We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Manage Cookies
Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how you’re using our website. Some of them are essential, and without them you wouldn’t be able to use Venngage. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are always on, as they’re essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. Without these cookies, services you’ve asked for can’t be provided.
Show cookie providers
- Google Login
Functionality Cookies
These cookies help us provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, and remember your settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers.
Performance Cookies
These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. If you opt out of these cookies, we can’t get feedback to make Venngage better for you and all our users.
- Google Analytics
Targeting Cookies
These cookies are set by our advertising partners to track your activity and show you relevant Venngage ads on other sites as you browse the internet.
- Google Tag Manager
- Infographics
- Graphic Design
- Graphs and Charts
- Data Visualization
- Human Resources
- Training and Development
- Beginner Guides
Blog Graphic Design
15+ Best Color Palette Tools For Business in 2023
By Jennifer Gaskin , Nov 30, 2022
Do you often find it a challenge to pick the right color palette for your brand, infographics, presentations, white papers and more? Integrating your organization’s mission and personality through a series of colors seems overwhelming because it is. Fortunately, there are many free online color palette tools that can make the task much easier.
Whether you’re looking for the perfect colors for your brand or you’re starting completely from scratch, we think there’s at least one tool on this list that will become a go-to resource.
Once you’ve formulated your color palette, simply load it to My Brand Kit and apply it to all your design projects in Venngage with just one click.
Click to jump ahead:
What is a color palette, how do you pick a color palette, how many colors should a color palette have, best color palette tools.
The term “color palette” refers to the collection of colors, shades and tones that make up a design, interior decorating scheme or piece of artwork. For branding purposes, color palettes are often seen as a reflection of corporate identity.
There’s really no wrong way to pick a color palette, but the simplest way is to identify one or two primary shades that represent your organization’s values and expand from there, using the tools on this list.
Related : How to Pick Colors to Captivate Readers and Communicate Effectively
When it comes to selecting a brand color palette, simplicity is usually better. This means most color palettes are best when limited to three to five total colors. That includes one or two primary logo colors and a few shades for emphasis or accents.
Related : The Do’s And Don’ts of Infographic Color Selection
It’s not reasonable to expect color inspiration to come from nowhere, but the good news is that there are tons of free tools that can help you build a perfect palette. Here are our favorites, and we think you’ll end up bookmarking at least a few of these.
- Accessible color palette generator: Venngage
- Color palette library: Color Hunt
- Color palette generator: Adobe Color
- Color palette creator: Paletton
- Color palette from image: BrandFolder
- Color palette from link: Color Palette Generator
- Brand color palette: BrandColors
- Color search: ColourLovers
- Color palette maker: Colormind
- Color gradient generator: uiGradients
- Color palette contrast tester: ColorSafe
- Complementary color generator: ColorHexa
- Random color palette generator: Coolors
- Color palette extension: EyeDropper
- Color scheme picker: Khroma
- Color shades generator: ColorDesigner
- Hex color generator: ColourCode
1. Accessible color palette generator: Venngage
In a typical design process, you’d choose a color palette, put together a visual and then manually check it for accessibility using a contrast checker or color blindness simulator .
This means you have to mix, match, test and retest, until you’ve found something that works.
Translation: there’s a ton of trial, error and time involved… so save yourself extra time and effort by flipping this process around!
With Venngage’s 100% free Accessible Color Palette Generator , you can generate a range of beautiful, WCAG-compliant color palettes in one of two ways — no design experience or accessibility knowledge required.
How does it work? In two ways:
- Randomize . Don’t think twice — roll the dice and generate palettes based on a random color.
- Generate from HEX . Input a HEX code to discover accessible palettes based on your color of choice.
No matter which route you choose, you’ll see the contrast ratio of each color against black or white text. And every palette generated adheres to a contrast ratio of 4.5:1 as per the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA.
In other words, the designs you create with these color combos will be compliant and inclusive.
Once you find a palette you love, simply click Download . You’ll get a text file with the HEX codes for that palette and for the text color that goes with it (#ffffff for white text and #000000 for black text).
Ready to give it a try? You’re just one click away from discovering a beautiful, accessible color palette:
2. Color palette library: Color Hunt
Color Hunt’s simple and friendly interface sets the stage for just how easy the tool is to use. While it’s possible to create your own color palette to share with the world, the big draw of Color Hunt is that it provides a seemingly limitless supply of ready-made palettes.
Explore collections like neon, vintage, space, skin or wedding, or type in a color or keyword to see what pops up. Even if you don’t find four colors that are exactly what you want, this tool is endlessly inspirational.
Return to Best Color Palette Tools list
3. Color palette generator: Adobe Color
Adobe Color is a bit more on the technical side than other tools on this list, but that also means it’ll give you a better chance of crafting the perfect color palette. This is a true color palette generator, and it’s backed up by color science.
That means you can choose five separate colors from the color wheel or select one and see how that can inform a monochromatic, analogous, triad or other types of color palette. Copy hex codes or RGB balance to add your new palette to My Brand Kit .
Once you’ve added the colors to your Brand Kit, simply apply them to any of your Venngage designs in one click:
Want to learn more about other color palette generators? Check out our list of the 13 best color palette generators for 2021.
4. Color palette creator: Paletton
Like Adobe Color, Paletton is another color palette creator based on the principles of the color wheel. Set your base color and flip through the options to find shades that create balance and harmony. Or try your luck at a random color palette.
Paletton also lets users fine-tune the tool by changing the hue and distance, which helps create unique combinations of colors.
