Color As Branding Element

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orange Color has built in meaning and symbolism and can be a strong element of your brand when used strategically.

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing podcast I visit with Kate Smith Color Expert, Career Color Trend Forecaster, and Editor of Sensational Color, a site featuring a wealth of information on the subject of color.

In this episode we talk about the various meanings of color such as red, green, and blue, and how the physiological impact and messages certain colors contain can play out in your business. Kate also reveals her 5 steps for using color in business.

Another great resource for all things related to color is ColourLovers.

In this podcast:
Why Color has Meaning
Common Color Associations
Five Steps for Color and Your Business
Companies that use Color Well
Color Combination and Your Message

Image credit: quinn.anya

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Posted by: John Jantsch on Jul 13, 10 | 3:03 am
Category: Podcast | Tags: , ColourLovers, Kate Smith, Sensational Color

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Britt King

Interesting topic, John. One thing I couldn't help thinking about during the emotion and symbolism behind the color red was that, for some eastern cultures, the color red is NOT used to emote passion, rage, and love but instead represents something completely different.

A German engineering company I worked with invited their Korean partners to tour their facility and mistakenly printed a welcome sign that included the names of those taking the tour -- in red -- which, I'm told, is only used when the person has died.

Maybe something to consider when choosing a color to represent your business if your target customers are from eastern cultures.
ducttape

Great point - particularly as we all do more globally
Will Franco aka Flwyheel

We have discovered that deep blues increase the conversion of landing pages.
Bob Boucher

Great stuff. Check out fast food restaurants, all of which are intentionally bathed in heavy reds and oranges with the intent of stimulating appetites. BUT, those colors are also hard to look at for long periods, so you tend to eat fast (or just drive thru), making room for new fast-foodies. AND, they use yellow near the exits, because it makes you feel happy. So: Eat a lot, eat fast, leave smiling.
Conversely, prisons and jails use low-intensity colors - light pastel blues, greys, etc. - obviously as de-stimulants.
Amazing stuff. Thx.
Andy @ FirstFound

Brilliant stuff, thanks!

We're always combining grey and orange on our branded material. It seems to work!
ducttape

Funny how popular orange is these days! This podcast created more buzz than I anticipated too.
David Moore

The story of how and why IBM chose blue has been used for decades. So much so I have even heard it referenced as "IBM blue". How awesome would it be to be know in your local community (in a positive way) by a your colors? To have the community describe something saying, "It's the color of XYZ Contracting trucks/logo." Just think of Servpro.
ducttape

I agree David, but even if you're not known for a color I do think you can gain some recognition for color, particularly with consistent use of branding elements that support the color.
Small Business Video

It seems the duct tape gray is working out just fine for you!
ducttape

You know, I can't complain :) - that's another topic but I've borrowed people's affection for a common object and use that as a significant attribute of my brand
ConnorBringas

I was actually just in a meeting discussing this. Its funny but true, especially the color orange. people are drawn to color and will click on a link or image!
ducttape

I think the combination of colors is a pretty cool subject too
Edadamsky

As a color-blind person, I find this all fascinating and yet bigoted. You must recognize that there are people who do not see colors or see them differently and so feel quite differently about your color choices.
ducttape

I think bigoted is a pretty strong word for it, but I appreciate the reminder. At least 4% of my readers speak Chinese but I doubt they find my lack of Chinese translation as an act of bigotry.

My father is color-bIind so I've heard him describe how color impacts him. Much of it for him was determined by the social impact.. I would love to hear more about how color choices impact you.
Lloyd Burrell

This post is more difficult to comprehend than it seems at a first glance. There are dictionaries dealing with the symbolism of colors and its implications in different aspects of our lives. The problem I see here is the huge distance between traditional interpretations of colors and today's views on the subject. However synthetic our perspectives may prove, colors tend to overwrite our intuitions and manifest on their own. I think that our control over this field is limited.

Lloyd Burrell
Publisher
www.officedeskreviews.com
Lynnewhiteside

synthetic perpectives? there is no problem with color, it is what it is and, as you said, they manifest on their own. color may be a small market to some, to others it opens up a whole new world and changes everything.
can you give me the original post. thanks...
Lloyd Burrell

Hi, here's the original post: http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2010/07/13/color-as-branding-element/#comment-62515125
ducttape

I agree completely that color, like art, is interpreted by the individual, but I do think there are ranges of things we can do both good and bad to create impact. Even repetition of a color in branding elements can create familiarity that may be a good thing.
Ben Smith

This was my favorite podcast you have done. My only issue is I wish I heard it ten years ago. I've apparently used red in a whole lot of inappropriate places because, for me, my obsession is legibility and contrast and all my marketing has always spawned from that. Now my company is so connected to red and brown, I couldn't change it if I tried.

There is a certain paradox that when you start out, you have the least experience, the least cash and contacts. But, it is the best time to establish color, font and design styles. It's almost like established business people should somehow share a warning to not blow this off, you will be living with this longer than you think.
ducttape

Thanks Ben - wow, favorite podcast - this is like episode 300 so that's big :) - I agree on the getting started point, but the hope is that a professional can help you with that - I for one think that what you are "stuck" with serves you well, but a professional graphic designer, probably not the $99 logo kind, equipped with your marketing strategy, can work wonders.
David Moore

Awesome comment. I haven't listened to the podcast yet but because of this comment, I will make it a priority. Thank you Ben Smith.
Underground Elephant

This is definitely the most interesting thing I've read today. Color is definitely has to do with marketing strategies.
ducttape

Thanks - funny how many other felt the same, who knew?
Andres Heuberger

Very interesting!

If you use color on your website (and who doesn't?), then you need to be aware of how your audience views those colors. The cultural basis for color symbolism can be very powerful - both in a good and bad way.

And to make this just a bit more complex, marketers need to keep in mind what different colors mean around the world. We recently wrote about this on our medical translation blog.
Jason Sullivan

Color certainly has an impact in a user's perception; certain colors will elicit different feeling than others. It's interesting that this is well known knowledge, but virtually ignored in the branding process by almost all companies
JayTurn

I think it is great that you have spoken with Kate Smith about the importance of color in branding. From a non-design perspective, color can seem pretty unimportant but as Kate outlined, there are many associations that we subconsciously make. By the way, I didn't pick red, white and green as Italy either!

Blue is by far the most common color chosen when doing designs for clients. Beyond naturally being calming and trustworthy, it can naturally tone down the other colors. Orange, red and green can be colors that slap you in the face, so when they are combined with blues and in some instances grays (though less common) they get the message across without being so harsh.

Great podcast John, really enjoyed hearing from Kate.

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