Color Psychology in Branding: Choosing Your Brand Colors

Color Psychology in Branding: Choosing Your

Brand Colors

Effective brand colors can instantly convey your values and personality. Think of Coca-Cola’s energizing red or Starbucks’ calming green – these hues aren’t accidental. Studies show that color influences up to 62–90% of people’s snap judgments about products 1. In fact, a 2025 Adobe survey found 16% of consumers notice a brand’s color scheme first, and half of buyers have chosen one brand over another purely because of its colors 2. This means your color choices can sway first impressions and even purchase decisions.

Figure: In a 2025 Adobe study, 16% of people said color scheme is the first thing they notice about a brand, and over half have chosen one brand over another because of its colors 2.

According to Adobe, blue is the most trusted brand color (54% of consumers associate it with trust 2) and even triggers impulse buying in 31% of cases 3. Red tends to excite and boost energy – it’s prevalent in fast-food and sale branding – while green suggests growth, health and eco-friendliness 4 5. Yellow and orange can convey happiness and creativity, but overuse may cause anxiety in some viewers 6 7. Black and gold exude luxury and sophistication, whereas white or light gray signal simplicity and purity 8 9.

These color-meaning associations are cultural and not universal, so always test assumptions with your target audience.

Below, some popular trends emerge from major brands. For example, research shows blue dominates finance and tech brands – over 75% of credit card logos use blue 10, and it’s far and away the top color in Fortune 500 logos 11. Fast-food chains often use red and yellow to stimulate appetite. The image below from Canva’s Logo Color Wheel illustrates how big brands cluster by color (e.g. fast-food in red, tech in blue, nature brands in green).

Figure: Brand logos arranged by dominant color (blue for many banks/tech, red for food & retail, green for nature/health brands) 11.

Choosing Your Brand Colors: A Step-by-Step Guide

1. Define Your Brand Personality. Clarify your mission, values and audience. Is your brand energetic or calm? Luxurious or friendly? This helps narrow color families. For instance, a wellness brand might lean toward soft greens and blues for tranquility 5, while an action-sports brand might choose bold reds or oranges for excitement.

2. Know Your Industry Norms (and Stand Out). Research competitors’ palettes. If everyone in your sector uses blue, you could distinguish yourself with a contrasting color (as Cadbury did with its iconic purple dairy-free chocolate branding) 8. But don’t feel constrained: as Adobe notes, branding trends are evolving. For 2025, 36% of consumers expect “futuristic” AI-driven tones and earthy palettes to dominate 12, so innovative or nature-inspired schemes may catch on.

3. Create Color Combinations. Use tools like Adobe Color or Coolors to generate harmonious palettes. Pick a primary brand color (e.g. Coca-Cola’s red, Tiffany’s teal) and one or two complementary accents. Always define exact color codes (hex/RGB/CMYK) in a style guide to ensure consistency. For example, HubSpot’s branding clearly specifies logo colors and approved background variants in its guidelines 13.

4. Consider Accessibility and Culture. Ensure sufficient contrast for readability (especially online) and avoid color combinations that are indistinguishable to color-blind viewers. Also check that colors have positive connotations in all target markets (e.g. white signifies purity in the West but can symbolize mourning in some Asian cultures).

5. Test with Real People. Finally, gather feedback. Show your palette alongside your logo to employees or customers and ask for reactions. Even quick A/B tests (changing button colors on your site) can reveal preferences. According to Adobe, nearly half of consumers say color is very important in their purchase decision 2, so their input is crucial.

Color Psychology in Action

• Blue – Trust & Reliability. Used by IBM, Dell, and Visa, blue suggests stability 14 8. It can also create a calming effect.

• Red – Energy & Urgency. Seen in Coca-Cola and Netflix, red grabs attention and can trigger appetite 4.

• Green – Nature & Growth. Starbucks and Whole Foods use green to imply health and ecofriendliness 5.

• Yellow/Orange – Optimism & Fun. McDonald’s (yellow arches) and Fanta (orange) use warm hues to feel cheerful, though too much can strain the eyes 6 7.

• Black/Gold – Sophistication. Luxury brands often pair black and gold (e.g. Chanel) for elegance 9.

• Purple – Creativity & Luxury. Brands like Cadbury or Hallmark use purple to stand out as imaginative or premium 7.

By choosing colors that reflect your brand’s character and by using them consistently, you build recognition and trust. Studies show consistent branding can increase revenue by up to 33% 15, underscoring that your color scheme should appear uniformly across logo, website, packaging, and social media.