If you’ve decided on a palette, do you know how it’ll look different for someone who’s color blind? Learn how to make your design more accessible with these color blind friendly palettes .
5. Color palette from image: BrandFolder
BrandFolder’s color palette extractor is excellent for generating palettes from uploaded images. If you have assets saved in DropBox, Box or Google Drive, you can easily share them, or you can choose to upload from your computer or other devices.
Crop just a portion of the image or use the entire thing to have the AI-powered system extract your color palette. We uploaded a beautiful tropical image and got a decidedly tropical color palette. Like any palette extractor, good results depend on having a good image to work with.
6. Color palette from link: Color Palette Generator
Color Palette Generator is a link-based theme extractor. In addition to being generated solely from URLs, the color palettes offered include two options, one dull and one vibrant. Dull isn’t meant as an insult here, as some organizations require desaturated, calm tones—or in other words, muted colors .
We found an optimistic image of a person raising their arms against a sunset, and the palette generated was perfectly reflective of that tone with bright yellows and orange contrasting against dark red and black.
7. Brand color palette: BrandColors
Take inspiration from the companies you admire or make sure you’re not picking colors that will get you in trouble with competitors by exploring BrandColors, the best color palette tool for researching existing brands.
For each brand, the site lists the hex codes so you can be sure you’re getting the precise colors, and the date of the most recent brand refresh is included. That helps you keep up with ever-changing corporate identities.
8. Color search: ColourLovers
Search for color palettes, patterns and other visual inspiration on the ColourLovers design community. Millions of user-generated color palettes have been uploaded, and you can use the palette maker to create and share your own if you’re so inspired.
In addition to color palettes, ColourLovers also offers a color browser that lets you scroll through newly named shades the site’s users have added. (Just in case you were curious, scientists have determined that there are about 18 decillion unique colors in the world.)
9. Color palette maker: Colormind
Colormind’s palette maker lets you add your own or have the system generate a five-color palette that lets you see how the palette would appear on a theoretical website. Move colors to the left or right within the palette to see how various combinations look.
When you’ve got some colors you like, lock them in and have the system generate new ones to fill the unfilled spots. You can also add specific color values if you already have approved colors for which you’re finding matches.
10. Color gradient generator: uiGradients
Gradients can add complexity and dimension to your designs, and uiGradients is an excellent tool for exploring gradients and customizing them at your disposal.
Change the orientation of an existing palette to see how changing the angle creates a different appearance, and copy the hex codes to get the exact shades right.
11. Color palette contrast tester: ColorSafe
Ensure your company’s design assets are accessible to all users by running your potential main color through ColorSafe’s contrast tester. The tool lets you see how well the text of varying colors would pop against your chosen background color.
This is particularly helpful if you’re considering using a color other than black for text, such as for banner ads or social media posts that are designed to be eye-catching. Be sure you don’t sacrifice readability for a cool color combination.
12. Complementary color generator: ColorHexa
Take a deep dive into color science with ColorHexa, which lets you see a range of complementary and contrasting colors based on a primary shade. The simple interface allows you to focus on the colors and not any other fancy features.
Enter a color value or select one and see tons of options for shades that complement or contrast as well as slight variations on your main color. Copy the hex codes to your Venngage Brand Kit if you see one you really love.
13. Random color palette generator: Coolors
We don’t normally recommend just throwing caution to the wind, but if you’re using Coolors, you’ll be in good hands. Generate a random palette from the thousands created by the site’s users, or explore what’s trending on the site.
If you’re not in the gambling mood, add a keyword like a style or color family to see palettes that fit the bill. Coolors also has a gradient generator, image palette extractor and contrast checker, making it a useful one-stop-shop.
14. Color palette extension: EyeDropper
Chrome web browser users can find color inspiration everywhere they go online with the EyeDropper browser extension. Simply add the extension and identify individual colors as you move your mouse over them.
Build a palette by clicking on colors you like, and then copy their hex values to add to your designs and your Venngage Brand Kit.
15. Color scheme picker: Khroma
Khroma is a cool tool that feeds your color preferences into an AI-powered engine and lets the system generate color combinations. But the best feature is the color scheme picker that pairs colors the system knows you like with ones that are complementary.
See what your chosen colors will look like with text on them, in poster version or as an image overlay. The site is still in beta, so it may change, but it’s great for making a tough task seem more fun.
16. Color shades generator: ColorDesigner
Find shades of colors to perfectly round out your color palette with ColorDesigner. Scroll through as many as 80 shades and tints of your primary color to see the variety of similar tones that can be created.
ColorDesigner also lets you check out harmonious or contrasting shades so you can see how different colors play against each other.
17. Hex color generator: ColourCode
ColourCode is basically one big color wheel. Put your pointer over any corner of the screen and see how the color changes as a result. With hex codes displayed at the bottom, ColourCode is an excellent way to see a full-screen representation of your selected color.
Lock in your color by clicking and then see a variety of palettes the system automatically generates based on that choice by digging into the options on the left side of the screen. Add new shades or remove ones you don’t need.
In summary: You can never be stuck for options with these color palette tools
Express your brand story through colors. Use these color palette tools to bring personality to your company’s mission. Once you have your slate of colors finalized, load them on your Venngage Brand Kit and apply them to your designs in as simple as a few clicks.
Upgrade to a Business account to enjoy one-click branding for any designs you create with Venngage as well as other Business exclusive features.
With a free account, you can test and see how easy it is to have your brand colors and logos extracted from your website and automatically loaded to My Brand Kit:
Once your brand colors and logos are loaded to your account, simply apply them while you’re designing for a consistent branding experience!
