As just about every business owner and executive realizes by now, logos are incredibly important to building identities. When they are designed and implemented correctly, they can remind customers of your product or service and unique selling proposition in an instant; when they aren’t right, though, they can seem generic, bizarre, or even distracting.
Although new clients tend to pay the most attention to the artistic features of a logo, like drawings or shapes, we encourage you to think carefully about your color scheme, as well. Not only will it influence the way people feel about your logo, but it’s likely that the palette you choose will carry over to other parts of your identity and marketing pieces, as well, like brochures and websites.
To help you get started in thinking about the different choices and options, here are a few generally accepted ideas about colors and design, and especially the way these ideas pertain to logo design:
Reds can be thought of as bold or aggressive. Although this is a generalization, eyes are naturally drawn to reds, which makes them seem very bold. That makes it a good choice for anything that absolutely has to stand out.
Blue is typically a “safe” color. Different shades of blue are often used to build trust and credibility, since it’s a color that most of us subconsciously associate with stability.
Greens are often used to create a calming effect. Likewise, green spaces in nature tend to calm people, and lots of green on a page, or in your logo, can have a similar effect.
Orange tends to be offbeat. You don’t see a lot of orange in logos because it’s fairly offbeat. That can be good if you’re looking to convey a certain type of personality, but it’s not for every business.
Yellow is the color of caution. Whether you’re thinking of bees, caution tape, or road signs, yellow is almost universally associated with “be careful.” That makes it an unusual choice for most logo designs.
Be aware of the other possibilities. There are always different choices and combinations you could work with. For instance, most designers would agree that purples tend to resonate more with women, and that black and white logos can be striking and traditional, but also a bit plain. The key is to pay attention to the subtleties as you move through the design and consultation process.
Remember, colors in your logo scheme aren’t just about creating an interesting image – they should also generate the right impression. There are reasons that some colors are more popular to wear than others, or why police tend to pull over red cars more often. Every color says something about you and your business that’s important to convey, so choose carefully.
Need help designing identity pieces for your business? Turn to Effusion, Arizona’s best marketing and web design team.