Ready to pick your palette? Download our free Brand Color Palette Toolkit (internal link) or check out our Color Psychology Guide for more tips on choosing the perfect hues.

Why Typography Matters: Fonts and Brand

Perception

Typography is more than decoration — it talks. The fonts you choose send a powerful message about your brand’s personality before any word is read. Designers know that serif typefaces (with little “feet” on letters) tend to project tradition and authority, while sans-serifs feel modern and approachable 9 16. In fact, research finds that the look of your type can significantly influence trust and emotion: for example, elegant script fonts (like the one Chanel uses) can convey luxury and sophistication 17, whereas bold, sans-serif fonts (as used by Google or Nike) suggest confidence and innovation 18 16.

Figure: The brain graphic above symbolizes how our minds process typography. Studies show serif fonts (like Times New Roman) often signal trust and heritage, while sans-serif fonts (like Helvetica) feel modern and clear 9 16.

The Psychology of Font Styles

• Serif Fonts: Traditional and trustworthy. Often used by newspapers (New York Times) or law firms, they carry a sense of history and respectability 9. Coca-Cola’s iconic logo uses a customized script (serif-influenced) to evoke nostalgia 19.

• Sans-Serif Fonts: Clean, modern, and versatile. Tech companies (Google, Apple) favor sans-serif to appear straightforward and user-friendly 18 16. A study found that using clear, sans-serif text can even help websites score higher on trustworthiness 18.

• Script Fonts: These mimic handwriting and can add elegance or whimsy. Brands like Tiffany & Co. use a classic script to feel luxurious. Scripts can look refined (Coca-Cola, Cadillac) or playful (Disney) depending on execution 17 20.

• Decorative/Display Fonts: Unique and eye-catching. Often used for logos or headings only, not body text. For example, the ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s uses a chunky, friendly typeface to match its fun identity 21.

• Font Weight & Hierarchy: Light-weight fonts feel delicate or high-end, while bold weights demand attention. Use heavy fonts for headlines and lighter fonts for body copy 22. For instance, a bold headline can convey strength, and a thin body font can suggest elegance 22.

Consistency & Legibility Legibility is crucial. A beautiful display font is worthless if nobody can read it. Nielsen’s usability research (2009) famously reported that “too-small font size” is the #1 complaint of web users. Always choose fonts that are clear at various sizes and devices. Test contrast to ensure readability for color-blind audiences as well.

Once chosen, use only a few typefaces to keep your brand cohesive. For example, HubSpot’s guidelines pair one font for headings and another for body text 23. Defining these rules in your style guide prevents mismatched fonts (a key brand mistake 24). Coca-Cola, for instance, consistently uses its classic serif logo type, reinforcing recognition through uniformity 19.

Practical Tips for Font Selection

• Match Font to Message: If your brand is cutting-edge tech, lean towards a sleek sans-serif. A financial firm might pick a sturdy serif to look stable. The font should feel like your brand promise.

• Check Multilingual Support: If you’ll operate globally, ensure your fonts support necessary character sets (e.g. accent marks, Cyrillic, Chinese characters).

• Web and Print: Use web-safe or web-optimized fonts on your site, and specify similar print fonts (or system fonts) in your brand guide.

• Test in Context: Print out your logo and signage, view on multiple devices, or show mock-ups to others. Does the typography read well and reflect your brand mood?

By carefully choosing and applying fonts, you shape how customers perceive your brand’s voice and quality.

Strong typography can make your brand identity feel polished and trustworthy. Pro tip: Keep font files organized in your design toolkit and enforce the use of approved fonts to maintain brand consistency across all materials.

Looking for guidance? Download our Font Pairing Cheat Sheet (internal link) and see how great brands pick fonts that fit their personality.

How to Create a Consistent Brand Style Guide

Without clear guidelines, a brand can quickly become disjointed. Imagine one designer using neon colors and another using pastels – consistency is lost. Studies show consistent branding can boost revenue by up to 33% 15 and that consumers trust familiar brand imagery. In fact, a Canva study notes that 88% of shoppers say authenticity (driven by consistency) is important in choosing brands 25. A brand style guide (sometimes called a brand book) is the tool that locks down consistency. It compiles your logo rules, color palette, typography, imagery style, and voice tone into one reference.

Why Your Brand Needs a Style Guide

• Builds Trust: Consistent visuals and messaging make your company appear professional and reliable 25 15. Every time a customer sees your logo and colors used predictably, it reinforces your identity.

