how many colors should I have in my brand color palette?
february 11, 2022
Category: branding
how many colors should I have in my brand color palette?
The answer — it depends!
I get this question all. the. time. I think the beautiful (and hard!) part of design is that there are no set rules. With that in mind, here are three guidelines I recommend following when selecting your brand color palette.
#1 | Keep your audience in mind
First things first, you need to be keeping your brand mission and audience in mind throughout your entire branding process — not just when choosing your color palette. Don’t let your own personal preference and favorite colors sway your decision, instead keep your focus on your audience always. When thinking about that audience, remember that you’re trying to appeal to your IDEAL audience and not necessarily your current audience (which might not be the clients you’re trying to attract long term).
A few questions to ask yourself are: How are you trying to make people feel? Is your brand expensive and do you need to communicate that? Is it earth and sustainable? Is it positive and uplifting?
When selecting your brand color palette keep in mind that warm tones tend to feel happier and more inviting while cooler tones tend to give off a more calming feel.
#2 | start with one color (or two)
Once you’ve nailed down your brand objectives, I recommend picking a color or two and building your palette from there. For example, say I know that I want peach to be represented in my brand palette — it feels happy and speaks to my boho style. I’m going to start with just peach. From there, I’m going to pick similar colors within the peach family such as coral and blush. I might even consider adding a muted, warm green to complement — it works because all the colors fall within the same value and have warm tones to them.
#3 | add contrast
With the base of your color palette complete, it’s time to add in some contrast! I recommend picking a color that’s opposite on the color wheel for a bit of a wild card. In the example above, I would choose blue (opposite of orange) but I would still keep it on the warm and muted side so that it blended with the rest of my brand color palette.
A brand color palette can be full of colors or it can be more minimal and feature only a few. Just remember, when putting together your palette too many colors on the opposite ends of the spectrum can feel chaotic and overwhelming so it’s best to stick to a warm or cool palette with supporting colors.
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Ready to revamp your brand color palette and full brand identity? Reach out, we’d love to help!
