Brand colors are one of the most powerful tools for marketing your brand. Whether you’re starting a new brand or refining an established one, knowing how to use your brand colors effectively can help create a strong, cohesive identity that resonates with your audience and sets you apart from the competition.
Research shows that colors used consistently across all of your brand communication increases recognition by 80%. But, how you use those colors matters. Balanced use of color will enhance your audience interaction. An unbalanced color combination will make your audience scroll on by.
UNDERSTAND YOUR COLOR PALETTE
Whether you have worked with a designer or developed your color palette through Canva, understanding which colors to use when is essential to creating impact.
Within your color palette you need to determine what colors will play what role. There are three positions within your palette.
PRIMARY COLOR(S)
Your primary brand color(s) is the main color you use in your palette. Your brand may have one primary color. Think of brands like Starbucks, Target, Coke. Other brands have 2 to 3 primary colors like Pepsi, McDonald’s, Dunkin’ and FedEx.
Your primary color(s) is the color that will get the most visual spaces in your communication pieces, product designs, and your logo.
SECONDARY COLOR(S)
Your secondary color(s) complement your primary color. They help to balance the color palette and add variety.
Brand choose between 1 and 4 secondary colors. When choosing secondary colors aim for balance. Too many colors create a cluttered and confusing experience for your audience.
The secondary colors are generally positioned as highlights, backgrounds, call to action buttons, and within other elements that you want to draw attention to within your communication.
ACCENT COLORS
Accent colors are used sparingly within your brand palette. These are often the brightest or most vibrant colors. They are good for grabbing the viewers attention and drawing their eye towards important information.
USING THE 60-30-10 RULE
The 60-30-10 rule is a color ratio that helps you design your communications for maximum impact.
Using your colors in this ratio mean that you use your primary color 60% of the time, the secondary color(s) 30% of the time, and the accent color(s) only 10% of the time.
The 60-30-10 rule helps create color hierarchy within your communications. It balances your visual order guiding the viewer’s eye through your communication piece. It is like building a roadmap through your message so that the viewer moves from most important to the desired end point.
To create this hierarchy, use your primary colors for the most important elements like your logo, headline text, or key buttons. Secondary colors are used for less important content like body text, supporting graphics, and background sections. While, accent colors are used sparingly to draw attention to specific calls to action or small bits of important information.
Use Your Brand Colors Across All Touch Points
Using your colors consistently across all of your brand’s touch points is the key maximizing your brand’s impact.
Using your colors well across all of your communications takes practice. Here are a few tips to using your color palette
WEBSITE & DIGITAL PRESENCE
- Headers & Navigation: Use your primary colors for the most important elements like the header, navigation bar, and buttons. This helps establish brand identity from the moment visitors land on your site.
- Call to Action (CTA) Buttons: Utilize accent colors for your CTA buttons so they stand out and encourage users to take action.
- Backgrounds & Text: Backgrounds should be chosen from your primary or secondary colors. It is important to remember that the text that sits on top of the background should be easily read. Choose a text color that had contrast from the background, but does not irritate the eye. Dark text on light backgrounds are most readable.
The above shows how to pair your colors in both print and digital formats. Creating a color pairing chart will help you to see how your colors interact with each other and create hierarchy to draw the viewers eye to important information.
SOCIAL MEDIA
- Profile & Cover Photos: Your logo and cover images should reflect your brand’s color palette, ensuring that your visual identity is strong across all platforms.
- Post Design: Incorporate your brand colors into your communication design, whether it’s for Instagram posts, Twitter banners, or Facebook ads. Consistency in these areas will create instant brand recognition.
- Story Highlights & Highlights Covers: Use your colors for story highlights on Instagram or other social platforms, making your profile appear organized and polished.
PRINT MATERIALS
- Business Cards: Ensure that your business cards reflect your brand colors, including the logo, text, and background. A well-designed card can leave a lasting impression on potential clients or partners.
- Brochures, Flyers, & Posters: When designing print collateral, be mindful of your color balance. The use of brand colors will ensure that printed materials match your digital presence, giving a unified experience to your customers.
PACKAGING
- Product Packaging: Packaging is an excellent opportunity to showcase your brand colors. Whether it’s a subtle use of color on labels or bold hues on boxes, it’s a great way to reinforce brand recognition.
- Shipping Materials: Don’t overlook the unboxing experience! Even your shipping materials, such as boxes, tape, and tissue paper, can reflect your brand’s color palette, making the experience feel cohesive from start to finish.
Leverage Color Contrast for Accessibility
Accessibility is an important aspect of brand design, and ensuring that your color choices are accessible to all users—especially those with visual impairments—is critical.
- Contrast: Make sure there’s enough contrast between text and background colors to maintain readability. Use online tools like the WebAIM Contrast Checker to ensure compliance with accessibility standards.
- Avoid Color-Only Communication: For example, don’t rely solely on color to convey information (like red vs. green for errors vs. success). Include text labels or symbols to make your message clear to all.
Test and Adjust as Needed
Even with a solid brand color strategy, it’s important to periodically evaluate how your colors are performing in real-world applications. As your brand evolves you will want to test and evaluate, seek out customers input, and adjust when necessary.
Using your brand colors consistently is the key. Well designed, consistent use of your brand colors will build brand recognition, customer trust, and ultimately a greater ROI.
For more brand resources to help you market and grow your business with ease visit our Resource Page.
Work with JTD
Do you want to create a professional and consistent identity aligned with your brand’s mission, vision, purpose, and values. JTD offers expert guidance and support. We collaborate with you to develop a visual identity system that resonates with your target audience, strengthens your brand presence and helps you market and grow your business with ease.
