two or three accent or secondary colors that complement your primary color and evoke different emotions. The accent colors will be used sparingly, for example, on your website’s call-to-action buttons or social media graphics.

Test your logo color scheme

After choosing your logo color scheme, test it in various settings to see if it accurately conveys your brand identity and appeals to your target market. Get other opinions, then make any necessary changes to your logo design.

Get the Perfect Logo for Your Business with Creato

At Creato, we use our knowledge of color psychology to help our customers select logo color combinations that will positively influence their target audience’s perception of their brand. And we can help you too! Get in touch with us to discuss your logo design project.