December 09, 2024

Written by

Marie Sylvester

Brand colors: A guide to crafting memorable brands

Brand colors: A guide to crafting memorable brands

Brand Colors: A Guide to Crafting Memorable Brands

Choosing the right colors for branding is more than just a design decision - it’s a strategic move that shapes how a brand is perceived and remembered. Colors evoke emotions, communicate values, and differentiate businesses in crowded markets. In this guide, we’ll explore how color influences branding, drawing on successful case studies, offering actionable tips, and preparing you to master this essential design skill.

You’ll learn:

  • How iconic brands use color to define their identities.
  • Steps to select brand colors aligned with your vision and audience.
  • Tips for creating a cohesive and impactful color palette.

Table of contents

The power of color in branding

Color is more than aesthetic; it’s psychological. When chosen thoughtfully, the right hues can enhance a brand’s identity, making it distinctive and instantly memorable.

Research estimates that color can increase brand recognition by up to 80%.

Case studies: Logo colors lessons from popular brands

Let’s take a look at some brands that have done this well - perfectly aligning their logo to their brand identity, making their colors instantly recognizable. These brands demonstrate that color isn’t random. It’s intentional, strategic, and integral to their success.

Levi’s:

Levi’s is a great example of integrating brand color into the product for instant recognition. You’ll find a small red tab sewn into the back seam of their jeans, showcasing the brand and symbolizing the quality and craftsmanship of an authentic garment. Red not only stands out but also complements the blue of Levi’s denim, creating a distinctive and eye-catching look. The key takeaway here is to consider your product, if applicable, when selecting your brand colors. Levi's eventually took this idea further, incorporating different tab colors for different types of garments and collections.

Levis red tab branding

Nintendo:

Another example of a brand that utilizes red well is Nintendo. The brand’s very first color combo was red and blue, complementary colors that symbolize joy and reliability, respectively in Japanese culture. Now, you’ll find red as their base color and blue serving as an accent, matching their iconic and well-loved character, Mario.

Nintendo brand colors explained

Magic Spoon: 

Magic Spoon is an excellent example of leveraging brand colors to craft a cohesive and imaginative brand image. Their primary use of purple - paired with an analogous palette - is a brilliant choice that aligns perfectly with the term "magic" and their whimsical space theme. Purple, often associated with mystery, creativity, and fantasy, perfectly complements the brand’s playful identity.

If you check out Magic Spoon’s website, you’ll see their space theme is brought to life here, where spinning cereal pieces appear to float weightlessly, reinforcing the cosmic, otherworldly vibe. Additionally, the typography in their logo mirrors the brand's celestial concept, with playful, nostalgic, yet futuristic elements. All these elements combine to create a brand story that aligns with its target audience - adults looking for healthier alternatives to their favourite childhood cereals for themselves and their kids.

Aligning brand colors with strategic design choices can do more than please the eye - it can amplify a brand narrative and story.

Magic Spoon brand colors

Source: magicspoon.com

Manischewitz:

Manischewitz is an excellent example of a company whose colors align with its wholesome values. This is reflected seamlessly throughout the website’s design. The bright yet warm orange serves as the base, complemented by joyful yellows and a deep red accent. This deep red is also used in place of areas that may have otherwise been black, such as text and icons. 

Additionally, rather than bright whites, they use cream tones - a strategic choice that softens the contrast and creates a warmer, more inviting feel.

Manischewitz brand colors explained

Source: manischewitz.com

Nude.:

Nude is bringing a fresh, modern perspective to the alternative milk industry with its oat milk that combines minimalist aesthetics, environmental responsibility, and bold personality. Perfectly aligned with its name, Nude’s branding features broad, neutral tones that exude simplicity, naturalness, and authenticity. This pared-down color palette cuts through the cluttered designs typical of the category, stripping it back to the "nude" essentials - creating a sleek and inviting look that resonates with today’s consumers.

Nude Milk brand colors

Source: behance.net/gallery/119814273/Nude

Klarna:

Klarna uses innovative color choices to disrupt a traditionally conservative industry. While most financial services rely on cool blues, greens, or neutrals to project trustworthiness, Klarna breaks the mold with its bold and iconic Klarna Pink. This vibrant hue isn’t just a color - it’s the centerpiece of a carefully curated primary palette. The Klarna palette also includes, what they call, “friendly Off White” and “bold Black,” creating a bold and balanced aesthetic.

Klarna also has a dynamic secondary palette to offer versatility for the brand. They strategically planned for this palette to serve in the background, enhancing the primary palette and adding layers to the brand’s creative expression. Klarna is strategic - they adjust the use of colors based on context, using primary colors for bold, brand-forward messaging and secondary colors for more functional or supporting content.

A well-thought-out color system like Klarna’s can not only differentiate your brand but also open endless possibilities for design, ensuring every touchpoint feels fresh.

