"Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions," the artist Pablo Picasso once remarked.
Color is one of the first details a customer notices about a brand. It shapes how they feel, how they remember the brand, and even how likely they are to make a purchase. Research shows that we base up to 90% of our snap judgments about a brand on color alone. When used consistently, brand colors increase recognition, trust, and engagement. Think about how Coca-Cola’s red labels, Starbucks’ green logo, McDonald's yellow arches, or IKEA’s blue bags have become a part of the American way of life.
This article explains how to choose and use brand colors to strengthen your business. No matter where you are in the branding process, this guide will give you practical direction for building a strong visual identity through color.
What Are Brand Colors?
Brand colors are a group of colors strategically chosen to visually represent your business. They appear on your logo, website, product packaging, business cards, and more. Using consistent colors helps people identify your brand and understand what you stand for.
A color palette is a thoughtfully chosen group of colors designed to give your brand a consistent and cohesive visual style. It ensures visual harmony across all materials and communications.
Most brands use a palette of four to six colors, typically including:
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Primary color: The most dominant and recognizable color
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Secondary colors: Two to four supporting colors that add variety
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Accent color: Used sparingly to highlight essential elements
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Neutral color(s): Black, white, or gray to support text and backgrounds
A well-chosen color palette ensures that all your visuals feel cohesive, regardless of where or how your brand shows up.
Why Do Brand Colors Matter?
Think about those well-known companies we noted in the introduction and how their brand colors show up in our day-to-day lives.
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Coca-Cola’s red is bold, exciting, and memorable. It stands out on shelves and creates a sense of passion and energy that supports Coca-Cola’s positioning as a refreshing, feel-good beverage.
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McDonald’s uses bright yellow paired with red. Yellow conveys happiness and energy, making it an appealing color for families and younger audiences. The red adds urgency and appetite stimulation, making it an effective combination for a fast-food brand.
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Starbucks uses green to communicate calm, growth, and a welcoming atmosphere. Green also ties into the company’s messaging around sustainability and mindfulness.
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IKEA uses blue and yellow, colors found in Sweden's national flag. Blue conveys trust and reliability, while yellow suggests cheerfulness and a sense of approachability. Together, they support IKEA's identity as a friendly, functional, and trustworthy provider of home goods.
These color choices weren't random. They were carefully selected to reflect the brand's personality and speak directly to the values of their target customers.
Strong brand colors:
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Help your business stand out in a crowded marketplace
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Make it easier for customers to identify and keep your brand top of mind.
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Create a sense of consistency across different materials and platforms
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Support your overall brand personality and message
Using color with intention helps customers quickly understand what your brand is about. For more details on brand strategy, please read this article.
The Roles Within a Brand Color Palette
Each color in your brand palette serves a specific function. Understanding how these roles work together helps generate a balanced, consistent look across all platforms.
Primary Color
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This is the color most associated with your brand.
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It appears in your logo and major design elements.
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It’s a central element of the brand's visual identity and should never change.
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It builds brand recognition.
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Examples include Coca-Cola's red, McDonald's yellow, Starbucks' green, and IKEA's blue.
Secondary Colors
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Two to four complementary colors to the primary color. For example, when a primary color is navy blue, secondary colors might include light blue or green.
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These add contrast and flexibility to your visual identity.
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They support the primary color and provide variety across touchpoints.
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It could be used alongside the primary color or independently of it.
Accent Colors
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Used sparingly to draw attention to key details.
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Ideal for buttons, calls to action, or important headlines.
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This is usually a bold color like orange or teal.
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It should still complement the primary color.
Neutral Colors
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Vital for text, backgrounds, and layout balance.
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Common neutrals include white, black, and gray.
Functional Colors
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Communicate status or actions in digital experiences.
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It can be accent colors when appropriate.
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For example, red for error messages or urgent alerts, green for success or confirmation, and yellow for warnings or attention.
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Common in apps, web forms, and dashboards to guide users.
These roles help your brand send a clear and consistent message. They visually guide your audience and strengthen your identity.
Choosing the Right Colors
To choose the right brand colors, start with two key factors: your brand personality and audience.
Brand Personality
Humans tend to attribute human characteristics to inanimate objects, such as a brand, to better relate to them. That's your brand personality. It's the traits, tone, and style that define your brand and determine how you communicate it. For example, do you want people to think of your brand as modern and energetic or traditional and trustworthy? A fitness brand may choose bold colors like red or black to reflect strength and motivation, while a wellness spa may use soft greens and neutrals to create a sense of calm and restoration. A strong brand personality will enhance your brand's positioning. For more information on brand positioning, please read this article.
