Choosing your color palette may seem as simple as picking your favorite color and running with the wind.
You could do this, sure. But how does this work for your brand?
Color is a powerful tool. Often times, business owners choose a color or a few colors based on their own preferences of their favorite or what is "trending" or "aesthetic" at the moment.
This is a huge mistake! You should consider what colors will create an emotional impact on your audience, communicate your values, and deliver your businesses personality.
Here's how to deliver on such a major task:
1.Understand Your Audience
Before you stare at a color wheel and get overwhelmed, because let's face it, color wheels are a lot...
Let's understand who we are trying to reach:
Demographics: Age, gender, & location can influence your color choices and the impact they have on your audience. For example,
a beige and pink color palette brand may not land with a construction company. We are expecting something a little more rugged and down-to-earth.
If we switch this construction company color palette to a deep charcoal and bright orange, we may attract contractors and architects who are looking for someone who
"knows what they're doing" based upon the psychology of the strength and energy charcoal and orange have.
Psychographics: What values, interests, and lifestyles does your audience have? Adventurous? Silly? Fun? Professional? Calm? Fancy?
Cultural Meaning: Colors have different meaning within different cultures. Be sure your color palette aligns with
the cultural context of your business and audience.
2.Understand the Psychology of Color
Color evokes emotion. These are not rules, but they're a great guide when deciding on what feeling you want your color palette to ignite.
Most brands have one or two primary colors. These are the "main" colors of your brand identity. You can have as many primary colors as you would like, but we want to narrow your primary colors
down to something that will be recognizable with consistency.
What color best represents my brand's core values?
What emotion will my audience experience when they view my brand?
Your primary colors are usually seen in your logo, yes. But this will be the main palette shown across your branding, website, marketing, social media, everywhere your brand is shown and seen by the world! Choose wisely. *Dun dun dunnn*
4. Pick Secondary Colors
Secondary colors are colors that compliment your primary palette. They should work well with your pirmary colors, providing contrast, emotional consistency, and flexibility, allowing your visual brand to remain readable wherever it is seen.
Common "Mistakes" in Color Palette Choices
These are not strict rules. Color is fun and you should test out some colors before deciding on a final palette.
Choosing your favorite color. Your favorite color of lime pink may not resonate with your calming massage therapy business. However, maybe your local market would respond well to a bold, bright color and you create a new pathway for massage therapist marketing and branding!
Following Trends. Gross. Guess what is going to happen in five years? That trend will be "old" and "cringe." A huge trend right now as of 2025, is the beige and neutral color palettes with everything. Eventually (hopefully soon because beige is boring) this is going to be out-of-style. People will say, "Wow, they're stuck in 2025."
Consistency Matters. Picking a palette but changing it frequently or not sticking to your color palette is worse than choosing the "wrong" color. If you want a bright yellow color, but you are using red, blue, and the occasional gray... your audience will be confused. A confused audience does not engage or purchase from you because they don't know who you are!
If you're ready to partner with a brand strategist, I'm here to help!
Let's challenge the conventional and color outside the lines together.