Klarna brand colors explained

Source: brand.klarna.com

Wise:

Wise’s 2023 rebrand is a prime example of leveraging color to transform a brand’s identity. Breaking away from the traditionally monotone palettes of the finance industry, Wise embraced a fresh, vibrant green as the foundation of its analogous color scheme.

The vibrant green serves as a universal symbol of money, as well as growth, sustainability, and vitality. Wise enhances this association by often featuring imagery of green produce, representing health, wellness, and a flourishing lifestyle. This visual narrative highlights how smart money management enables richer experiences, such as traveling, while showcasing the global, user-friendly nature of the banking system.

Wise’s secondary palette further reinforces its commitment to global inclusivity and connection. Inspired by the vibrant and energetic colors found around the world, this palette reflects the brand’s diverse, international reach.

Wise brand colors explained

Source: wise.com/community/en/brand-new-look

How to choose brand colors that work

To create a powerful brand, your colors must align with your values, resonate with your audience, and differentiate you from competitors. Here’s how to get started:

1. Reflect on brand identity and values

What’s your brand’s personality? This is called brand identity and it’s conveyed through external elements, such as color, design, logo, language, and consumer-facing interactions. For a strong and consistent brand identity, your brand colors should reflect your chosen traits.

Here are some example terms commonly used to describe brand identities:

  1. Friendly - warm, welcoming, and approachable.
  2. Playful - lighthearted, fun, and engaging.
  3. Innovative - cutting-edge, forward-thinking, and creative.
  4. Sophisticated - elegant, refined, and polished.
  5. Bold - daring, confident, and assertive.
  6. Trustworthy - reliable, dependable, and honest.
  7. Luxurious - high-end, premium, and exclusive.
  8. Authentic - genuine, down-to-earth, and transparent.
  9. Adventurous - daring, risk-taking, and exploratory.
  10. Professional - to the point, formal, and organized.

Brand values on the other hand are a selection of core beliefs that a company uses to guide its actions and interactions both internally and externally. This is a factor that can also be reflected in a brand’s colors. Here are some example terms commonly used to describe brand values:

  1. Integrity - standing for honesty, fairness, and strong moral principles.
  2. Sustainability - focused on environmental responsibility and long-term impact.
  3. Innovation - driven by creativity, new ideas, and a desire to lead.
  4. Customer-Centricity - prioritizing the needs and satisfaction of customers.
  5. Excellence - striving for the highest quality and performance.
  6. Diversity - embracing inclusivity, different perspectives, and equality.
  7. Empathy - showing compassion, understanding, and care for others.
  8. Collaboration - valuing teamwork, cooperation, and shared goals.
  9. Community - commitment to giving back and engaging with local/global communities.
  10. Accountability - taking responsibility for actions and being transparent.


2. Research your target audience

Color psychology shows that colors in design have a powerful impact, influencing emotions, sentiments, and perceptions. In fact, studies show colors alone can influence up to 90% of an initial impression and increase brand awareness by 80%.

When it comes to branding, it’s important to understand your target audience’s preferences and associations with certain hues. Considering the opinions of your target demographics and cultural contexts and integrating it into your brand’s palette can help you create a more successful brand image.

The world’s favorite color:

Did you know that blue is the world’s most loved color? This chart shows a breakdown of color preferences of select countries with blue largely taking the lead. 

And a quick look at Color Hunt’s six most-liked color palettes of 2024 reveal the color blue to be in four of them.

Color Hunt popular color palettes

Source: colorhunt.com

Segmented audience preferences:

Do you advertise your designs towards specific genders? Or maybe you’re trying to capture the attention of both? Blue remains a favorite regardless of age or gender. Studies show men prefer blue (57%), green (14%), and black (9%) while women’s top three favorite colors are blue (35%), purple (23%), and green (14%).

Knowing this it’s no surprise that blue is considered to be a gender neutral color. Along with light brown, gray, black and white. In this case, blue is possibly the best color to use in designs to please a wide audience and the best go-to.

3. Study competitor color palettes

Analyze competitors to ensure your palette stands out. If most players in your industry use blue, consider exploring alternatives like green or orange for differentiation. Be strategic with how the colors you select are relevant to your brand image. 

Remember the examples of Klarna, whose bold pink disrupts the finance industry’s typical reliance on cold and muted tones. Pink may be irreverent in the finance industry but that's precisely what made it relevant to Klarna, as they sought to make finance more fun and accessible. Their success highlights the power of a striking, unexpected palette to break industry norms and command attention.

4. Start with a base color

Your primary color sets the tone. Use it to express your brand’s core personality and emotions. Consider the examples above and how each brand began with a base color that aligned with the themes of their desired brand identity or brand image. From here, they identified complementary colors that further reinforced and exemplified their brand.

How many colors should a brand have?