• Aligns Your Team: A guide prevents the “design by committee” problem. As Canva warns, without guidelines “creative teams are lost… brand consistency is lost… credibility is limited” 26. With a style guide, everyone from marketers to freelancers can produce on-brand content.

• Speeds Up Creation: Rather than reinventing from scratch, your team follows a documented formula. This streamlines creating new ads, packaging, or social posts, saving time and money.

• Protects Your Equity: A guide ensures your brand looks right in all contexts. The HubSpot style guide, for example, shows exactly how to use their logo and its color variations so it’s always instantly recognizable 13.

Key Elements to Include

Your style guide should cover the full visual identity and voice guidelines of your brand. Typical elements

are:

• Logo Guidelines: Show the official logo, its clearspace rules, and allowed variations (color vs. blackand-white). For example, HubSpot’s guide includes how their logo looks on different backgrounds 13. Include “dos and don’ts” (e.g. never stretch or recolor the logo).

• Color Palette: Define your primary and secondary brand colors with exact codes (hex/RGB/CMYK).

List any tertiary or accent colors and their uses. Atlassian’s guidelines detail each color swatch and how to apply it 27.

• Typography: Specify your brand fonts for headings and body text, including sizes and weights.

Atlassian’s brand guide even explains where to use each typeface 23. Limit to two or three fonts to keep a unified look.

• Imagery Style: Provide examples of the kinds of photos or illustrations that fit your brand. Indicate any filters or treatments. (E.g. edgy brands might use high-contrast photos; friendly brands use warm lighting.) • Iconography: If you use custom icons or graphics, include them or show guidelines for new icons (shapes, line thickness).

• Brand Voice: Describe your tone – is it formal or casual, witty or sincere? Include sample copy. For instance, Monzo Bank famously published its voice and tone guide online to ensure consistent, distinctive messaging 28.

• Additional Identity: Add taglines, brand story snippets, mission statement, and values so the ethos is clear. Also, if you have any mascots or jingles, define how they should be used.

Putting It All Together

A style guide can be a simple PDF or a detailed online brand portal. The key is clarity. Start your guide with a concise overview of your brand (mission, audience, personality), then dedicate sections to each element above. Use visuals liberally – mockup examples of correct vs. incorrect usage are very helpful. For example, HubSpot’s guide shows their logo on orange and black backgrounds, and marks the off-limit uses 13.

Once created, share it widely: make sure every employee, agency partner, and vendor has access. Enforce it by reviewing brand materials against the guide. Update the guide whenever you expand your brand (new sub-brand, campaign style, etc.).

Internal Link/Cross-Promo: Check out our Logo Design & Branding Toolkit to get templates for logos, color schemes, and more that align with your new style guide.

Rebranding Done Right: When and How to

Rebrand Your Business

Rebranding – giving your business a new name, look, or identity – is a major step. Done well, it can rejuvenate a company; done poorly, it can confuse customers and waste millions. A successful rebrand signals a fresh start, can attract new audiences, and even increase customer loyalty 29. But when should you pull the trigger, and how should you tackle it?

Signs It’s Time to Rebrand

Companies rebrand for many reasons 30:

• Outgrown Your Image: If your offerings, values or market have evolved, but your brand feels stuck in the past, it’s time for a refresh 31 32. For example, Dunkin’ Donuts became just Dunkin’ to reflect expanded menu beyond donuts 32.

• New Leadership or Vision: A change in ownership or mission often brings a new brand approach.

• Market Expansion: Entering a new region or audience may require a name or style that resonates locally.

• Standing Out: If customers regularly confuse you with competitors, rebranding can highlight what makes you unique.

• Reputation Management: A rebrand can distance a business from past controversies or to elevate its perceived value (e.g. making a higher price seem justified).

• Attracting Talent: To appeal to new employees, your brand should reflect a modern culture; an outdated brand can deter top hires.

• Outdated Look: Sometimes design trends change. An old-fashioned logo or color palette can make your innovative company appear tired. The old Nokia logo vs. today’s simple “Nokia” text is a classic modernization.

What a Rebrand Can Involve

A partial rebrand tweaks some elements while keeping core identity. This might include: - Updating the logo or color palette - Refashioning the tagline or slogans - Changing fonts or imagery style - Refreshing your website design These small changes can modernize the look without confusing loyal customers 33.

