Logo Design and Branding

ABSTRACT:

Selecting a fitting color for your logo is a critical step in the design process. But how do you know what is the right logo color for you? This article leads you through the process and offers helpful guidance in making this decision.

Written by Jeff Kear © 2004
Creative Director, myICON Design

One of the most important things to consider when creating your logo is color. Often people simply choose their favorite color as their primary logo color, and although you certainly need to be able to live with the design and colors for your final logo design, you should consider other factors when deciding on your logo colors. These factors include:

Your business – Plainly said, some colors are better than others for certain businesses as well as for certain products and services. For example, pink is a perfectly fine color for a florist logo but wouldn’t be fitting for a homebuilder logo.

Your customers – Not all demographics react the same way to all colors. Women are more likely than men to respond favorably to a logo with pastel colors. Children may embrace a purple logo color more readily than adults. Americans see yellow as a warm, happy color, while the Greeks associate it with sadness.

Your industry – Look at the logo colors in your industry and you will probably start to see some trends emerge. For example, high tech logos rely heavily on the color blue, while red is a common logo color for food and beverage companies.

Your company personality – What are the traits or moods you want your logo to convey? Stability? Sophistication? Friendliness? Trendiness? Daring? Reserved? Your logo color can quickly express the mood and feeling of your business’ brand, which is why you want to consider your choices carefully.

Here are a few basic colors and the emotional responses frequently associated with them.

Red	passion, power, daring, boldness assertiveness, love, sexuality
Orange	welcome, playful, warmth, fun
Yellow	friendliness, happiness, warmth, optimism, sunny
Green	money/financial, growth, abundance, safety, health, freshness, fruitfulness, relaxation
Blue	reliability, stability, dependability, leadership, trust, truth, coolness
Purple	fashion, intellect, sophistication, wealth, regal, spirituality
Pink	sweetness, femininity, sensitivity, softness
Brown	earthiness, organic, friendliness, natural, welcoming
White	cleanness, purity, hope, youthfulness, openness, lightness, freshness
Black	elegance, power, sophistication, darkness, premium, reserved, mystery
Gray	security, stability, character, calmness, reserved
Gold	luxury, richness, prestige, refined, expensive
Silver	refined, purity, precision, prestige

When deciding on your final logo color, remember that most logos do not use more than three

colors, with most logos using either one or two colors. The reason for this is that a logo that bears more than three colors is more likely to be distracting to the eye and less likely to be remembered by the viewer.

About the Author
Jeff Kear is Owner and Director of Client Services for myICON Design. In his decade-and-a-half in the industry, Jeff has created revenue-generating advertising and design for nationally recognized brands such as Budget, MetLife, Moosehead Beer, Qwest and Toyota. In addition to working for design firms and ad agencies, he has served as a marketing and communications specialist at Fortune 500 companies and holds a master’s degree from the University of Maryland. You can contact Jeff at jeffk@myicondesign.com .

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Tags: color brown, color green, purple colors, red colors, decorating colors, color gray, brown colors, picking colors, pick colors

Date: Sunday, September 16th, 2007 at 11:16 am | Category: Color | RSS Feed: RSS 2.0 feed.
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