When crafting a brand’s color palette, you want to think “less is more.” This will ensure your brand identity is clear and uncluttered, as too many colors will be confusing for consumers to identify you. Additionally, it’ll make on-brand designs more difficult for you to create in the long run. 

As a general rule, a brand should have three to five colors in your complete palette. Alternatively, you can expand to six to eight colors by dividing them into a primary palette and a supporting palette.

Start with two to three primary colors that represent your brand’s core identity. Then, add four to five complementary supporting colors to provide variety while maintaining cohesion and flexibility. These secondary colors will be ideal for use as backgrounds.

This approach allows your primary colors to convey your brand’s key message and personality, while the supporting colors offer adaptability for diverse design needs - all without compromising your brand’s essence.

The brand Klarna is an excellent example of this brand design strategy. They leverage three colors in their primary color palette, supported by four secondary brand colors. They claim this brand color choice helps maximize the expression of Klarna’s primary palette, while opening up “limitless creative possibilities.” 

They also follow a strict yet strategic rule: don’t use the secondary palette for text. This helps them keep typography clean, readable, and cohesive.

Klarna color palette explained

Source: brand.klarna.com

Tips for creating effective color palettes for your brand

In 2025 and beyond you want your brand to be conscious and accessible. Here are some quick practical tips to ensure your palette is considerate and works across all mediums:

1. Run test checks

Your colors will appear differently in print, on screens, in outdoor signage, and even on window digital signage, where lighting and reflections can impact visibility.

2. Prioritize accessibility

Ensure your palette is inclusive by checking contrast ratios from tools like Coolors - a free-to-use color contrast checker. This is especially important for text and buttons, ensuring readability for all users. Accessibility is essential for creating a brand that resonates with everyone. Think of it as a way to help all users feel welcome.

3. Stay consistent

When it comes to creating a memorable brand, numerous thought leaders in the brand industry share that consistency builds recognition and brand value. Use your brand colors across all touchpoints, from your logo to your website, to social media posts. Refer to the examples listed above to direct you. Magic Spoon and Manischewitz are particularly excellent examples, with highly detailed, streamlined brand images. 

Crafting brand resources like style guides can help maintain uniformity and strategically guide you (and a team) in a clear direction.

4. Leverage color psychology and color temperature

When creating your color palette, remember the emotional power of color. When in doubt, refer to our psychology of color guide that breaks down color meanings and symbolism.

Additionally, color temperature plays a significant role in the psychology of color and how we perceive images on an emotional and psychological level. 

When creating your brand’s color palette, consider color temperature - whether a color is warm or cool. This can bring greater intentionality to your designs and make all the difference in how your audience perceives your brand.

You can learn more about warm colors and cold colors with our in-depth guide.

Save time: Learn how to design for your brand faster

Once you’ve chosen your perfect color palette, saving it for future use is a game-changer! Imagine never having to waste time recreating your palette or worrying about inconsistent designs - saving your palette ensures 100% accuracy and keeps your brand image looking sharp and professional every time.

In Kittl, you can save not just your colors, but also your styles, fonts, and more in a fully customizable brand kit. Having your entire brand identity at your fingertips means you can create stunning, on-brand designs in no time.

Watch the video below to learn more about this helpful branding tool:

Examples of good and bad brand color palettes

Before we wrap up this brand color guide, let's take a look at a few examples of good and bad color palettes in branding. A palette may be considered "bad" for a number of reasons:

  1. The colors don't reflect the brand identity and/or brand values.
  2. The colors don't compliment each other and the palette isn't visually appealing.
  3. The palette isn't memorable and/or blends in with competitors.
  4. The colors don't translate well across different platforms (e.g., digital, print, or merchandise).
  5. The palette lacks enough variation in hues, tones, or shades can make designs feel repetitive and restrict creative opportunities.

Let's explore these concepts:

Good brand color palette example
Bad brand color palette example

Notice how the palette on the left presents a cohesive image that aligns with the brand kit's design elements - natural, delicate, and serene. In contrast, the electric green in the palette on the right, while it may evoke the symbolism of green (nature and grounding), features a bright hue that clashes with the delicate and calming energy of the other elements. For a yoga brand aiming to convey a calm and natural image, muted tones and shades are far more effective.

Design Challenge

Unleash your creativity by creating a fake brand and crafting a color palette that reflects its personality. Choose two brand-identifying words and two brand-image words from the lists above that define your fictional brand, then design a logo that perfectly captures these traits using what you've learned from this guide.

Challenge: Find a photo in Kittl’s photo and AI image library that symbolizes your brand’s identity. Use the color palette generator tool to extract colors from the image and create a palette that aligns with your brand’s essence. Experiment with different combinations and see how the colors influence the mood and style of your design. This challenge will help you refine your color selection skills and develop a deeper understanding of how color can communicate your brand’s core message.