Colours in Branding

Branding & the use of colour

Logos have for a long time been the foremost tool for brand recognition. Every successful business has a very well-known and recognisable logo that accompanies any product, advertising, or correspondence. This is a proven method of brand recognition and has served businesses well over a long period of time.  But now there seems to be a new trend in branding, moving beyond words and pictures, a trend that may be even more powerful than the use of logos alone.

A great tool to aid brand recognition is the use of colour

And for good reason as:

The mind registers colours quicker and at a far greater distance than it can discern words or even pictures.

Emergency services have long utilised this phenomenon. We instantly recognise a red fire truck far before we can read the words Metropolitan Fire Brigade emblazoned on the side. This allows us to realise there could be danger and gives us ample time to move out of the way.

This goes the same for white and blue police cars, white and red ambulances, orange S.E.S vehicles, and even yellow R.A.C.V vans.

This use of colour works equally well on our roads.

Different types of road signs convey different messages. If you’re looking for directions, a turnoff, or a destination you’ll look for a green sign. Road information like winding roads, inclines, road works, or even animal crossings will be presented on a yellow sign. Warnings and stop signs are red. This instant recognition aids drivers and helps concentration because you don’t have to try and read every sign, just the ones that apply to your needs.

These are classic and timely uses of colour recognition and are used for safety and informative reasons to great effect. So much so that business and marketing gurus are now harnessing this technique for much more commercial use.

Cadburys chocolate even trademarked its color purple in 2008. Read the Huffington Post article.

Using colour in this way makes a brand recognisable, and once you build up brand recognition an increase in sales is just around the corner.

• A brightly coloured shop front stands out far more than the name alone. When looking for a store name in a crowded shopping strip a consumer may have trouble finding the shop they are looking for and potentially get frustrated and give up. JB Hifi is the perfect example. You would never miss one of their yellow shop fronts!

• Colour association may have you thinking of a product without actually seeing it. You may see someone in a purple T-shirt and subconsciously it reminds you of chocolate. Next thing you know you’re going to buy a Cadburys chocolate bar.

• You may have a favorite color, therefore prefer to buy a particular product because it happens to be that color. Breast cancer association products are bright pink and various companies release their products in this color to raise funds for the organisation. Many people bought pink bottles of water and pink Tim Tams not only to help this fund but also because they loved the color.

The use of color in brand recognition can be a simple and very powerful advertising tool.

When looking to start a business or even to re-invigorate an existing brand it definitely pays to put some thought into adding some colour. The use of a bold single colour would be much more effective than using multiple colours.

Incorporating a chosen colour into all your branding such as business cards, letterheads, and any business-related advertising will ensure your art business stands out from the crowd.

This could prove to be a very affordable and clever promotional aid to ensure art business brandis more recognised than your competitors.