A Designer's Guide to Choosing Brand Colours

August 22, 2022

15 min 29 sec

Picking brand colours without a clear strategy is like choosing an outfit before knowing where you're going. You might get lucky. You probably won't.

In this episode, Martin Sully – brand strategist and designer – breaks down the thought process behind choosing colours that actually communicate something, rather than just colours that look nice on a moodboard.

If you've ever stared at a colour wheel and gone completely blank, or ended up with that creamy-beige-on-slightly-darker-cream palette that 20,000 other businesses chose at the same time as you, this one's for you. Prefer to read? The full guide is on the Snapper Studio blog – link in the CTA below.

Common branding misconceptions

What's Covered in This Episode

Why you can't choose your brand colours until you know what you're trying to communicate and to whom
Why trending colour palettes and Pantone's colour of the year are a trap
How researching your competitors before choosing colours keeps you from blending in when you should be standing out
A real example: Martin builds a full colour palette for a sustainable fashion brand from scratch, including the reasoning behind every choice
How proportion matters as much as the colours themselves – the 80/10/10 split and when to break it
Why a consistent colour palette increases brand recognition by up to 80%
Colour psychology and cultural considerations – what purple means in Japan vs Thailand, and why it matters if you're thinking globally
How to narrow down your options by eliminating colours first
Why you also need to love the colours you choose – because if you don't, you'll break consistency and undo all the strategy work

Our Podcast evolved

This episode was originally recorded for an earlier version of the podcast. The audio intro references a previous name – the content is all still the good stuff.

Want the full written guide on choosing brand colours?

The Snapper Studio blog covers everything in this episode and more – How to Choose Brand Colours: A Designer's Guide]. Or if you want to think through your full brand identity first, Mini Martin is the place tostart – try it free.

Meet Mini Martin