Using Color Psychology to Imbue a Clothing Brand’s Identity With All the Right Hues

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• Research about color psychology and brand identity

• 8 reasons choosing the right brand colors is critical for growth

• Case study about choosing brand colors for a clothing brand

• Step-by-step guide to choosing brand colors using ChatGPT, Google, and Canva

When it comes to brand design, choosing the right colors can make you stand out for all the right reasons. The wrong brand colors can also deter people from choosing your product, especially in a crowded marketplace with entrenched brands with highly recognizable identities.

Choosing colors may not seem like the most crucial aspect of creating a brand. Still, color psychology influences purchase decisions, making it something that can help increase your chances of winning over your target audience. "People make up their minds within 90 seconds of their initial interactions with either people or products. About 62‐90 percent of the assessment is based on colors alone," notes a study on the impact of color on marketing.

In addition to influencing purchase decisions, it can also help (or hurt) a person's ability to remember your brand. Brand awareness and recognition play an essential role in solidifying your brand in the minds of consumers, and according to organic search guru Neil Patel, color increases brand recognition by 80%.

With color psychology, consumer behavior, cultural influences, and brand identity to consider, how do you develop a color palette for your brand (or re-brand) that is cohesive, pleasing to the eye, highly differentiated from competitors, and appropriate?

According to Help Scout, "when it comes to picking the "right" color, research has found that predicting consumer reaction to color appropriateness is far more important than the individual color itself."

So, how do you balance finding a color combination that will make you stand out in the marketplace and feel appropriate to consumers based on your industry, location, and cultural influences?

After developing many brand identities over the years and seeing how a color palette translates into cohesive and effective branding, we have developed some helpful tips to help you choose the most beautiful and impactful brand colors for your business.

Let's begin with the basics: why is choosing the right colors for your brand so crucial, especially when growing your brand on social media platforms?

8 Reasons Why Choosing the Right Colors for Your Brand is Crucial for Growth

Growing a brand in an overly-saturated media landscape can feel impossible. Many people believe organic growth on social media is a fool's errand. Others claim to have all of the secrets to mastering the ever-changing algorithms.

Regardless of your outreach strategy, creating a solid brand identity can assist you in these efforts. Colors make you memorable to your audience. They elicit feelings and create positive experiences that carry on the next time someone contacts your brand.

Here are eight important reasons to choose the right colors for your brand identity if you want your brand to prosper:

Brand Recognition: Consistent use of colors in your branding helps consumers associate those colors with your brand, increasing recognition and recall.
Emotional Connection: Colors evoke emotions and can create a powerful connection with your audience. Choosing the right colors can elicit feelings that resonate with your target market, fostering a deeper connection.
Differentiation: In a competitive marketplace, using unique and distinctive colors sets your brand apart from competitors and helps you stand out in the minds of consumers.
Audience Appeal: Understanding your target audience's preferences and the psychological impact of colors allows you to select colors that appeal to their tastes and preferences, increasing engagement and brand affinity.
Brand Personality: Colors communicate the personality and values of your brand. They convey messages about your brand's identity, whether playful, sophisticated, bold, or trustworthy.
Consistency and Cohesion: Selecting a coherent color palette ensures consistency across various brand touchpoints, such as your logo, website, packaging, and marketing materials. This consistency helps build a solid and unified brand image.
Visual Impact: Colors have a visual impact that can attract attention and create a memorable impression. Choosing visually appealing colors can draw customers in and leave a lasting impression.
Cultural Relevance: Colors can have cultural associations and meanings. By selecting colors that resonate with your brand's location, you tap into the cultural context and create a sense of relevance for your target audience.

Every color has its own psychological impact, enabling you to communicate specific qualities and emotions to your audience. Choosing the right color combination for your brand can pay off and help support your outreach efforts.

We recently developed a color palette for a sustainable clothing brand based in Miami that would appeal to locals, represent the geographical location, and imbue the brand with a sprinkling of joy that is a part of the brand's mission.

Check out the case study below to learn what went into each color choice and what you can take away from this process.

Case Study: Choosing Brand Colors That Are Quintessential Miami and Uniquely tutt

As a marketer, I am uniquely positioned to apply what I learn in my professional life to my side hustle. So, when I started a sustainable clothing brand to fill my nights and weekends with bliss (and allow me to get off the computer for a few hours a week), I poured all of my marketing and branding knowledge into the process.

I started tutt as a passion project, upcycling vintage clothing to create unique one-of-a-kind garments that reflect my passion for circular fashion and my client's desire for sustainable and stylish clothing.

Like most projects, I began with an organic approach to choosing the brand's color palette. Using a color picker, I just started selecting colors that made me feel good and tried to put them together in a way that was quintessentially Miami and uniquely tutt.

My inspiration was the sun setting over the Miami River, the birthplace of this sprawling metropolis. Before roads or railways connected Miami to the rest of Florida, you had to enter through the river. Our city's founder, Julia Tuttle, established herself along the river bank and was responsible for convincing Henry Flagler to bring his railroad to Miami, connecting it with the rest of the US.

Given this history, I chose colors naturally representative of Miami and not necessarily tied to the eighties pastels or the neon lights of Ocean Drive many people associate with the city.

Here are the colors I came up with and the reasoning behind each addition to the brand color palette:

Neon Lemon

Hex Color Code: #EAFC72
Aspirational Traits: Radiating Optimism and Playfulness
Miami Inspiration: Sunrise over Biscayne Bay
Design Application: Main accent color, used for text, lines, shapes, and logo paired with Mamey and Jungle Green or over product photos.
Description: Neon Lemon, a bold and vibrant shade of yellow, exudes optimism, energy, and happiness. It captures attention and makes a bold statement, evoking playfulness, excitement, and spontaneity. It resonates with the energetic spirit of Miami.