Louise Myers Visual Social Media
Rock your online presence with DIY graphics! Get Graphic Design & Social Media Marketing tips from an expert.
Business Colors: Here’s How To Choose The Best for YOU
Updated on: October 17, 2022 by Louise Myers 8 Comments
Trying to pick your best business colors?
Curious about the psychology of color in branding?
Wondering how color influences marketing and sales?
We’ll cover all that here, including which colors top brands use, and tips on color theory and combining colors.
So you can pick brand colors that send the right message about your business.
And I’ve included 10 colorful infographics you’ll want to pin to Pinterest! Enjoy.
Choose the Best Business Colors
Whether you’re choosing colors for your brand, your product launch, or your email marketing campaign, consider the impact of color.
Powerful psychological cues are triggered when we view different colors. Colors evoke emotions, moods, and feelings.
Whether you’re a marketer or a consumer, knowing the power of color psychology can help you make better decisions. Color plays a much bigger role in influencing what we purchase than you might think!
Amazingly, 84.7% of people said that color was the primary reason they bought a particular product.
People make a subconscious judgment about an environment or product within 90 seconds – and between 62 and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone!
As a small business owner wearing many different hats, color may not be front of mind when developing your brand and marketing materials. But for better or worse, color affects the way people react when they first encounter your company.
Selecting your colors is no easy feat.
Which one will send the right message?
Which sets the appropriate tone?
Vistaprint wanted to help small business owners develop a better understanding of common color associations , so they could apply this to their own businesses.
They started by looking at what colors customers are choosing when designing their marketing materials on their online design studio.
They learned that the top color was overwhelmingly blue, followed by black and red.
With a plethora of research out there about color psychology, they decided to consult an expert. Dr. Sally Augustin, a leading authority on the psychology of color, provided insight for an infographic on how small business owners can leverage color to evoke specific feelings and associations to benefit their business.
The Vistaprint infographic includes insights on the colors that are most appropriate for different types of small businesses.
They also encourage you to consider these tips:
1 | Choose colors through the lens of your customer, and those that reflect your company’s brand, industry, and product or service.
2 | Leverage color combinations to enhance their impact. A color like grey which doesn’t make a significant statement could be paired with a more energizing or relaxing color.
3 | Be cognizant of how colors are interpreted in different cultures, particularly if you have an international customer base or sell your products/services abroad.
4 | Don’t choose colors based on your own preferences. Your favorite color may not be sending the right message.
5 | To maximize your opportunity to stand out, avoid choosing colors that are too similar to your competitors.
And on to the next infographic…
Color Psychology: What Do Your Brand Colors Say About You?
What is color psychology?
Can colors affect mood, perception, and even purchasing decisions?
Color psychology is the study of color as a determinant of human behavior. [ wikipedia ]
Artists and designers understand and utilize the power of color to evoke a mood, and even change behaviors. With this infographic, you too can harness the power of color!
Color meanings in brief:
White: Cleanliness, Purity, Simplicity Dive deep into the many meanings of white .
Yellow: Happiness, Warmth, Caution Learn all about the meaning of yellow and choose the right one from 33 yellow color codes .
Orange: Affordable, Creative, Fun Orange comes in many shades and tints! Learn the orange color meanings , then opt for the optimal one with 20+ orange hex codes .
Red: Action, Passion, Danger Find out more about the meaning of red to use it wisely. Then pick the right red hex codes !
Pink: Gentle, Romantic, Grateful Pick the perfect pink hex codes from our selection of 33, from pastel to powerful. And make sure it sends the right message by learning the color meanings of pink .
Purple: Expensive, Mysterious, Spiritual Use purple well by learning purple color meanings . Then find your favorite from 40 fabulous purple color codes .
Blue: Authoritative, Serene, Dignified There are so many tints, tones and shades of blue! Make the blue-chip choice by learning blue color meanings and selecting from 20+ blue hex codes .
Green: Renewal, Healing, Money Take a deep dive into the meanings of green and choose from 40 fantastic green hex codes .
Brown: Calm, Natural, Serious Embrace the best brown from this selection of 22 brown color codes .
Grey: Corporate, Practical, Somber Grey gets in on the action too, with 22 great grey hex codes .
Black: Classic, Formal, Bold Learn the black color meanings to send the right message with black. Find important insights on using black combined with other colors too!
You might also enjoy learning more color names – 20 color swatches and names for each color mentioned above, plus tan. 240 in all!
Check out the color psychology infographic below, provided by Muse Design, to see what your brand colors are revealing about you.
Article continues below the graphic.
The Psychology of Color for Your Brand: Infographic
The psychology of color means that different colors have different effects on you – and your business audience!
This makes color a vital factor in your branding. Color plays a huge role in your audience’s perception of your company, as well as their remembering you.
In the U.S., studies suggest some universal color meanings. These can vary in different cultures, though.
According to Entrepreneur Magazine, warm colors, like red and yellow, send an outgoing, energetic message, while cool colors, like blue, are calmer and more reserved. You can brighten a cool color to increase its vitality and reduce its reserve.
Pick the perfect shade and intensity with the color code charts linked in the previous section.
The clever folks at Fiverr took Entrepreneur ‘s info and made a beautiful infographic, which you can view and pin below. (article continues after graphic).
The Secret Psychology of Color in Marketing: Infographic
Here’s another terrific infographic about the psychology of color, with yet more to follow below!
Would you like to positively impact potential customers with color psychology?
Then you need to know how to use color well!
Each color has a unique impact on human moods, behavior, and performance.
For example, the color red creates a sense of urgency and increases appetite, making it a great choice for consumer sales and food chains.
