In doing business, marketing should never be missed out. Business owners should realize that marketing strategies should start at the stage of business conception. If business owners are eager to establish a positive business image, they should also understand the significance of choosing and mixing the right colors in their logos. There have been researches claiming that the combination of colors has a great impact on the human psyche. Thus, the choice of colors for a logo can make a business successful or not—at least in terms of recall among target consumers.
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to effectively mix colors for business logos or branding in general:
Determine the specific target market of the business.
You should be specific as possible. You should be able to identify the age group, income, civil status, educational background, and other socio-demographic information that can help you come up with an effective logo or branding strategy. The more you know about your target market, the better.
Determine the message
It is also important to know the message you want to send across. You may want to send in a sense of reliability or professionalism in your logo. You be able to translate the message in the choice of colors you intend to use for your logo. This should match certain psychological factors. As you know, colors have meanings that you can consider in sending certain messages through your logo.
Type of marketing materials
In the process of designing the logo, you should also consider the type of marketing materials you intend to produce. You may come up with brochures, flyers or billboards.
Thoughts and feelings
Think of the feelings or thoughts you wish to elicit among your target consumers. Each color has a corresponding psychological effect among individuals that business owners or designers should consider in choosing the color theme of the business logo. For instance, red elicits feelings of boldness and can stimulate certain actions such as buying. Red is one of the widely-used colors in the advertising field. Red is popular among fast-food chains since it stimulates a person’s appetite.
Positive psychological effects
Make sure to check if the positive psychological effects of color outweigh the negative effects before picking the color. You need to understand color theory. For instance, red can be too overpowering in some cultures. So, make sure you assess the colors before using them. Create the ideal balance of the colors you choose to ensure a positive response from the public. For example, if you want to use red as part of the logo since it stimulates customer buyer actions, you also need to consider the downside. Some business owners and designers tend to be too impulsive in choosing the main color to use since they look into the positive side only. It is always important to carefully assess the psychological meanings and effects of colors to ensure an effective branding strategy—in this case, the design and color theme of the logo.
Identify the specific shade you intend to use.
Choosing red is not enough. You still need to decide on the exact shade you wish to use on your logo and other marketing materials. For instance, if most of your intended customers are male, it is best to use yellow-based shades of red. Men are known to respond better with the said shades. Thus, using raspberry red may not be effective if used in your business logo.
Careful combinations
If you wish to mix various colors in your logo, make sure the combination will not undo the effects you are trying to elicit among your target consumers. While each color has individual psychological effects, mixing it with another color may change the effect.
Try to do pre-test.
This means you may try to test the color choice on a few pieces of marketing materials. Assess if it can be recalled by many people within your target market.
The logo is a crucial aspect of the business, and you cannot just pick colors for your logo without thinking about it carefully. The choice of colors to be used is itself a step involved in branding that you should not overlook. The right combination of colors can spell success even for start-up businesses.