A complete rebrand is more drastic: new name, logo, domain, messaging, and possibly target market. It signals a new direction. Examples: - Old Spice: Once seen as “your grandfather’s cologne,” Old Spice relaunched with irreverent ads and a new package design. Its sales quadrupled after the rebrand 34. Airbnb: Originally “AirBed & Breakfast,” the company shortened its name to Airbnb with a fresh logo as it expanded globally (without citing). - Dunkin’: As mentioned, Dunkin’ dropped “Donuts” to widen its image. Slack: The internal tool “Tiny Speck” relaunched as Slack, with a catchy name and identity. - Nike: Though Nike started as “Blue Ribbon Sports,” a simpler new name and logo helped it expand.

Lessons from Rebranding Mistakes

However, rebranding carries risks. A cautionary tale is Tropicana’s 2009 packaging redesign: the company replaced its classic orange-with-straw imagery with a generic design. Loyal customers didn’t recognize it – sales immediately dropped 20% 35. The backlash forced Tropicana to revert to its old design, costing the company over $30 million 35. The lesson: don’t abandon core elements that customers love without a compelling reason.

Other fails (not cited here) like Gap’s 2010 logo flop (reverted in a week) underscore the need for audience testing and gradual changes.

How to Rebrand Successfully

1. Do Your Homework: Survey employees, customers and market trends. What do people love (or hate) about your current brand? Identify your unique promise and how you need to reposition.

2. Define the New Brand Strategy: Write a clear vision and positioning. Will you target a new audience or move upscale? Your rebrand must align with business goals.

3. Create the Elements: Develop a new name (if needed), logo, and style guide that reflect the strategy. Involve key stakeholders to catch missteps early. For example, the design agency for Tropicana learned too late that the new logo lost the visual cue of an orange.

4. Test Before Launch: Get feedback on the new identity from loyal customers and focus groups.

Ensure it resonates and doesn’t inadvertently alienate your base. Even big companies do softrollouts or pilot campaigns.

5. Plan the Rollout: Coordinate across marketing, PR and sales. Communicate the change in stages:

internally to staff first (so everyone can explain it to customers), then a public launch. Use teasers or stories about why you’re changing to build intrigue.

6. Integrate Across Touchpoints: Update everything – signage, packaging, website, social media – simultaneously if possible, to avoid mixed messages. Internal documents and templates need updates too.

7. Monitor and Adapt: After launch, track sales and brand sentiment. Celebrate what worked and be ready to tweak if needed.

A well-timed rebrand can inject new energy into your company. If your strategy is solid and you carry over the best of your old brand (often just the essence), you can grow without losing your loyal customers. And remember, consistency even in a rebrand is key: evolve your visuals in a way that still feels like you, rather than a sudden unknown entity 36. (CTA suggestion: e.g., “Ready for a refresh? Check out our Rebrand Strategy Toolkit to plan your transition smoothly.”) 10 Common Branding Mistakes and How to Avoid

Them

Building a strong brand is hard. Sloppy mistakes can undermine all your hard work. Here are ten pitfalls to avoid – and how to fix them – illustrated with real-world examples.

1. Using a Logo That Doesn’t Fit Your Brand. If your logo’s style, color, or feel clashes with your business, customers get confused. For instance, a flashy neon logo for a law firm would seem offbrand 37. Common logo errors include odd color choices or unreadable icons 37. Fix: Keep your logo simple and relevant. Test it across platforms and with audience feedback 37.

2. Brand Identity That Doesn’t Match Your Company. If your design says luxury but you sell budget goods (or vice versa), customers won’t know what to expect. Many startups use cheap-looking visuals even when aiming high, which undermines trust 38. Fix: Base your visuals on your core values and offerings, not just trends 38.

3. Outdated or Irrelevant Visuals. A brand that once felt fresh can grow stale. If your logo or style hasn’t been updated in 10 years, it might look dated. For example, markets evolve rapidly, and a design from the 2000s may not resonate today 39. Fix: Periodically review your branding. Small tweaks (color or font refreshes) can modernize your look without a full overhaul.

4. Inconsistent Branding. This is one of the biggest sins. As Looka notes, inconsistency (mixing colors, fonts, or logos) “might make customers look elsewhere,” eroding trust 38. If your social media, website, and print ads all look different, people won’t connect them to one brand. Fix: Create and enforce brand guidelines. Use the exact same logo, colors, and typefaces everywhere 38.

5. Poor User Experience (UX). Branding isn’t just visuals – it includes every customer interaction. A confusing website, slow loading, or bad app can destroy a brand’s promise of quality. Imagine a high-end boutique with a buggy online store: the discordance hurts credibility. Fix: Prioritize simplicity and usability. Conduct user tests to remove friction 40 (no one likes headache-inducing color schemes or relentless pop-ups).