On the other hand, the color blue is soothing and calming. It suggests security and reliability and is ideal for conservative products.
Check out the infographic below from WebPageFX for specifics by color.
Don’t forget to pin this psychology of color in marketing infographic.
Just for fun, you might enjoy this color personality test .
Picking Brand Colors? What Color Says About Your Business
Picking brand colors?
You’re in the right place. In the branding world, color is one of the most important aspects.
Color helps in brand recognition and has the power to influence a customer’s purchase decision. Marketers have to determine which color suits the brand best, and how it can deliver a message to their target market.
Studies say that 90% of people’s perception and assessment of a brand depends on color.
The infographic below has taken six colors and analyzed them. Learn the characteristics of different colors and which brands use them, so you can choose the right color for your brand.
Different colors have different qualities. For example, neutral colors like black, gray, and white display qualities like premium or luxury. Brands such as Apple, Audi, and Chanel use neutral colors.
Color psychology in branding is of interest to all marketers because they wield the power to attract and influence customers to purchase a particular brand with their use of color.
Take a look at this infographic and let us know, which brand colors work for your business?
Which Fonts and Colors Drive Top Brands?
Pondering your visual brand strategy?
Never hurts to check out what the world’s top brands do.
Fonts and colors are your first consideration, and they need to set the right tone for your company’s brand.
Tasty Placement analyzed the colors used in the top brand logos. Then they determined font styles. Finally, whether the top brand logos used an icon only, text only, or a combination of both.
As you can see on their infographic, only iconic brands like Apple and Shell can get away with an icon only!
And the font Helvetica is just crushing it, being used in better than 1 in 5 of top brand logos.
Does this mean you should choose Helvetica?
No more than Mattel’s Barbie shouldn’t use pink as her brand color, or me purple. Just choose wisely.
Pin the infographic to share which fonts and colors drive the world’s top brands.
To choose fonts wisely, check out 10 more infographics on font personality !
This is How to Create a Brilliant Brand Identity
Want to create a brand identity for your small business?
It’s no secret that companies owning a powerful brand achieve a better position in the marketplace.
Presenting a memorable brand makes a company and its products more recognizable to customers. People love to buy from familiar companies!
Brand identity is the foundation of a good brand. That’s why there is no successful business without well-established branding.
Why is creating brand identity important for small businesses?
Brand identity makes your business visible in the crowded marketplace, helps you attract new customers, and keep the existing ones.
Businesses with a distinct brand personality are easier to remember and identify. That’s why your brand needs to be carefully designed.
Colors, fonts, and shapes used for designing the elements of your branding carry a message about your business to the marketplace.
These visual elements communicate the core values of your business to your audience, so they can relate to them. If consumers share the same values as your business, they will more likely choose your company and products or services over your competitors’.
But, before you start designing your brand identity elements, you need to know who is your target audience and decide how do you want to be perceived by them.
Since creating your brand properly can seem complex, it’s good to know where to start and what to pay attention to during the process. The infographic below gives you designing tips and an overview of the important steps in the process of building an unforgettable brand personality.
Take a look at this infographic from Custom Labels , and prepare yourself to create a brilliant brand identity for your small business.
How to Win at Color Theory: Infographics
Baffled by color theory?
Struggling to decide how to combine colors in your graphics?
You’re not alone. While some of us are born with a sixth sense about color, most people are intimidated.
Learn to use color like a pro in these infographics from SilkCards .
There are 3 parts:
- Color Theory Basics.
- Contrasting and Complementary Colors.
- Color Combinations: Background and Text.
Check them out and pin your favorites! Read on after each image.
Color Theory Definition
In the visual arts, color theory or colour theory is a body of practical guidance to color mixing and the visual effects of a specific color combination. There are also definitions (or categories) of colors based on the color wheel: primary color, secondary color and tertiary color. source
Color theory is a set of basic rules in mixing color perception to achieve the desired effect by combining colors of light (RGB) or combining colors reflected in pigments.
The perception of color depends on preferences and tastes in terms of colors, to a greater or lesser extent, physical reactions to certain colors, such as feeling cold in a room painted in light blue, or warm in another room painted in orange, yellow, and red.
Contrasting and Complementary Colors Infographic
When we talk about complementing a color with another, the greater the contrast of clarity and darkness between the letters and the background, the better the readability of the text. This is so important to understand when designing graphics!
Also note that strong, primary colors will give your brand the most visibility.
Color Combinations for Background and Text Infographic
Any color can be evaluated outside its environment. Be aware that the same tone may look different when it is placed on different backgrounds, and different colors may appear almost the same when they are associated with different backgrounds.
There are two basic compositional forms of color. One is harmony, and the other is the contrast. Good background / text combinations occur when the colors have a lot of contrast. Bad combinations may be similar in tone or hue, and hard to read.
Another way to improve your design is with the rule of thirds .
Business Color Psychology for Branding
You reviewed business colors, the psychology of color for branding, and which brands use which colors.
We covered color theory, complementary and contrasting colors, and how to combine colors for standout designs.
You discovered 10 different informative infographics about color!
I’m sure these infographics will help you learn more about colors for business . Pin them for future reference!
About Louise Myers
Louise Myers is a graphic design expert whose designs have been featured by Disney, Macy's, WalMart and more. Her straightforward writing style empowers small business owners to make their own graphics for social media success!
Banani Sarkar says
October 26, 2020 at 10:56 AM
I am trying to make a business page and logo, out of nothing except my ideas, how do I choose colour for success. I am a yoga and meditation teacher. I know you are very famous but still can you give me some tips? Thank you.
