Begin with Brand Colors
You are about to kick off your new great idea. You have a name, an offer, a business plan… and you sit down to make your first post on social media to announce it all and realize… “WHAT DO I WANT IT TO LOOK LIKE?” You are overwhelmed by SO many choices… colors, fonts, icons, graphics, pictures… Canva is an endless stream of possibility— and you don’t know where to start.
As a designer, I always begin with color.
Most people are aware that color links with human psyche. We know ‘instinctively’ red and black are power colors, blue is calming, purple is peaceful, white is pure, etc. Truthfully, however, many of these connections are really rooted in our culture and we make assumptions based off of our perception through things like religion, traditions, popular culture and personal bias. (For example, white is the color a bride in Christian traditions wears for her wedding, symbolizing purity. However, in the Hindu tradition a bride wears reds, yellows and golds, driving away evil and symbolizing passion.)
So how do we choose color in order to convey messaging to a global market when all these biases are baked into human psyche? As an artist and a designer, I pull from a variety of methods to find that perfect palette… beginning with Astrology.
My Unique Approach to Brand Colors
I find linking with the individual, and what colors represent them energetically is a good place to begin. I then consider their community, and how the chosen brand colors will be received. This is the process I use with all my clients in the program Reflections of You… I also used it for my own business.
Take a look at Wonderlust’s palette as an example:
My personal “big three” (as I like to call them) Astrological signs are: Libra Sun, Sagittarius Moon and Pisces Rising. Air, Fire and Water are most prominent in my chart. Air is light, which is where I get the lighter colors of my palette – off white and pink. The color of clouds and the easy breezy air softens the fire of Sagittarius to a pastel-like pink. Libra, also being diplomatic, is concerned with peace and harmony. This tendency combined with the strength of fire results in a deep purple and strong brown. These darker colors also bring balance (another Libra trait) to the lighter colors. Then… there is the blue… winding, watery (Pisces) and creative through it all.
This is a very brief explanation as to how I arrived at Wonderlust’s brand colors I feel connected to energetically —personally and professionally— and they reveal a lot of my nature as an entrepreneur. But what about my audience? How do they perceive them?
The overall light and airy feel of my palette gives a sense of approachability and fun. The two stronger, darker colors portray strength and grounded-ness. I offer my clients not only branding and web design, but direction and manifestation of visions into reality — so the connection to earth is important. (Brown) AND the inspiration from divinity represents their vision (Purple).
Much of this process for me is very intuitive. I really dive deep with my clients and get to know them, their hopes, dreams, visions and fears. I also closely look at their audience and how the chosen brand colors will be received.
What colors do you feel connected to? Have you ever thought about how these ‘favorite’ colors of yours represent your energy?
Check out this fun tool to play with your color palette: Coolors
Learn more about my branding process here.
Happy Branding! 🙏🏼
~V~
