Color Psychology in Logo Design
Color offers an instantaneous method for conveying meaning and message in your logo designs. It’s probably the most powerful non-verbal form of communication we can use as designers. Our minds are programmed to respond to color. The subliminal messages we get from color shape our thoughts. As humans our very survival is hung on the identification of color. We stop our cars for red lights and go on green, we look at the color of certain plants and animals to determine whether or not they are safe for us to eat or touch, the bottom line is that color is a very important part of our daily lives. It’s important for us as designers to use color appropriately and understand the meaning behind the colors we choose.
Red
Action, Adventure, Aggressive, Blood, Danger, Drive, Energy, Excitement, Love, Passion, Strength and Vigor
Red is an intense color. It can summon conflicting emotions from blood and warfare to love and passion. It is often used in logo design to grip the viewer’s attention and has been known to raise one’s blood pressure or make people hungry.
Red Bull: 1987 Designer Unknown
Red Bull gets a double dose of red in its logo and is a great color choice for a logo that represents an energy drink company. The company markets the drink as, “Red Bull vitalizes body and mind” and “Red Bull gives you wiiings!”. Both of these phrases reinforce why red was an excellent color choice for the logo. By accenting the red with yellow a loosely analogous color palette is created for the brand.
Pink
Appreciation, Delicate, Femininity, Floral, Gentle, Girly, Gratitude, Innocence, Romantic, Soft and Tranquil
Pink is a feminine color that conjures feelings of innocence and delicateness. It’s a softer version of red that can stir up visions of little girls, bubble-gum and cotton candy. The color pink is also widely associated with breast cancer awareness. It is often used in logos to add a feminine flare.
Barbie: 1959 Designer Unknown
The color pink is very prominent in Mattel’s Barbie logo and supporting branding material. It is a fitting color for a toy that is marketed to little girls. The typeface compliments the color choice and helps to reinforce the brands positioning by giving the impression of a young girl’s handwriting.
Orange
Affordable, Creativity, Enthusiasm, Fun, Jovial, Lighthearted, High-Spirited and Youthful
Orange is made up of red and yellow and can represent attributes from each of those colors. Orange is less intense than red but still packs a lot of punch. It is more playful and youthful than red. You can commonly find it used in logos to create a playfulness or stimulate emotions and even appetites.
Nickelodeon: 1984 Tom Corey, Fred/Alan Inc., Scott Nash
Orange is a perfect color choice for Nickelodeon who’s target audience is children. Orange is fun, lighthearted and youthful which reflects the TV channel’s programing. The design of the Nickelodeon logo supports the youthful theme with the paint spattered backdrop and playful typography.
Yellow
Caution, Cheerful, Cowardice, Curiosity, Happiness, Joy, Playful, Positivity, Sunshine and Warmth
Yellow, much like red, can have conflicting messages. It can represent sunshine and happiness or caution and cowardice. Yellow is bright and highly visible which is why it can often be found on caution and other road signs. Yellow is often used in logo design to get attention, create happiness and warmth.
McDonald’s: 1962 Jim Schindler
We all know the successful McDonald’s franchise (aka The Golden Arches) and their slogan “I’m Lovin’ It”. Like Red Bull, McDonald’s uses a loosely analogous color palette. The difference is that McDonald’s is mainly yellow which fitting for this brand that focuses on children, playfulness and happiness. The red works well as an accent color and has been know to raise ones blood pressure and evoke hunger. Incidentally, this color combination has influenced many other fast food chains.
Green
Crisp, Environmental, Fresh, Harmony, Health, Healing, Inexperience, Money, Nature, Renewal and Tranquility
Green represents life and renewal. It is a restful and soothing color but can also represent jealousy and inexperience. You can often find it used in companies that want to portray themselves as eco-friendly.
Animal Planet: 2008 Dunning Eley Jones
Green is suitable logo color choice for a TV channel who’s programing focuses solely on nature and animals. There’s a significant amount of controversy surrounding this logo. So whether you like the logo or not, I think we can agree that the various tones of green are right on for this channel. The color conjures up imagery of jungles, grasses and nature in general.
Blue
Authority, Calm, Confidence, Dignity, Established, Loyalty, Power, Success, Secure and Trustworthy
Blue is calming and can stir up images of authority, success and security. Most people can say they like at least one shade of blue. It is probably the most popular color in logo design and can be seen extensively in government, medical and fortune 500 company logos.
IBM: 1972 Paul Rand
The blue in the IBM (aka “Big Blue”) logo represents a company that is non-threatening yet stable and established. When Rand redesigned the IBM logo he replaced the solid type with 8 horizontal bars to represent “speed and dynamism”. While the logo typically isn’t used in its original blue today, it is still a very prominent color in the IBM brand.
