Colour psychology in marketing: Choosing the right palette.

A closer look at the marketing colour palette.

Colours in marketing can affect how consumers perceive your brand – so it’s important to get it right. You should be consistent and apply your chosen colours in all your marketing materials, logo making and website design. Here’s an example of what each colour could represent for your brand and audience:

• Black. As seen on the Nike logo, black alludes to power, authority and sophistication.
• Pink. The colour pink represents imagination, passion and creativity, which is why it’s a perfect fit for the Barbie logo.
• Blue. This colour is often associated with being secure, trustworthy and loyal. It’s often used by brands that need to appear dependable – like Facebook and PayPal.
• Red. The colour red increases our heart rate, blood pressure and metabolism – which also makes us hungrier. That’s why fast-food chains often feature red in their branding, like KFC and Burger King.
• Yellow. Seen in logos like McDonalds, Thomas Cook and Snapchat, yellow represents cheerfulness, warmth and happiness.
• Orange. Similar to yellow, orange evokes feelings of optimism and enthusiasm. It’s seen in logos for brands like EasyJet and Nickelodeon.
• Purple. This colour signals royalty, mystery and imagination. One of the most famous brand examples is the signature Cadbury purple.
• Green. As a colour chosen to represent harmony, tranquillity and calmness, you’ll often see green logos for outdoor spaces with brands like the National Trust. It’s also associated with security and money, as seen by the Lloyds logo.

How to use colour psychology in your branding and marketing.

There are a number of ways you can incorporate colour psychology in your branding and marketing strategy. From creating an eye-catching logo to ensuring consistency across all social media posts, take inspiration from our ideas below:

Logo colour psychology.

Your business logo is one of your most important pieces of branding. It’s essential that it’s easy to recognise and captures your customers’ attention. Use colour psychology in your logo design to increase brand recognition.

For example, Cadbury is synonymous with purple in the same way that Coco-Cola is instantly recognisable thanks to its red logo. Purple has connotations of royalty, luxury and imagination, whereas red invites emotions of passion, love, power and confidence.

Brand colour psychology.

Having one colour that sums up your brand is a very powerful marketing tool, especially when it’s used throughout the customer journey. For instance, EasyJet is known for its signature orange shade. But this eye-catching hue isn’t limited to the logo.

EasyJet makes sure their iconic colour scheme continues throughout it’s website, advertisements and in-flight experience. This not only ensures consistency for the customer, but it also reinforces brand recall and recognition. You only need to show someone the colour for them to know it’s EasyJet.

Colour psychology in website design.

Using colour psychology in website design can affect the way that customers use your website. For example, red is the most stimulating colour and prompts action. This is why it’s often used for sales advertisements and “Calls To Action”. Orange is seen as a ‘friendlier’ or toned down red, so can still create a sense of haste and movement, which may come in handy when moving customers through your site.

Bright colours, like orange, green and red often get the most clicks on a website. But this will depend on your colour scheme as a high contrast is very important in grabbing the user’s attention.

Colour psychology in social media.

Using colour psychology principles in social media works in the same way as it does for other types of marketing. Brands that harness their main colours on their Instagram feed, TikTok videos and Facebook posts keep up the consistency of their branding and help to reaffirm their brand image.

Colgate, Heinz and Coca-Cola all use red across their social media platforms. It’s bright, stands out on a crowded feed, and captures the attention of their audience.

Colour psychology in visual merchandising.

Colour psychology can come in handy when it comes to visual merchandising too. While red encourages impulse in-store purchases, other warm colours like orange and pink are said to be more inviting for customers.

It’s particularly important to get the colour scheme correct in a physical shop, as potential customers can make a subconscious judgement within 90 seconds. Additionally, 52% of shoppers will not return to the shop if they don’t like the aesthetics.

Editable examples of colour psychology in marketing.

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