Louise Myers says
October 26, 2020 at 12:31 PM
Check out what others in your niche are doing and see what “feels right” to represent your own business.
Elena Bennet says
March 13, 2020 at 3:50 AM
Wow, I really love this.
It is not so easy to choose business colors without skill and experience. However the details you mention here would be very helpful for the beginner.
Lorraine Graham says
February 28, 2020 at 5:51 AM
This is just what I’ve been looking for and a WHOLE lot more! Working on a start-up and this has been invaluable. Thank you so very much.
February 28, 2020 at 7:50 AM
So glad to hear it helped!
Mark Justine says
November 20, 2017 at 7:26 PM
Everyone’s true colors show eventually. Thank you for sharing your idea but the best color in the whole world is the one that looks good on you.
November 21, 2017 at 8:02 AM
I would say – IF you like it!
Nzekwe Godswill says
November 1, 2017 at 9:07 PM
You just nailed everything in one post. This is amazing thanks for sharing such awesome post.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Brand Colors
The biggest collection of official brand color codes around. curated by @brandcolors and friends ., about brandcolors.
BrandColors was created by DesignBombs . The goal was to create a helpful reference for the brand color codes that are needed most often.
It's been featured by Smashing Magazine, CSS-Tricks, Web Design Depot, Tuts+, and over 2 million pageviews . There are now over 600 brands with 1600 colors and the collection is always growing.
You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience.
- Request a Quote
- Find a Solution
- Idea Gallery
- Learning Center
- FIND A STUDIO
What Are the Best Colors for Corporate Branding?
Whether your business has a skeleton crew or is a nationwide corporation, you may have found yourself wondering which colors are best suited for your brand. Choosing the right colors for corporate branding is essential, as the psychology of color plays a huge role in a customer’s decision to buy a product or engage with a company. In fact, in the first 90 seconds of initial viewing, an unconscious assessment has already been made by the consumer. Somewhere between 62% and 90% of this assessment is based on color.
If you want to take your brand to the next level and attract your ideal customer, knowing what message you are sending with your color choice is crucial.
Have you ever noticed that many fast-food chains use red in their logos? It’s no accident that nationwide chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC and Dairy Queen all incorporate red into their brand identities. They do this because research indicates the color red stimulates the appetite . By branding themselves with the color red, they signal to the viewer that they can satisfy their cravings.
As the fast food industry indicates, understanding the psychology of color is very important when deciding how to brand your company. If you are a restaurant, you may be tempted to incorporate red into your logo immediately. However, this might not be the right fit for you.
There is no one size fits all approach when it comes to choosing the best color for your brand. The best colors for corporate branding are going to be on a case-by-case basis and will need to fit your brand personality. If you want to find the best color for your business, you will need to first understand why it matters and how it is going to affect your customers.
Why Using the Right Color Matters
Choosing the wrong color for an advertisement — say, a serious brown for a fun, new children’s toy — may confuse the viewer or simply not catch their attention. If the color scheme is appropriate for the product or company as a whole, you are more likely to create the type of response that you want . Whether or not you recognize it, your color scheme will generate an emotional response in viewers, so it’s essential to know which colors are most likely to deliver the effect you want.
A study broke down the associations of color in marketing and found that color does play a significant role in establishing a brand’s personality, affecting purchases and influencing likeability and familiarity. These findings highlight the importance of color and the need to think deeply about how one wants to brand their company. If you’re going to establish a strong brand identity, having a memorable color scheme is a great place to start.
The Basics of Color
To know which colors you should use for your company, first you need to know the feelings colors typically evoke in audiences . Though there are multiple shades of colors and endless variations, the list below describes the main colors companies use to brand themselves and gives some insight into why companies use these colors :
Yellow is an attention-grabbing color that signals optimism, extraversion, friendliness, happiness and cheerfulness. It can also signal feelings of caution and cowardice, along with causing a potential strain on the eyes. Despite its potential downsides, it’s a go-to color for many companies, with National Geographic, IKEA, and Sprint all employing it in their logos.
Blue represents intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, duty and logic. It is a calming and dependable color that is very popular among companies. Many restaurants avoid using the color blue, however, due to the belief that it may suppress appetites. Due to its trustworthiness, financial institutions like JP Morgan, Chase and Bank of America all use blue as their primary color.
Green evokes feelings of nature and security. It helps convey an idea of growth, newness, calm and stability. Darker greens can also relate to wealth, but this is primarily found in the United States where money is green, rather than in other countries whose currency is a different color. Companies like John Deere and Land Rover use green to show their connection with nature.
Purple associates royalty, wealth, success and wisdom. Due to its rarity in nature, it’s linked to things that are otherworldly or imaginative. For example, the Syfy channel’s logo is purple, speaking to their science fiction and fantasy content.
Red elicits feelings of arousal, excitement and stimulation. It has romantic connotations like passion and love, while also relating to power and war. The color is highly visible and is good at grabbing a customer’s attention. However, it can also signal danger and aggression. Since it is an attention-grabbing and evocative color, a wide variety of companies like Heinz, CNN and Exxon use it.
Orange relates closely to red, as it also provokes feelings of arousal and excitement, just on a less intense level. It’s a multi-use color, as it can also bring out feelings of joy and playfulness. You can find this highly emotive color on the logos of companies like Fanta, Discover and Amazon.
Pink often draws out feelings of innocence, softness, sophistication and delicateness. In contemporary times, it has mostly been tied to femininity, but this is changing as pink becomes more popular in men’s fashion. The color can make a bold statement, while it can also be more light-hearted and gentle. Companies like Baskin Robbins, Vineyard Vines and Lyft all include the color in their logo for different effects.
