Selecting The Right Color Palette For Your Startup Brand

Your startup brand won’t live by what you say it believes in, it will live by how effectively you deliver your message. One of the most important steps of crafting your brand identity is determining your company’s color palette.

It’s not just a matter of basic branding - your startup is unique and your brand's color palette should be too. For insight into how to choose it wisely, read on. 

Connect with your audience

As a startup, you want to cultivate a strong emotional connection with your customers. How consumers feel about a brand has more significance than what they think about it.

Colour has the immense ability to impact your presence and the relationship you create with your audience - even more than the services or products you offer. Color theory is one of the most fundamental aspects of design - It has proven effects on consumers’ perception and its thoughtful use can help position your brand for success. 

Figure out who your brand is

The first step of choosing your brand color palette is deciding on your brand personality, target audience and message - what do you want to communicate, to who and how? Identifying these significant aspects of your startup can be overwhelming, but it’s necessary for creating a profitable strategy. Once you’ve established the groundwork - the more creative part can begin! 

Different colors evoke different emotions, so learning their psychological associations is crucial. For example, orange is correlated to vitality and playfulness, but is also proven to make people hungry, hence why it is often used by fast food chains. Green reminds us of a connection to nature, which is why you will see it in every eco-friendly campaign. Blue evokes feelings of security and stability, making it a staple for every trustworthy corporation. This even extends to shades of individual colors, their dark and light variations having different effects on people.

Establish a cohesive guideline

Choosing the right palette to reflect your business is the fastest way to engage your audience and communicate your message. Besides the emotional connection it creates, having a cohesive color scheme strengthens brand awareness.

Given enough exposure and used consistently and strategically, colors become a part of the brand’s image on a deeper level. Their effect strongly depends on their combination and the way they are used in, which is why having an established guideline is key. 

To start off, plan on choosing three colors - base, accent and neutral. Don’t forget to think about what type of palette would work best - monochromatic, analogous, complementary or triad. Be sure to use all the tools at your disposal, like color wheels and online palette generators, too easily test out different ideas. 

Check out your competition

Lastly, don’t shy away from analyzing your competitors! We can’t ignore the realities our oversaturated market creates, but once you figure out what common ground you share, look for ways you can differentiate yourself.

This is a sure-fire way to increase brand recognition and to create a preference for your startup. What makes you stand out (and the right colors to reflect it) is your secret ingredient to success. 

When working with us, your brand’s palette will always be a perfect match.

Get in touch and let’s tell your story.