Best of #BrandingThursdays: Colour Psychology and Logo Design
On Wednesday 17th March 2010 we hosted a CUBELUNCH at THECUBE. We talked about the basics of logo design, colour psychology and what image your logo projects to your audience.
According to Elena, the creative designer of our team, you need to consider the following when choosing a logo:
- Decide on what image you want to project.
Your logo should be a reflection of your company's key characteristics. It's about who you are and what you do, so you need to use the right elements to reflect your ethos and values.
- Choose colours wisely.
Colour is an important element of branding. If your colours are chosen wisely they can add value to your image by using the audience's psychology and associations. Avoid clashing colours and always look for professional advice. Below is a list of the most common colours and what their psychology/associations are.
- Blue: Sky, Security, Trust, Reliability, Coolness.
- Green: Nature, Fresh, Calming, Cool, Growth, Wealth, Money, Stability.
- Red: Excitement, Hungry, Strength, Passion, Energetic, Speed, Power, Success, Action.
- Yellow: Sunshine, Cheerful, Happiness, Contrast, Grabs Attention.
- Pink: Energy, Romantic, Feminine, Soft, Sweet, Nurture, Security.
- Orange: Enthusiastic, Cheerful, Playful, Warm, Vibrant.
- Black: Powerful, Expensive, Prestige, Luxury, Elegance, Style, Sophistication, Seductive, Mystery.
- White: Simplicity, Purity, Innocence, Clean, Mild.
Of course these are guidelines only and there are always exceptions.
- Target your audience.
Thinking about your audience when choosing the design and colour is fundamental. Different groups react differently to colours.
- Create harmony.
When choosing your colours and matching them to your design you need to always create harmony. Harmony is pleasing to the eye and is an indicator of good design. as such, it often goes unnoticed, as pointed out in the axiom, 'good design is never recognised, only bad design'.
- Keep it simple.
Your logo needs to be as simple as possible. This way you will be creating something that is memorable, timeless, scalable and will stand out. From a game that we did during the CUBELUNCH, we found out that less than 40% of the participants could remember a complicated logo, while 100% remember a simplistic logo. What you need to achieve is create an image that is so memorable that people can recognise and remember it with minimum exposure.
When creating your logo, always seek professional help and ask people about what they believe. Bringing someone from the outside that can see things with a different view and a beginner's mind will help you understand what image you are projecting to your audience and what emotions are associated with it.
The talk was followed by an active Q&A and logo clinic as well as a screening of the movie logorama. (link to movie http://www.logorama-themovie.com)
