Color Theory in Your Logo & Branding

The subconscious mind is a powerful thing. Did you know that the colors that you use in your Silhouette or Cricut business can send a message to buyers without saying anything? This is known as color theory – and there has been enough information written about color theory to fill entire volumes of encyclopedias! If you want to start your own research on color theory, I highly recommend Color Matters as your first resource.

What Colors Convey What Messages?

Color experts have agreed that certain colors invoke thoughts and emotions in customers – subconsciously. Using expert research, here’s a list of common colors and the thoughts and feelings that they bring.

• Red: Excitement, Youthful, Bold, Active
• Orange: Friendly, Cheerful, Confident
• Yellow: Optimism, Warmth,
• Green: Growth, Peaceful, Health, Prosperity, Stable
• Blue: Trust, Dependability, Strength, Content
• Purple: Creative, Imaginitive, Wise, Original
• Greys: Balance, Peacefulness, Calmness

There are several fantastic color theory graphics around the internet that I compiled in a Pinterest board. Click here to visit it.

A Real Life Example

The colors used on the Cutting for Business blog are not accidental. When I first began blogging, I sat down and wrote a list of what traits my blog would need to have in order to gain trust with the readers. I knew right off the bat that I needed to be relatable to small business owners – and I needed to gain trust to talk to them about something important – money. I headed to other websites that dealt with money like banks and online budgeting websites and found that many of them used green color schemes. After some research into color theory, green invokes colors such as growth, peace, prosperity, stability, and more (and it is the color of money!) So I went with it for this blog. After deciding I’d use green, I used color swatch websites to find the right shades.

You can do the same thing I did with your logo and branding by asking yourself: “What do I want customers to feel when they see my company?” Write down emotions you want to invoke – and those that you don’t. Look at sites that sell similar goods in your niche, or large companies with similar products. Then, decide on the best colors for your website, products, and branding. Once you narrow in the color scheme, you can pick up great color combinations and swatches at sites like Coolors.com.

Now, go take a look at your current color scheme and product colors and see if they are invoking the emotions that you intend.

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