Colors produce different emotions and decisively influence our perception of reality. Primary and secondary colors, with their endless combinations with each other and with a particular typographic family, have the power to convey a specific message or emotion, as well as fully define a company's personality. Therefore, it is not advisable to overlook or underestimate a designer's decision to use a specific color when creating a corporate identity and a brand's image.
There are studies on color psychology, that is, how colors communicate and convey emotions to the viewer or client. For example, the artist Josef Albers, in 1963 demonstrated that our eye never perceives a color as it truly is. This is a fact to consider, since a color can be perceived differently depending on the color it contrasts with. Therefore it is important to conduct various color studies, testing different combinations until finding one that truly works.
The most used colors for designs
Various studies have delved into which emotions are linked to each color, and which are the most appreciated and used by designers. The conclusions state that the preferred colors are blue, green, red, yellow and black, ahead of brown, pink, gray, violet and orange, which are less valued.
Blue
Blue is the most used color by companies. It evokes depth, seriousness, confidence and solemnity. It has been used by brands such as Pepsi, HP, and social networks like Skype, Flickr, Twitter and Facebook. According to marketing professionals' studies, it is an ideal color for cleaning products, airlines and airports, to represent water and sky. In fact, NASA also uses this color in its emblem.
Green
Green is a calm and friendly color, representing aspects such as hope, health and peace. It has been used by major brands such as Starbucks, XBOX, Whole Foods, Tropicana, Spotify, and Android.
Red
Red is a passionate, intense, exciting, aggressive color, evoking values such as vitality and strength. Some famous brands that have used this color are Coca-Cola, Ferrari and Levi’s.
Yellow
Yellow is a bright and warm color, and reflects qualities such as optimism and clarity. National Geographic, Nikon, Subway, IKEA and McDonald’s are just some entities that chose to include it in their logo as the main color.
Orange
Orange is dynamic and radiant, conveying a friendly, confident feeling. Some examples of its use are the logos of Nickelodeon (children’s TV channel, which gives it a close and friendly touch), VLC, Fanta, Amazon, and Blogger, among others.
Purple
Purple is a color that reflects pure creativity, as well as imagination and wisdom. It is the main color of companies such as Yahoo, SyFy, Hallmark, and Taco Bell.
Gray
Gray establishes the balance between white and black, giving an aspect of solemnity, neutrality and calm. Apple, after several changes to its logo, used this color for its latest design. Other brands that use gray are Wikipedia, and Honda.
Black
Black and white are often used together, conveying a sense of seriousness similar to gray. They are the colors used by companies such as Cartoon Network, Puma, Nike, and Herald Tribune.
In summary…
As can be seen, color plays a decisive role in the way we perceive reality. Different color combinations and their interplay with typography can result in a wide variety of designs with different interpretations. It is the designer's task, in close collaboration with the company, to find the perfect connection of type, shape and color, resulting in the image and message the brand intends to convey.
Related reading: Color contrast and space also affect message clarity. I discuss it in the article about white space. Contrast not only changes the perception of colors: it can also highlight information within a composition, as I explain in the article about visual hierarchy in graphic design.
Don't miss any article
Subscribe to the blog and receive the new articles about graphic design, visual identity and communication by email.
Subscription is free and you can unsubscribe whenever you want. See the legal notice and privacy policy.