Colour Meanings in Logo Design & Branding

Colour combinations of what you want for your logo design & business brand image.

Its very important to look at the colours that you would like to use in your logo while considering your business branding. Colours have certain meanings and symbolism that trigger emotional responses and simply seeing a specific color can evoke emotions and feelings in the mind of the viewer.

As a Graphic designer choosing a colour scheme is often very deliberate. Just looking at the most popular logos you can think of, and imagine what if they had been created using different colors. Would the McDonald’s “golden arches” be as effective if they were a shade of blue? Would your favorite eco-friendly company seem as eco-friendly if its logo wasn’t using green?

The wrong colour in the design of a logo can send your audience mixed messages. Instead of just guessing and picking colours that simply just look pretty to you, always choose colours with meaning relevant to your product or service.

Some of the main colours and their meanings are listed below to give a good idea of what you want your logo and overall branding of your business to look and feel like:

Red

Love, passion, sexuality
Heat, fire, energy
Action, danger, violence

Often used in giving a sense of power, passion, and also in fast food industry, – generally makes people feel hungry!

Orange

Happiness, fun, friendship, youth
Heat, fire, energy
Autumn
Good for a sense of warmth, energy and happiness, great for advertising targeted towards children

Yellow

Sunshine, cleanliness, comfort
Happiness, youth, optimism
Caution, alertness
A good colour for grabbing attention in signage, and also used across a variety of hygiene related products and services

Green

Nature, cleanliness, refreshment, renewal
Affirmation, comfort, security
Money, health
An Obvious favourite in natural products and services, health and organic

Blue

Nature, cleanliness, refreshment, coldness, water, sterility
Serenity, security, authority, stability
A wide variety of uses from hygiene products to professional tech companies as well as nature

Purple

Royalty, nobility, elegance, decadence, wealth
Creativity, magic, fun, flamboyance
Femininity
Often used in royalty, representing wealth and high class products and services

Pink

Femininity, love, sexuality, LGBT culture
Fun, youth, flamboyance
often used in design of feminine hygiene products and styling, a very feminine related colour

Brown

Nature, autumn
Practicality, dependability, simplicity
Decadence, comfort, elegance, sensuality
Used in the designs of earthy products and services organics, chocolate, coffee etc

Black

Darkness, mystery, alternative culture
Elegance, formality, luxury, power
Simplicity, authority, stability
Used a lot in corporate, luxurious branding with a strong sense of power