Choosing a brand color can go in many directions. You can play it safe, or blow it out of the water. Ultimately, though, a business is about promoting and selling goods and services to customers. A brand is about the marketplace. Visuals that resonate with the target audience will speak louder than words.
What to Consider When Choosing Brand Colors
A lot of companies align their brand colors with the industry standard (for example, “Healthcare Blue” is widely used by hospitals and medical practices). Some brands follow color trends, while others might mimic the colors of organizations they aspire to or hope to compete with.
If your company has decided to invest in branding or re-branding you have two primary options: you can fall in line with industry colors for quick consumer recognition – or choose to color outside the lines and set yourself apart.
One of our clients, Genesis Health Care, wanted to color brand themselves within the family of Healthcare Blue, but at the same time stand out. When they came to us for re-branding, turquoise was their predominant brand color.
Genesis Health Care Logo: Before
Genesis Health Care Logo: After
Because part of their value proposition is that they are “rooted in the community” we carried out that concept with color. We tweaked the blue-green to make it more sophisticated and added brown as a secondary color to play with the roots theme, utilizing the colors in a brand icon of a tree growing and spreading its branches. The blue-green allowed Genesis to subtly align with the health industry while still announcing their uniqueness.
Like a Rainbow
Another healthcare client, Potomac Physician Associates, went in a completely different direction. With 15 doctors of diverse backgrounds, brand color preferences varied considerably. Marstudio executed 36 iterations of the logo, trying to hit the mark and please everyone – not always (or even ever) possible. So we got creative in a different way.
We took them through a color exercise that eliminated personal preference and instead emphasized marketplace psychology. Together, they landed on a rainbow of color as the best choice for their business.
In addition to acknowledging the wealth of diversity among the group of practitioners, a rainbow also supports their value proposition as “purveyors of vitality.” Helping people be healthy and maintaining a healthy business practice are now both reflected in the vibrant colors of their brand.
Colors Can Speak Louder than Words
Color play is fun, and nailing brand colors is satisfying intellectually and creatively. The final choice of color ideally reflects two viewpoints: how an organization sees itself and how potential customers will view them. In the end, though, a brand strategists’ job is to help clients stay focused on the customer.
Get in touch with Marstudio to find out how we can help you use color to achieve the best branding for your company.
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