6. Lack of a Clear Brand Strategy. Without a defined strategy (target audience, values, positioning), branding becomes aimless. Many businesses rebrand repeatedly because their old branding “failed” – often simply due to no clear plan 41. Fix: Before doing anything fancy, write a basic brand strategy: your mission, who you serve, what makes you unique, and your business goals 41.

7. Weak or Missing Brand Voice. How you say things is as important as how you look. A generic, impersonal tone will make content forgettable. Brands that stand out (like Monzo bank with its quirky voice) have carefully crafted styles of writing. Fix: Define your tone (friendly, professional, cheeky, etc.) and give examples in your brand guide. Make sure everyone’s on the same page so communications feel unified.

8. Abrupt or Confusing Rebranding. Radically changing your brand overnight can alienate loyal customers. For example, in 2009 Tropicana removed its signature orange image, and “the backlash was so intense” that they reverted the change within weeks 35. Fix: If you rebrand, do it thoughtfully. Listen to customer feedback and consider incremental changes (e.g. logo evolution) that respect your heritage 35. Communicate clearly about why you’re changing to bring your audience along.

9. Failing to Evolve Over Time. Some companies treat branding as “set and forget.” But a static brand can become irrelevant. Customers’ tastes and markets shift, so your brand should too. Even small updates can show you’re alive and adapting. Fix: Schedule periodic brand health checks (at least every 3–5 years). Make minor updates to visuals or messaging to stay current, rather than letting your brand feel stuck in the past 42.

10. Neglecting the Customer Experience Behind the Brand. A brand is more than a logo – it’s how the customer feels throughout their journey. Great brands back up their promises with great experiences. A negative support call or shoddy product can undo elegant branding overnight. (Evernote’s falling ratings – around 1.3 stars on Trustpilot – show how a bloated app and poor service can tarnish an otherwise well-known brand 43.) Fix: Always align your operations with your brand promise. Listen to customer feedback and fix pain points so the lived experience matches the brand image.

By avoiding these mistakes and focusing on consistency and customer-centric decisions, you’ll build a brand that resonates and endures. For a handy checklist of branding best practices, download our Branding Guidelines Template (internal link) to keep your team on track.

Top 10 DIY Branding Tools and Resources for

Entrepreneurs

Building your brand doesn’t always require big agency budgets. Today there are many affordable (even free) tools to create logos, color schemes, and assets. Here are ten must-have branding resources to try:

1. HubSpot Brand Kit Generator: This free AI-driven tool creates a full brand kit in seconds 44. Enter your company name and industry, and it generates a custom logo suite, strategic color palette, and font pairings. HubSpot’s kit includes web-friendly logos (JPG, PNG, SVG) and even resized social media icons 44. It’s a great way to jumpstart your visual identity without design skills.

2. Canva: A popular design platform (220+ million users 45) with easy drag-and-drop templates for logos, social graphics, and more. Canva’s Brand Kit feature lets you save your logo, colors and fonts to ensure consistency. It also offers free icons and stock photos to make your designs look professional. (Canva for Teams even helped Zoom save 230+ hours of design time with its templates 46.) 3. Looka (Logo Maker & Brand Kit): Enter your business name and preferences on Looka, and it uses AI to generate logo options and a brand kit (business card, social posts, etc.). It’s user-friendly and you can tweak logos easily. Looka’s blog also gives branding tips (as cited above).

4. Google Fonts: Free and extensive library of web-friendly fonts. It’s crucial to pick fonts that are Google-optimized for faster website loading. Use Google Fonts for consistent typography online, and even get pairing suggestions. (For font pairing help, check our guide.) 5. Coolors: A quick color scheme generator. Lock in one color (perhaps your brand’s main hue) and Coolors will suggest harmonious palettes. You can fine-tune or extract palettes from images. It also displays contrast scores to ensure accessibility.

6. Placeit by Envato: An online mockup generator. Upload your logo or design, and Placeit puts it on realistic product shots (t-shirts, mugs, billboards, etc.). This helps you visualize and present your branding in context.

7. Unsplash / Pexels / Pixabay: Free high-quality photo libraries. Use these for compelling imagery that matches your brand vibe. (Just be sure to modify them enough to fit your palette.) Visual content is crucial for branding, and these sites have many beautiful options.

8. Shopify Business Name Generator / Namelix: Great for brainstorming brand names. Enter a keyword and these tools suggest catchy name ideas. Even if you don’t have an ecommerce store, Shopify’s name generator is handy for finding available.com domains as well.