Using colour to define your business and make it stand out
Whether you’re just starting out in business or you’re re-branding an established organisation, the process of choosing the perfect imagery and creating the most meaningful, communicative and visually appealing iconography to embed your brand and promote your business, can sometimes be difficult.
At Big Colour Signs and Vehicle Wraps we know that Your logo and signage, your website, your socials and the colour palette you select for your business and your brand are all important tools in defining your business, building your brand and attracting the attention of potential customers.
At the heart of branding, marketing, and advertising is the desire to connect and build a rapport with your target audience. The aim is to create a lasting impression in the minds of your target audience and persuade their actions, in order to convert them from ‘potential customers’ into ‘consumers’ of your products or services.
Branding, marketing and building brand recognition
It isn’t enough simply to draw the attention of your target audience. Your marketing and advertising need to create a lasting impression that holds their attention and reinforces a positive opinion of your business. A great way to do this is through solid branding.
Marketing
‘Marketing’ refers to the over-arching strategy or plan that defines your objectives, setting out the tactics and tools (such as advertising and branding) to be used to reach out to your target audience. Marketing is also used to create an awareness of, and an appreciation for, your products and services, as well as an understanding of how your products and services will meet their needs.
Advertising
‘Advertising’ refers to the promotional messages and ways used to draw members of your target audience to your business in a way that converts them into customers. You may use a variety of media here – for example, television and radio broadcast ads, social media campaigns, print ads, and general signage, such as billboards, or building and vehicle signage.
Branding
‘Branding’ refers to the strategy and tools you use to create a unique image of the product or business that stands out in a saturated marketplace. Your brand needs to communicate the ways in which your business relates to your target audience and can meet their needs.
Your business’s logo and signage and, by extension, your brand’s colour palette are crucial elements in promoting brand recognition and memorability.
Brand-building
‘Brand-building’ involves increasing the prominence of your business and expanding its market reach by using marketing and advertising strategies designed to build the public’s trust and confidence in your products and services, as well as enhancing the reputation of your business.
Colour psychology and colour symbolism
Colour plays a huge role in communication, having a powerful psychological ability to cause reactions, influence or change actions, and irritate, stimulate or soothe the viewer. Colour symbolism (widely accepted cultural meanings) and colour psychology (psychophysical reactions) can be used to great advantage in branding and marketing.
The subliminal effects of colour are bound up with cultural, social, religious, and political ideas and influences that can be capitalised on by your business. Marketing psychologists suggest that a colour impression is made quickly (within 90 seconds), tends to be long-lasting, and accounts for 60% of the decision a person makes as to whether to accept or reject an object, individual, place or circumstance.
It stands to reason that different countries and cultures may ascribe different meanings to colours, causing a different reaction from person to person. For example, in Western countries, red conveys the sense of passion, energy and confidence, while also being associated with danger, a fault, mistake, or incorrect answer. In China red is associated with luck, good fortune, joy – and is often the colour of choice for Chinese bridal dresses – while in South Africa, red is a colour of mourning.
Likewise, studies have shown that, while the colour purple has traditionally been associated with wealth and royalty (and, sometimes, magic) in Western culture, respondents from Japan, China and South Korea associate purple with expensive and luxury goods. American respondents associate purple with inexpensive products and in Thailand purple is a colour of mourning. So, if your target audience includes people from different cultural groups, it can be beneficial to factor these different perceptions into your colour decisions.
However, studies have found that there are common colour preferences and a degree of shared colour symbolism that transcend cultural differences – extending even to meaning conveyed by specific colour pairings or groupings. When putting your brand together and deciding on your colour scheme, conduct lots of research and talk to a design professional to create the best possible imagery for your business.
How can you use colour to represent your business?
Choosing the colours and images to represent your brand is more than simply choosing your favourite colour, particularly in terms of your logo and signage; it is a decision that requires careful consideration. Putting together a colour palette that you like, that suits your industry yet sets you apart from your competitors, is not always easy – but it is essential.
A well-designed logo and attractive signage provide a means to promote a positive impression and attract people to your business, and that impression will be strongly guided by your use of colour.
There are many factors to consider when choosing the right colours for branding and marketing your business:
- Universal colours: Some colours are considered appropriate for an industry or are associated with elements of a business – for example, a landscaping firm may choose earthy and green colours as part of a “nature-inspired” colour palette.
- Complimentary and contrasting colours: Whether to select colour pairings or combinations whose meaning complements each other or provides consistency or a distinct contrast.
- Colour ratios: The ratios in which your chosen colours will be distributed in your logo, on your product’s packaging or in promotional materials, signage, etc.
Research and learn as much as possible about the market, the industry, and the trends your customers are seeing right now. If you feel like you need help in creating your business’s colour scheme and logo, don’t be afraid to contact a graphic design specialist for advice.
Find an experienced team that provides professional graphic design services and produces quality imagery.
There is no point having a fantastic colour palette or a brilliantly designed logo for your brand, if your signage is not high-quality or well-printed.
Once you have chosen the colours to suit your business and your brand, developed your logo and put together your marketing plan, you need to ensure you find a sign-maker who can design and produce your signage according to your specifications, true to the colours you have selected – so your signage doesn’t end up looking paler or darker than your actual colour choices.
The ideal colours, printed on the highest-quality material, using the best technology is the key to getting the best-looking signage – signage that you can confidently display inside your business, on your shopfront, on the sides of your vehicle, or wrapped around a bus or truck! Signage that you’re proud to have as the face of your business, to invite people in, and to help you be remembered.
Contact Big Colour for well-designed, great-quality signage today!
Big Colour Visual creates quality signage in a wide variety of materials, for a huge range of applications, to suit your needs and preferences. Contact Big Colour today on 02 4969 5700 or send us an email at admin@bigcolour.com.au. Alternatively, fill out our online contact form to have one of our friendly team contact you, or request a quote with our online quote enquiry form.