Brown can bring out feelings of seriousness, reliability, support and neutrality. It can also be used to relate to nature and earthiness. Brown is not very emotionally charged or excited, but it gives a sense of utility that many people look for in a company. As such, UPS, Cracker Barrel and Hershey’s all use the color to remind customers of their reliable service or product.
Black symbolizes power, sophistication, dignity, glamour and authority. The sleek, modern appeal of black makes it popular and can elicit strong feelings from viewers. Despite its appeal, companies have to be aware that the color can also symbolize evil and grief. Fashion companies like Gucci, Chanel and Nike all use black in their logo to complement their trendsetting products.
White associates with purity, cleanness, simplicity, hygiene and peace. These positive connotations make white a very attractive choice for companies, and the color is often used as a background. Companies like Apple, Crocs, Cotton and Tesla have all paired white with a variety of colors to great effect.
The Bottom Line
There is a lot of meaning behind brand colors that you might not have been aware of until now. The above list is not exhaustive, but it should give you some idea about what impression you might be making about your brand identity with the colors you choose to incorporate into your brand.
Of course, the above colors will not always produce the same feelings in your audience. A person’s experiences, upbringing and cultural background all change their perception of certain colors . You should still take the general public perception of color into consideration when branding your company and look into how color perception might change based on where you are marketing.
The Best Color for Corporate Branding
When deciding how to brand your company, the number of colors and their various effects on audiences can make it overwhelming to decide on the correct scheme for you. To make it easier for yourself, you should ask a few questions to narrow down your search:
1. What Is Your Brand Personality?
When choosing the right colors for your company, you should start by establishing your brand identity. A brand’s personality is essentially a set of human characteristics that are attributed to a brand name .
Understanding your brand personality will help you know which colors will match up well with the personality you are attempting to cultivate. Before you choose a color, first make sure you understand your brand. Stanford professor Jennifer Aaker has studied brand personality and found that five key dimensions make up a brand’s personality :
- Sincerity. This personality is used by organizations that want to communicate that they are down-to-earth, honest, wholesome and cheerful.
- Excitement. This company can be described as daring, spirited, imaginative and up-to-date.
- Competence. This brand values being reliable, responsible, intelligent and successful.
- Sophistication. This personality is perceived as upper-class, glamorous, romantic and charming.
- Ruggedness. This company is viewed as outdoorsy, tough and strong.
Though brands may have traits from all five of these dimensions, they typically will rely on one of them to create brand familiarity with their customer. For example, if you’re a high-end fashion store, you want to push your sophistication and glamor over your responsibility. Customers are likely coming to your store because they want clothes that they can feel stylish and elegant in, rather than clothes they can wear comfortably around the house, so your branding should play into that desire.
While choosing a color for your brand, your brand personality should be at the forefront of your thoughts. Instead of trying to base your brand around stereotypical color associations (red = exciting), you want to use colors that are going to support the personality you are trying to display.
2. Who Are You Targeting?
Similar to knowing your brand personality, you should also establish who your brand is targeting. Examine whether your company is geared more towards men or women. Through environmental and cultural factors, men and women tend to favor different colors.
In a study, 57% of men stated that blue was their favorite color , while only 35% of women reported the same. Still, both numbers show that a lot of men and women prefer blue. For a more contrasting result, 23% of women said that purple was their favorite color, while less than 1% of men said the same, with 22% of men saying it was their least favorite color. In another study, men preferred bright colors more than women , while women preferred soft colors.
If your company primarily offers products and services to women, knowing which colors are going to be most attractive to your demographic might play a significant role in how you decide to brand yourself. For instance, if you largely market a product for women, you may use softer colors and avoid any colors that women tend not to respond positively to.
You should also note that these preferences by gender are not static and can be changed . As such, it’s important for companies to stay up-to-date on current trends and take the time to read the latest studies on color preferences among different demographics. This same principle applies to any other demographic you might be targeting.
3. What Are the Most Common Colors in Your Industry?
Once you understand your personality and have a sense of who you want to target, you should take a moment to review the major companies in your industry. What colors are these companies using? A lot of time, you will find overlap. For instance, green is found in agriculture, red in retail and blue in tech.
Once you’ve surveyed your field, it’s up to you to decide if you want to stand out from the crowd or go with a more traditional or conservative color scheme. Either option can work, and the decision ultimately comes down to the message you want to send.
4. How Do I Choose Colors That Fit My Corporate Identity?
First, take note that you are not stuck with only one color. In fact, it’s probably better to have multiple colors, especially if they are somehow related to what makes your brand unique.
For instance, Starbucks made its color scheme more personal and unique by changing its primary color to green in 1987, as a nod to the University of San Francisco , where the three founders went to school. Below are a few tips on how to pick out a color scheme:
Though you can have between one and four colors for your brand colors, to begin, it’s best to keep it simple with three colors that you can combine to say something about your brand personality. You are going to choose a base, an accent and a neutral color:
- The base. Think back to your brand’s personality. Which of the five key dimensions best fit your brand? Once you have that personality trait in mind, you can use it to help pick a color that reflects that personality trait. The base color should be a reflection of your most dominant trait, and it should also appeal to your target audience. The color you choose for the base will inform the other two colors, so choose wisely.
- The accent. You should pick a color that matches a brand personality trait for your accent. If you only have one personality trait you want to be known for, that’s okay and even recommended. You can just pick another color that matches your dominant personality trait and that pairs well with your base color. This color is a little more challenging to choose, but a visually appealing accent can make all the difference.
