What are the Meanings Behind Famous Logo Colors?
Have you ever wondered why the McDonald’s logo uses yellow and red, or why Apple’s logo has that bright, eye-catching shade of blue? While many starting companies overlook the aspect of color, the color scheme you choose for your logo can have serious implications on how your customers perceive your brand.
According to several pieces of research, there is a stronger connection between color and emotions. The logo colors you see on some of the biggest brands have different psychological meanings that marketers use to persuade consumers in their decision making.
Color Psychology
In marketing, color is used to differentiate brands and to create an identity that people can associate with. Since your logo is your major identity, how you color it may make it more or less desirable depending on its specific purpose.
Certain colors create positive responses in people while others cause negative reactions. Understanding how to effectively use these emotions in your marketing campaigns can help you achieve your much-desired brand recognition goals.
When choosing a color scheme for your business, consider both your target audience and the message you want to send. Here’s a guide on how different colors affect customers.
Red: Passion, Excitement, Intensity
Red is universally associated with feeling, desire, and love. It’s a color that evokes strong emotion, making it perfect for representing a brand that aims to appeal to people’s deepest passions.
When used in combination with other hues, red can be seen as a symbol of passion and intensity. Studies show that red can incite competitive behavior and can increase heart rate, inducing urgency.
There is no doubt that some giant brands like Coca-Cola use it to speak directly to our emotions. Some color psychology experts even claim that the color can increase appetite. If this is true, it can make a good logo for a restaurant.
Yellow: Happiness, Optimism, Fun
Yellow signifies joy, optimism, and energy. It’s a color that evokes thought, communication and friendship. Most companies that use yellow in their logos want to convey their product or service as fun and friendly. They also want to get customers thinking about how happy they’ll be with their purchase.
However, some people associate yellow with caution. When using it, it’s advisable not to make it your primary hue. Try mixing it with other colors such as blue or grey if you want something elegant.
Blue: Tranquility and Security
Blue conveys a sense of stability and safety, often signifying reliability. Many companies also choose blue as their corporate color to indicate dependability, consistency, and trustworthiness. Some notable brands using this color include Facebook, American Express, Ford, and DELL.
Most financial institutions use blue logos to pass feelings of peace and security as a way of assuring their clients the safety of their investments. If you plan on starting an upscale restaurant, designing a blue logo could send a calming message to customers looking for somewhere to relax with friends.
Green: Freshness, Serenity, Growth
The color green is fresh and natural, making it a perfect symbol for nature-oriented companies. It could also be a great choice for financial services firms since it evokes feelings of growth and serenity. If you want to show support for sustainable resources in your company, green is one of the major colors linked to environmentalism.
However, when used excessively in business logos, this color can become very bland and boring. It’s important to complement your primary green logo with other contrasting colors for more visual interest.
Black: Seriousness and Exclusivity
Black is used to convey a sense of seriousness, power, and strength. Customers view companies with black logos as professional, serious, exclusive, with high-quality services.
This color can be an advantage when selling high-end products or services. However, it might make customers nervous if they’re looking for something more fun or family-friendly. Therefore, it’s usually best to combine black with another color to add brightness or fun to your logo.
Purple/Violet: Royalty, Wealth, Luxury
Anciently, purple was a very rare color in nature, hence its association with wealth and luxury among royalties. Businesses using this color in their logo are mainly upper-class brands trying to convey a feeling of extravagance.
Orange: Creativity, Warmth, Excitement
Orange has a long history of being associated with creativity and excitement. From artists’ palettes to ripe fruit, orange makes our imagination run wild with ideas.
This bold color reflects a company’s ability to stay ahead of trends and deliver new experiences. Orange is frequently used by global brands such as Amazon, Alibaba, and Fanta.
Conclusion
The choice of your logo colors may indicate more beyond your brand identity. Colors often relay information about a company and what it can do in a brief but precise way. Knowing color psychology will not only help you stay a step ahead of your competitors but also enable you to come up with better ideas for your business growth.
