Colour can be the hardest thing to settle on in the development of a brand identity. When you’re starting a business, you think about the colours you’d like for your logo and your corporate ID, and it’s hard not to make decisions based on personal preference. But it’s important to step back and ask not just “what do these colours say about me?” but “what do these colours say about my brand?”

Don’t underestimate the importance of colour to your brand. More than 80 per cent of visual information is related to colour. It is so important to a product's brand identity that it can be a legally defensible trademark.

Understanding the meaning of colour is important for conveying the right tone and message, and evoking the desired response to your brochure, web site, newsletter or other marketing materials.

Chocolate brown might be your favourite colour, but if you’re selling fast food it won’t compel your audience to buy your cheeseburgers. Maybe hot pink is more your style – but if you’re a power tool manufacturer it won’t get you far.

Colour symbolism is sometimes obvious, but different shades of colour can convey different things and varying combinations of colours can also have different meanings. Have you ever noticed how many fast food companies use red and yellow in their brands (think McDonald’s, Burger King and Pizza Hut)? This combination of colours is thought to provoke hunger more strongly than any other.

Many reactions to colour are instinctual, universal and cross cultural boundaries. But there can be cultural differences in the meaning of colour, which are important to investigate if your brand is going to go global. In Asia, white is the colour of funerals, while in Western cultures, it is the colour of weddings. A Western wedding company could be sending a disturbing message to its Asian audience if it markets there in a Western way!

What do my brand colours say about my business?

Colour can say a lot about your business: are you conservative and trustworthy, fun and friendly, environmentally conscious, luxurious or cheap and cheerful? Here are some of the meanings associated with common colours:

Red - love, passion, desire, energy, heat, power

Pink – femininity, sweetness, romance, passiveness

Orange - warmth, enthusiasm, health, creativty

Yellow - happiness, joy, remembrance, intelligence

Green - growth, health, environment, harmony, freshness

Blue – calmness, cleanliness, trust, stability, loyalty, wisdom

Purple - regality, nobility, preciousness, romance, mystery

Brown - earthiness, wholesomeness, simplicity, stability, masculinity

Black - conservatism, mystery, sophistication

White - purity, innocence, softness, elegance

Gold - luxury, tradition

Silver - sleekness, glamour

Of course, there are no hard and fast rules – you might choose a colour that seems totally at odds with your product or service but sets you apart from your competition. Colour choices that aren’t harmonious, traditional or aesthetically pleasing might capture more attention – which can work, if that’s the kind of attention you want for your brand! Discount retailers often use this tactic.

Research has shown that up to 60 per cent of a consumer's first impression of a product comes from its colour. So make sure, whichever direction you take, that their first impression is the right one!