Mamey

Hex Color Code: #D6987B
Aspirational Traits: Embracing Grounded Enthusiasm
Miami Inspiration: Batidos de Mamey from La Carreta
Design Application: Main background color, used for website header and footer, social media share images, paired with Neon Lemon and Dusty Violet.
Description: Mamey, a warm shade of orange, embodies enthusiasm, warmth, and creativity. It ignites a sense of passion, excitement, and confidence. It represents the vibrant multi-cultural energy of Miami, as does a delicious batido de mamey from La Carreta.

Dusty Violet

Hex Color Code: #EEE6F4
Aspirational Traits: Inspiring Soft Elegance
Miami Connection: The smell of Royal Violets cologne
Design Application: Secondary accent color, used as an alternative highlight color to Neon Lime for a softer, more feminine look.
Description: Dusty Violet, a pale shade of violet, represents creativity, inspiration, and intuition. It invites a sense of nostalgia, elegance, and sophistication. This color conveys a soft feminine aesthetic. If you've ever smelled what many visitors call the 'Cuban baby cologne' that smells like violets, you know exactly where this color came from.

Jungle Green

Hex Color Code: #7E7A46
Aspirational Traits: Nurturing Growth and Balance
Miami Inspiration: Mangrove Leaves
Design Application: Secondary background color, used as an alternative to Mamey for a natural, balanced, and earthy option.
Description: Jungle Green, a deep shade of green, symbolizes nature, growth, and harmony. It conveys stability, reliability, and balance. Miami was once surrounded by mangroves, only allowing entry through the river. This color represents the thriving entrepreneurial and natural ecosystem of Miami.

Fuchsia

Hex Color Code: #C54EDD
Aspirational Traits: Exuding Vibrant Energy
Miami Inspiration: Miami Sunset
Design Application: Alternative background color to mamey for a more saturated and trendy contrast to the highlight colors.
Description: Fuchsia, a bold and vibrant color that sits between purple and pink on the color spectrum, exudes energy, creativity, and confidence. It is a daring and eye-catching choice representing individuality, playfulness, and a contemporary outlook. Conveying a dynamic and modern personality, fuchsia represents the setting sun over the city of Miami.

Ultimately, these colors capture the essence of Miami's natural beauty and cultural diversity. They also reflect the passions and sentiments of the brand's target audience, mainly Gen Z and Millennial fashionistas who are conscious of their environmental impact but still want to be on trend.

Choose Your Brand Colors in 6 Easy Steps Using Google, ChatGPT, and Canva

Choosing the right colors for your brand is crucial for creating a solid and memorable brand identity. By following a thoughtful process, you can select colors that align with your brand's personality and evoke your target audience's desired emotions and actions.

Here are some tips to guide you through the process of choosing brand colors:

Use Google Color Picker to Find Colors You Love

Google "color picker" and play around with the tool until you land on a few colors you love.
Search for shades and hues that resonate with your brand's essence.
Note down the hex color codes as you go along.
Come up with at least 6-8 colors to shortlist for research in the following steps, including dark and light shades for contrast.

Choose Cohesive Main and Accent Colors

Choose 2-3 accent colors that will be used for type, lines, shapes, and other graphic elements.
Select 2-3 main colors that complement the accent colors and can be used to fill backgrounds and make the accent color pop.
Make sure you choose complementary and contrasting colors so that when designing, you can utilize dark and light shades in many combinations.
Consistency is vital, so visualize these colors across various brand touchpoints, including your logo, website, social media graphics, and marketing materials.

Leverage ChatGPT and Google for Color Psychology and Competitive Research

Utilize ChatGPT or conduct online research based on your chosen hex color codes.
Explore the psychology and symbolism associated with each color to understand how it aligns with your brand identity.
Ensure the selected colors' psychology, cultural aspects, and competitive positioning align with your brand identity and messaging.
Consider factors such as emotions, cultural associations, and target audience preferences.
Search Google for competitors in your market to see what colors are already used by top competitors and how you can stand out with your palette.

Create a Brand Color Swatch Presentation in Canva

If you already have brand guidelines created for your brand, replace the hex color codes in the guide with your new ones.
If you don't have brand guidelines yet, you can create a presentation on Canva to share with your team and collaborators.
On Canva, choose a color swatch template to showcase the colors and store hex color codes, applications, and descriptions.
Give each color a name that reflects its hue and alignment with your brand identity.
Include a paragraph or short description for each color, highlighting the emotions and feelings it evokes in people.
Consider using descriptive language and storytelling elements to bring your colors to life and create context.

Seek Feedback and Test Market

Share your color swatch presentation with other professionals to get feedback about your choices and any areas that may need to be addressed (for example, looking too similar to competitor brands or colors not going well together).
Gather feedback and insights on how the colors resonate with them and align with your brand's desired perception.
Remember, choosing and presenting brand colors is an iterative process. Take the time to experiment, gather feedback, and refine your color choices until you achieve a palette that truly represents your brand.
Try testing the waters with current marketing campaigns and add your chosen colors to gauge feedback from your target audience.
Incorporate all feedback and research and finalize your colors so that, moving forward, your target market will begin automatically associating these colors with your brand in the marketplace.

By following these tips, you can confidently select and present your brand colors, creating a visual identity that resonates with your target audience and strengthens your brand's overall presence.