Target Audience
Your audience includes the people you're trying to reach, in other words, your customers. It's critical that your brand appeals to these important people. Consider their age, preferences, cultural backgrounds, and what they expect from a brand like yours. A tech startup targeting Gen Z may choose vibrant purples or teals. In contrast, a financial firm targeting experienced professionals often uses blues and grays. These colors help show trust and stability. For more details on pinpointing your target audience and building personas to understand them, please read this article.
Next, consider how your target audience will feel about your chosen brand color palette using color psychology.
Color Psychology: What It Is and Why It Matters
Color psychology is the study of how different colors affect the way people feel, think, and behave. In marketing and branding, it can help you know how to use color to create a specific emotional response or impression. The right colors can make customers feel confident, excited, calm, or motivated. These feelings can influence their buying choices and loyalty.
Here are some general color associations and industries that use them:
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Red: Passion, strength, and urgency, often used by food and beverage companies like Coca-Cola or retail stores like Target.
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Blue: Trust, calm, and professionalism, often used by tech, including IBM, healthcare, or financial services companies.
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Green: Nature, health, growth, often used by eco-friendly brands, health, and wellness companies, including Whole Foods, or outdoor industries.
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Yellow: Happiness, hope, optimism, and attention, often used by brands targeting families and children, like McDonalds, or offering entertainment and leisure.
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Orange: Creativity and friendliness, often used by brands focusing on fun and social interaction, like Nickelodeon
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Black: Mystery, elegance, power, and sophistication, often used by luxury or fashion brands like Chanel.
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White: Simplicity, minimalist, cleanliness, often used by tech brands like Apple
One Note of Caution
Color meanings may vary across cultures, so it's crucial to consider your audience when applying these insights.
Where to Use Brand Colors
Once you’ve chosen your brand palette, make sure your brand colors appear across all communication channels and platforms, including:
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Logo
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Website and apps
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Social media channels
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Email marketing
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Packaging
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Print materials and marketing collateral
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Interior and exterior signage
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Promotional products
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Uniforms
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Internal communication channels, including intranets, employee newsletters, email signatures, forms, etc.
Consistency builds recognition. The more people see your colors in the right places, the more they’ll connect them with your brand.
Sub-Brands and Color Variations
If your company has multiple products or services, each one can have its own color variation. Sub-brands don’t always need to use the same color palette as the parent brand. In fact, using a different palette can help:
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Reach new audiences
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Reflect a unique product experience
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Differentiate between offerings while keeping a shared brand system
For example, Coca-Cola uses different primary colors to differentiate its product lines:
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Coca-Cola Classic uses red
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Diet Coke uses silver and black
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Coke Zero Sugar features black and red.
These variations allow each product to speak to a different audience and use case while still maintaining visual ties to the parent brand. For more details on a master/sub-brand architecture, please read this article.
Making Your Colors Accessible
We all see color differently, especially on digital screens. To ensure everyone experiences your brand colors in a positive manner, follow these guidelines.
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Ensure enough contrast between text and background
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Avoid red/green combinations that are hard for colorblind users
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Follow WCAG guidelines for compliance. Federal, state, and local governments, as well as their contractors, are required to follow these guidelines.
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Use tools like Contrast Checker to test visibility
Accessible colors enhance the user experience for everyone, not only those with visual impairments. Making your brand communications universal is always a best practice.
Documenting Your Brand Colors
Develop clear brand color guidelines, so your team and partners use colors consistently. Your documentation should include:
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Detailed color codes, including HEX, RGB, CMYK, and Pantone values
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Usage rules, including where and when to use each color (for example, primary color for buttons, secondary colors for accents, and neutral colors for backgrounds)
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Logo examples with color applications
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Color proportion guidelines, such as how much of each to use. Many brands use a 60-30-10 rule for primary, secondary, and accent colors.
You can see an example of color guidelines in the article titled "The Blueprint of Brand Excellence," a resource we created to help brands stay consistent.
Why Brand Colors Deserve Your Attention
Your brand's color choices significantly influence how your business is perceived, remembered, and trusted. A clear color strategy boosts your brand's identity. It connects with your customers and helps them recognize and engage with you on every touchpoint.
If you need help choosing the right colors or documenting your palette for consistent use, the Phase 3 brand team is here to guide you. Contact us today for a personal consultation.