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The human eye sees 10 million colours.

No wonder choosing one to represent your brand is tough.

It’s an important decision…

Colours convey emotions faster than shapes, words, or numbers can.

Today, I have 3 considerations for choosing your best brand colour.

I'm only going to focus on choosing ONE colour — your main brand colour.

Other colours may come and go as needed… but it's best to start with one for simplicity.

This is the colour you will OWN...

The one you will use consistently across the board — in your headshot, banners, emojis, websites, videos, products, and everything else.

Okay, Tanqueray… let’s see what these points say:

1. Colour Psychology

Red is passion, white is purity, and yellow is happiness, right?

Well, kind of…

There are cultural and contextual differences in how we perceive colour.

But there’s still a lot of truth to the psychology of colour.

Consider these multi-million dollar brands:

• Fast food restaurants use red and yellow to pique our appetites and bring out the happy feels.

• Health and environmental brands use greens and earth tones.(McDonald's added green to their packaging when they hopped on the health train.)

• Banks and tech companies tend to use blue, as it symbolizes trust, security, loyalty, and logic.

• Fun brands aimed at kids like Nickelodeon and Sunny D use bright orange.

This chart may help as a starting point in making your decision:

Now, onto the next…

2. Your Best Colour

This could be your favourite colour or the one that looks best on you.

It's often a great reflection of your personality.

…and it can be a strong representation of your brand.

Think about:

• What’s your go-to colour?

• Which colour do you wear the most?

• Which colour is found the most in your home?

One handy trick is to get some fabrics or go to a paint store… then stare at a few colours one by one to see how they make you feel.

See what kinds of emotions or imagery arise in your mind.

See which colour reflects you the best.

This will help you tap into your emotions, rather than trying to use logic.

Last but not least…

3. Make Sure it Suits Your Brand

Make sure your colour:

• Is appropriate for your audience.

• Aligns with your values, voice, and personality.

• Is versatile enough to use across all of your branding materials.

If you're not sure about your brand values, read my post on how to discover them.

(Your values help guide every decision about your brand.)

At this point, you may be asking how I settled on my colour…

How Did I Choose My Colour?

I use a yellow-orange gradient on a dark background.

Orange is my favourite colour, and I've always loved dark themes in design.

But I didn’t want to look like Halloween (orange on black), which is why I added the yellow and created a nice sunset gradient.

Also, I use a solid orange on white backgrounds (see my headings) because yellow on white doesn’t have enough contrast.

According to colour psychology, yellow and orange also align nicely with my values — which include creativity, curiosity, friendliness, and fun.

Need help choosing your colour?

👉 Try this simple 7-question quiz to find a colour based on your brand.

And you can always drop me a note by hitting that nifty reply button up there.

🤖 Robert

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🐦️ Catch me on Twitter @RobertHacala for branding tips and bad puns.