Choosing colors for your brand will either seem like a really easy task, or a really incredibly hard task. Either way, it requires some solid effort to make sure you a) pick a color palette you’ll be happy with now, and ten years from now and b) pick a color palette that resonates well with your target audience. Take these steps to ensure you pick a winning color palette for your brand.
1. Create A Private Pinterest Inspiration Board
This is a super fun step, because you get to kind of go crazy, here. Create a Pinterest board, and make sure to check the button to “Keep It Secret”. You don’t want others poking around in your inspiration board, and it certainly won’t help your brand’s performance. This board is for your eyes only.
Now start searching color palettes. Save all the ones you love.
I also like to search for flower bouquets or wedding color palettes, or anything else where you might find a great color scheme (baby showers, formal invitations, landscap designs, etc). Anything goes.
Start Pinning away, and don’t worry about if you really love or don’t love something. If you think you like it upon first glance, save it. You can come back to this later and revisit in more detail.
2. Look at Your Favorite Brands That Are Over 20 Years Old
You probably have some iconic brands that you’ve always loved. For me, being that my first love is fashion, I love Louis Vuitton and Dior. So I’d of course go to their websites and Pinterest accounts and start Pinning or saving images that really speak to me.
Pay special attention to the color schemes they’ve used with their brands over time, and note which color palettes have stood the test of time for them.
3. Look At Your Favorite Brands That Are Less Than 5 Years Old
There has obviously been a lot of branding innovation in the last few years, and you probably have some newer brands that also speak to your soul. Take a peek at their branding color palettes and how they may be more modern than others. Do you feel their color palettes will still be relevant in a few years, and is this something you could model or innovate upon? Newer competition presents opportunities.
4. See Where You Have Overlap In The Above Three Categories
Now go back through the last three steps, and see if you find any commonalities.
- Are any of the Pinterest images and brands you love using similar color schemes?
- Have any of the color schemes won out over others and stood the test of time better than others?
At the end of the day, color palettes are a completely personal preference. But you have to be sure you’re going to love them now and in the future.
Take some time to go through the exercise above and see if it helps you jog any beautiful color palettes for yourself.
And if you’re in need of further inspiration, check out our Pinterest account.
Also see our article, How to Create a Memorable Brand Experience.