- The neutral. This color will probably be your background color. Since it’s in the background, you’ll want it to be low-key, using different shades of gray, beige, white or off-white to make the rest of your colors pop. Though you can use black as a background color, it will draw more attention to itself than other colors.
5. What Are Some of the Most Common Color Palettes?
If you’re still unsure which colors will best fit your corporate identity, you can rely on some color palettes that many companies employ. There are five color palettes to consider when you are trying to put colors together:
- Monochromatic. One of the most popular, monochromatic palettes will have you combining various shades and tints of a single color on the color wheel.
- Complementary. This palette combines colors that are directly opposite each other on the color wheel. A combination of warm and cool colors, this palette will stand out.
- Analogous. A very harmonious palette that will combine colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. Since the colors stay consistent, you will create a very recognizable brand color scheme.
- Triad. With a triad palette, you use three colors that are equal distance from each other on the color wheel. Generally, you will only have one dominant color and two supporting colors if you use this palette to design your brand colors.
- Neutral with a pop of color. This color palette relies on an array of neutral colors with only one color that stands out from rest. You can go with a bright or more subdued color to great effect.
If you’re still having trouble figuring out your brand color scheme, you can always try online color scheme generators that will produce a scheme for you , or you can go look at other palettes to get ideas for your corporate branding efforts.
Ready to Bring Your Colors to Life?
If you’re ready to advertise your company with eye-catching graphics unique to your brand, SpeedPro can help. As the only nationwide network that focuses on large-format graphics, we know the ins and outs of what will make your colors pop. From window graphics to murals, signs, vehicle wraps and trade show displays, SpeedPro can help you print the best-looking graphics in the industry.
All of our franchises have proven their ability to deliver exceptional service, on-time products and memorable graphics to our customers. Find and contact your local studio today to request a quote and discuss your options.
- Palette Generator
- Explore Palettes
- Image Picker
- Contrast Checker
- Other tools
- List of colors New
- Browse Gradients
- Create a Gradient
- Make a Gradient Palette
- Color Picker
- Collage Maker
- Image Converter
- Android App
- Figma Plugin
- Chrome Extension
- Instagram Page
The super fast color palettes generator!
Create the perfect palette or get inspired by thousands of beautiful color schemes.
You're all set!
We updated our Terms and Privacy . Please read them and accept to continue.
- You can save up to 10 palettes
- You can have only 1 project and 1 collection
- You can save up to 5 colors to favorites
- Remove ads and popups to enter the heaven of colors
- Generate palettes with more than 5 colors automatically or with color theory rules
- Save unlimited palettes , colors and gradients, and organize them in projects and collections
- Explore more than 10 million color schemes perfect for any project
- Pro Profile , a new beautiful page to present yourself and showcase your palettes, projects and collections
- Get advanced PDF export options like shades, hues, color blindness, etc.
- Support me as an indie developer
- Help the planet with a donation to nonprofits
- And more...
Coolors Adobe Extension
30 Eye-Catching Logo Color Schemes
Color can have a significant impact on logos. It can communicate meaning and help users identify your company or brand. And just like other design trends, what styles and colors are used in logos tend to change over time.
The trend now is toward more streamlined logos without much color (often single color) or the exact opposite – rainbow-style color palettes for brand marks.
Here’s a look at 30 logo color schemes that are sure to catch your attention.
7,000+ Logo Templates, Designs and Logo Builders With Unlimited Downloads
Download thousands of beautiful logo templates, logo designs, and anything you need to build your brand with an Envato Elements membership. It starts at $16 per month, and gives you unlimited access to a growing library of over 2,000,000 design assets, graphics, themes, photos, and more.
Ultimate Logo Builder
Ai, png, eps, psd.
Real Estate Logo Set
Ai, eps, png, svg, psd.
Line Badges Logo Set
Ai, eps, psd.
Explore Logo Templates
1. Miami Dolphins
Some of the most interesting color combinations you’ll find some from sports teams. Athletic logos combine colors that are often not generally used together. The Miami Dolphins use a nice combination of teal and orange that’s bright, sunny and fits the logo mark well.
Slack represents the rainbow-style color trend. The logo uses four distinct colors and there’s even a prominent secondary purple. While this palette has a lot happening this quad of colors – rooted in the Material Design palette – is extremely popular among lots of brands.
3. Outdoor Women’s Alliance
Colors that’s just a little unexpected can really make a logo. The Outdoor Women’s Alliance uses a combination that evokes a sense of nature but opts for boldness rather than colors that could be more cliched.
Blue is the most popular logo color of all time. It creates a sense of trust and harmony. PayPal uses a trio of blues for that very reason.
5. Starbucks
Single color logo design, especially with flat elements, is the most popular logo trend right now. Starbucks does this well with a color that is synonymous with the brand. The streamlined color palette is easy on the eye … and even easier to convert to black or white for alternate versions.
6. Trader Joe’s
Trader Joes follows the same logo design philosophy as Starbucks, but shows that a single color design can work for text as well.
7. Mountain Dew
The classic style Mountain Dew logo is a mashup of brights. This more classic color style has a less trendy, but timeless feel.
8. Thrive Global
Thrive Global uses black and a blueish green combination for a simple logo mark with a monotone color scheme. What’s really nice about this color palette is that it mimics a gradient style without using gradients.
9. Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls
The bright pink and gold of Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls is sure to jump out at you. The color combination has a feminine feel without being too girly, which works well for the brand.
10. Stitcher
Stitcher is another rainbow-style design. The palette uses colors you might not normally put together, but here it works because color drives the eye across the logo design.
