5 ways to update your branding with colour
Updating with colour can be one of the easiest ways to refresh your existing branding.
Colour plays such an important role in how your audience experiences your brand / business. Maybe your business has moved in a new direction or you have a new service or product - colour can be a simple and visible way to show this new direction.
Here are some quick tips on how you can update with colour:
1. change the hue
Is your current colour palette using dark and ‘heavy’ colours - think dark blues and burgundy red. Why not change the hue of the existing colours by making them brighter. Vice versa, if you have more of a pastel palette, make them more vibrant.
2. add a secondary palette to your existing
You might have two or three colours in your existing palette - why not add a fourth or fifth colour to complement the current colours. Finding complementary colours can sit well with your existing colours. Otherwise, you could add two additional colours that sit on the opposite side of the colour wheel, to contrast.
3. complete overhaul
Changing your entire colour palette can be done, with consideration to your brandmark (logo). If you’re considering using a new suite of colours, make sure they complement your logo colours. Maybe it’s looking at simplifying the colours in your logo to work with the new palette. Your business might be taking more of an environmental approach and the use of a green palette would be better suited. If your target market has shifted or changed, again colour can help reconnect with your customer (maybe hot pink is not resonating and a cooler peach tone is better?).
4. Colour-code certain services or sections
Have you introduced a new service or product to your business? Colour-coding this area is a great way to help it stand out from the others. For example, You run a conference centre and are now introducing weddings to your services - why not colour all of the collateral and marketing a gold tone. Your logo wouldn’t change, but the new colour would complement your existing branding.
5. Streamline your palette
Simplify! A new way of design is around responsive design, making sure your brandmark is legible across all platforms (not just print) - so reducing the amount of colours used in your colour palette is a great way to refresh it. Maybe pairing back to one to three colours, or a tonal range of colours rather than four distinct colours.
