Have you ever looked at picture and said “Wow! That’s a beautiful photograph. I just love the way it looks!” You noticed the exposure and composition are spot on but you totally overlooked the fact that the color scheme in the photograph plays an important part of it too. Color is often one of the most overlooked things when it comes to viewing items and objects, almost to the point where it can ruin a photograph, object or the branding of a website or logo. What most people don’t realize is just how important color is to their brand. That’s why it is super important to pick the right color scheme for your company’s brand.
Who is your customer basis?
Color should be your first step in branding your business. There is a lot more that goes into choosing your color scheme than you might imagine though. When choosing a color scheme for your brand or website you need to think about how it will be perceived by the viewer. Research shows that over 60% of website viewers base their viewing experience on the color alone. This translates to a possible 60% increase or decrease in viewing just based on your color decision. When deciding on a color you need to think about your service or product. What does your business want to portray to the customer? Is your business a restaurant or fast food joint? If so, yellows, reds and oranges are colors you should decide on because they are colors that make people the most hungry. Or maybe your business has to do with recreational services, which means more natural colors are better suited for you.
Whatever the business is for, you should think about your color palette just like you think about it when you paint your walls in a room at your house. You wouldn’t want to pick colors that don’t work well together because you know you will have to stare at them day in, and day out. The same goes for your website or brand. No customer wants to stare at an ugly color scheme. When picking your appropriate color scheme think about who you are trying to target. Every age group responds differently to color. Older folks respond to more subtle colors whereas teens and children will react to brighter colors. Make sure to consult your designer when choosing bright colors because some tend to cause eye fatigue that can push away your customers from viewing your website.
Keeping it Simple
The key to a good color scheme for your website/ brand is to keep it simple. One common mistake is that people tend to over think and over use color. Using to many colors can cause the viewer to be overwhelmed and confused. Here are some helpful tips for choosing a color scheme:
- Your color scheme should come from your logo – these are your brand colors
- Pick one main color from your logo
- Choose no more than 2 complementary accent colors (these will come from your logo if you used more than one color, if not, choose one or two other colors)
- Use shades and tones of your main color and accent colors to add depth to your website instead of additional colors
To see just how important your color choices are, a study conducted by the University of Loyola in Maryland found that color can increase your brands identity recognition by 80% if done in a simple and elegant way. This is just the more reason to put extra thought into your color choice. There are so many sources on the web that can help in your decision. Some resources that I recommend as a designer myself are the ones below. I found these to be the most useful when I need help with picking color schemes myself.
www.kuler.adobe.com
www.colourlovers.com
colorschemedesigner.com
Color Meanings
Before choosing a color scheme for your brand/ website. You might want to know a little bit more about what each color stands for. Having an understanding of how each color is perceived can help you decided which colors are best for brand and service. I recommend doing some research or talk to your designer about the psychology of color or what colors mean and the emotions they invoke.
Conclusion
As you make your decision on your color scheme remember that simple is better. Keeping a simple color scheme will help you and your customers stay happy longer. It can also be a big help to the designer in making your brand the best it can be. Color may seem like an afterthought when developing your brand but it can make a huge difference when it is done right! If you need help, our designers at Webspec are more than happy to help your pick the right color scheme for your brand.
Remember, a little color can go a long way, especially when you start with color first!
References:
www.colorcom.com/research/why-color-matters
voices.yahoo.com/importance-color-scheme-web-design-7502518.html
www.techwyse.com/blog/website-design/importance-of-selection-in-website-design/