11. South Carolina Humanities
South Carolina Humanities uses a classic color combination for a simple logo that feels trustworthy and modern.
12. Ally Bank
Ally Bank bucks the trend with financial logos with a single purple wordmark. Most financial instutions, such as PayPal (above), opt for blue.
13. All That Grows
All That Grows uses a simple bright green with black for a sleek logo design that has just enough color to draw the eye. This can be an effective option that adds a little more visual interest to a single-color design.
14. Breckenridge Brewery
Breckenridge Brewery trades white lettering and accents for a warm beige. The color works well with the primary orange and creates a badge-style logo that contains all of the design elements in a neat package.
15. Dogs Trust
A gold and black color combination can be harsh and difficult to use, but Dog’s Trust does it in a way that stands out and establishes the right feel. A combination like this can also stand out in a crowded logo color space of blues, reds and greens.
16. Stand Up To Cancer
Bold choices with color – black, red and orange – sets the tone for this mostly text logo.
17. Feeding America
Feeding America uses an orange and deep green combination that perfectly matches what the nonprofit does and imagery in the design. The orange makes you think of wheat (in the top of the logo) and green connects with nature and farming (food generation). The green also serves as a nice neutral against the orange, which can be harsh.
18. Pampers
Another trendy color combination with teal and gold creates a sense of fun and adventure, great for a brand aimed at new parents.
19. Core Hydration
Core Hydration uses a great monotone blue color palette that includes all the blues you might think of when it comes to water. Pair those with color black lettering for maximum impact in the logo design.
20. Seattle Sounders
The Seattle Sounders use a calming blue and green combination. These colors almost have a neutral feel without being bland.
21. Credit Karma
Credit Karma uses a bright green that’s a new spin on what you might think of for money.
TikTok uses simple black text with cyan and magenta accents to represent the video social channel. The colors are bright and trendy and help push black lettering to the forefront.
23. Dunkin’
There’s nothing like a color pair that doesn’t match to make you look at a brand. That’s just what Dunkin’ has been doing for years with a bright orange and pink color combination.
24. Wonder Woman
The class DC Comics Wonder Woman logo uses a red and yellow pair that brands have used for generations. Red is a popular logo color because of its impactful nature and the addition of yellow makes it even more attention-grabbing.
The NBA uses another classic color commination – red and blue. You could say these colors go together in logo design the same way that peanut butter and jelly go together on a sandwich.
Nike’s iconic logo design uses no color at all. If you start scanning websites, this is something you’ll see a lot of right now.
27. Lord + Taylor
Lord + Taylor uses a softer version of black and gold. The gray and yellow logo is inviting and a nice alternative to all the in-your-face designs that are more popular.
28. Sanzaru Games
Sanzaru Games uses a line green with black to grab attention. While lime was once dubbed the “new neutral,” it’s not overly popular and stands out for this reason.
29. Chipotle
Chipotle uses two reds for the restaurant chain logo. It’s an effective use of color – red is said to stimulate the appetite and it goes with the Mexican food theme.
30. Salty Turtle Beer Co.
Salty Turtle Beer Co. uses several neutrals in a visually interesting way. The greens and beige are the colors of the iconic animal in the logo and color of hops, which are used to make their product. Color choices help the user “see” the design.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
FedEx is an iconic logo, all the way from the hidden arrow to its bright and in-your-face orange, purple and white color scheme. Not many people would put orange and purple together in a design, but the combination of a bright orange and a deep purple works perfectly for this recognizable brand.
1. Accessible color palette generator: Venngage. GENERATE AN ACCESSIBLE PALETTE FOR FREE. In a typical design process, you’d choose a color palette, put together a visual and then manually check it for accessibility using a contrast checker or color blindness simulator.
Google uses a bright color palette, combining four colors—blue, red, yellow, and green—which contrasts against the company’s clean white web background. Google’s iconic color palette replicated with hex codes for web and RGB and CMYK for printing in Canva’s color wheel tool.
As a data intelligence company, Collibra’s logo colors are extremely approachable. Its deep blue and bright green bounce off each other creating a friendly, yet sophisticated color story. Mixing these two colors together elicits trust, and helpfulness. 7. Asana Art by Devin Jacoviello
Here’s a quick explanation of these last terms: Tones: Mixing gray to a pure color. Tint: Mixing white to a pure color. Shades: Mixing black to a pure color. This isn’t a step that’s to be rushed, as these will be the most defining colors of your brand that show people what it’s all about.
Embrace the best brown from this selection of 22 brown color codes. Grey: Corporate, Practical, Somber Grey gets in on the action too, with 22 great grey hex codes. Black: Classic, Formal, Bold Learn the black color meanings to send the right message with black. Find important insights on using black combined with other colors too!
BrandColors - official brand color hex codes The biggest collection of official brand color codes around. Includes hex colors codes for 500+ brands including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many more. BrandColors The biggest collection of official brand color codes around. Curated by @brandcolorsand friends. Suggest a Brand About BrandColors
Companies like Baskin Robbins, Vineyard Vines and Lyft all include the color in their logo for different effects. Brown Brown can bring out feelings of seriousness, reliability, support and neutrality. It can also be used to relate to nature and earthiness.
color palettes generator! Create the perfect palette or get inspired by thousands of beautiful color schemes. Start the generator! Explore trending palettes. We are 4 million users! iOS App. Create, browse and save palettes on the go. …
Here’s a look at 30 logo color schemes that are sure to catch your attention. 7,000+ Logo Templates, Designs and Logo Builders With Unlimited Downloads Download thousands of beautiful logo templates, logo designs, and anything you need to build your brand with an Envato Elements membership.