When designing a logo it’s crucial for designers to understand the essential aspects about color and its impact on the overall look and feel. Lack of an understanding of color can result in a non complimentary combination which can label you as an amateur designer. As a graphic designer you must study and research how to use colors to bring your designs to life.
Here’s a brief look into the emotions represented by the ten most common colors and their use in logo design for specific industries.
Black
Represents: Authority, Power, Mystery, Boldness, Elegance and Sophistication
Black is commonly used to target youth and a high-end audience. It creates a mystery while representing power, authority and elegance in the logo.
Red
Represents: Passion, Love, Anger, Hunger, Health, Excitement and Life
Red is generally a powerful, attractive and energetic color used in logos of brands belonging to the food, health and entertainment industries. Several famous brands have colored their logo red such as YouTube, Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Red Bull and Canon. These brand logos in red are no doubt recognizable.
Red logos grab customer attention and if you want to attract your target market towards your brand, use the color red. There are many amazing ways to use red in your logo to make the design unique, interesting and prominent. So make a logo design in red and boost your brand recognition.
Yellow
Represents: Happiness, Warmth, Innovation and Caution
Yellow is a warm color that invokes the feeling of happiness, warmth and relaxation. Generally it doesn’t play a major role in logos and is sometimes used to highlight important features of a logo. Used alone in bright shades, the color can be overpowering which is why it is a difficult color to use.
Blue
Represents: Professionalism, Trust, Authority, Power and Loyalty
Blue is used in corporate logos as it creates a sense of security while showing professionalism and loyalty. This color is used by various businesses related to software, finance, pharmaceutical industry, and government agencies. While you can create a logo with just the color blue, you can also accompany two colors in a design such as a red and blue logo.
Green
Represents: Harmony, Natural, Healthy, Renewal and Plentiful
Green is mainly used to represent businesses revolving around agriculture, recycling, landscaping, solar power and eco-friendly companies. It is the color of nature and gives a calming effect while representing growth. Naturally one would believe the choice of green is restricted to a few industries.
Orange
Represents: Vibrant, Playful, Happy, Artistic and Energetic
Orange is another color highly utilized in the food, art and the sports industries. While in one sector it evokes an appetite, in others it suggests creativity, energy and playfulness. Being bright makes orange the favorite color for industries dealing with children products and foods.
Purple
Represents: Royalty, Luxury, Celebration, Education and Elegance
Purple is the color of royalty, it is mostly used to represent religious institutes and educational organizations. It is rarely used for the commercial industry. Chocolate is one food which is often represented by the color purple.
White
Represents: Pure, Peaceful, Spiritual, Clean and Goodwill
Purity is what is implied when using the color of white. It is also the essential color in negative spacing logos. The FedEx and Adobe logo are very good examples of this. FedEx has a white arrow while the ‘A’ in Adobe is designed in white over a red background.
Pink
Represents: Feminism, Innocence, Youth and Beauty
Pink is often used to represent a feminine color, which is why it is popularly used in logos related to beauty, fashion and others. It is also used for companies dealing with children’s products. Mainly because it is playful and innocent.
Brown
Represents: Reliable, Solid, Masculine and Earthly Aura
Brown is a very neutral color that is reliable, solid and dependable. This color is most commonly used for agriculture and construction industries. Some food related products like coffee and chocolate are also best represented by this color.
Conclusion
Colors play an important role in giving your logo life. If you want to create a winning logo design, play with colors, experiment with various shades and see which of them best represent the essence of your client’s company. Be sure not to forget the target audience and how they will relate to the colors in the logo design.
Logo Images Source: Google Images