Purple
Ceremony, Expensive, Fantasy, Justice, Mystery, Nobility, Regal, Royalty, Sophistication and Spirituality
Purple implies royalty, mystery, spirituality and sophistication. Because purple is the combination of red and blue, it has both warm and cool properties. The color purple can be found in many education related and luxury product logos.
Hallmark: Designer Unknown
The Hallmark company uses the slogan “When you care enough to send the very best.” The use of the color purple in the logo supports the marketing message of the company. It implies royalty, expense and sophistication which is reinforced by the crown icon that hovers over the type.
Brown
Calmness, Depth, Earth, Natural, Roughness, Richness, Simplicity, Serious, Subtle, Utility and Woodsy.
Brown indicates nature, woodiness, and utility. Brown is used in logos related to construction and legal logos due to it simplicity, warmth and neutrality. “What can Brown do for you?” is the tagline for UPS which might be one of the most recognized brown logos.
UPS: 1961 Paul Rand and 2003 FutureBrand
UPS uses the color brown to differentiate itself from the competition (i.e., the USPS and FedEx). While the color may be received by many as utilitarian, boring or conservative, UPS has taken ownership of the color and used it as a point of distinction. In the 2003 redesign the introduction of yellow brings some warmth, friendliness and a certain richness to the mark.
Black
Authority, Bold, Classic, Conservative, Distinctive, Formality, Mystery, Secrecy, Serious and Tradition
Black is technically, the absence of all color. It’s a powerful and conjures authority, boldness, elegance and tradition. Black can be found in many logos for its boldness, simplicity and sophistication.
James Bond 007: Designer Unknown (© 1962 Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation)
The James Bond 007 logo is solid black. The color choice for the classic spy movie’s logo works well. The color represents the authority, mystery and sophistication that is a part of 007 movies.
Grey
Authority, Corporate Mentality, Dullness, Humility, Moody, Practicality, Respect, Somberness and Stableness
Grey, is somewhere between black and white. From a moral standpoint, it is the area between good and evil. It is also known as neutral and cool. Grey is often used for the type within logos because it is neutral and works well with most other colors.
Swarovski Crystal: Designer Unknown
The logo for the luxury brand Swarovski, maker of lead crystal glass, is grey. The grey could be viewed to represent the lead that is a part of the product the company makes, but also represents the respect and authority that comes from the history of a company that has been around for over 100 years.
White
Cleanliness, Innocence, Peace, Purity, Refined, Sterile, Simplicity, Surrender and Truthfulness
White is the universal color of peace and purity. It can often be found in logos as reversed text or negative space.
Girl Scouts: 1978 Saul Bass
While green may be the more prominent color in the Girl Scouts logo it also uses the negative space to create the silhouettes of two faces. The combination of the silhouetted faces and the white create a certain purity and innocence in the logo.
As you can see these colors can be found in logos we know and recognize. Often the designer has considered the meaning of the colors when choosing the palette for the logo. Next time you’re designing a logo remember to ponder the meaning of the colors you choose and do so wisely. Just remember, color psychology consists of culturally created ties that can change over time and location. It is by no means an exact science and is still largely based on anecdotal evidence.
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Some nice logo examples there. The Barbie design would’ve made a great addition to a previous post I made about hand-written logos. I hope you’re well.
Thank you for this post. I made very similar post some time ago but I didn’t write as many colors as you did.
Your article color psychology in logo design was well writtern. Your examples well support your statements!
A great article, thanks for posting. I am currently going through creating a new logo with a graphics design friend so very apt timing!
Very informative aricle, could’nt have come at a better time.
You may want to point out that your descriptions here are almost entirely cultural and may not be applicable in various cultures around the world.
I would also argue that describing pink as ‘feminine’ is an example of a cultural association that is both sexist and rapidly changing. In contrast, describing blue as ‘authoritative’ highlights the sexist dichotomy between it and pink.
All in all, not a terrible article… 😉
Apparently I missed those last few lines, my apologies 😀
Excellent article. Definitely saving this link.
It is an insightful posting. As I’m in the process of re-designing my website, it has been very helpful to know the connotations attached to colours.
Really nice concepts can anybody help me to create my company logo. I leave my email address to contact me. Thanks!
Make me reliaze that color can speak too
Fantastic review. I am lovin’ 😉
Bookmarked and will use for future reference. Thanks
Really cool! psychology… will definitely help me in my new work.!
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Yellow, much like red, can have conflicting messages. It can represent sunshine and happiness or caution and cowardice.
I’m doing some research on colours before making a recommendation to my client for a colour scheme for their new luxury goods website, and this is another page I’ve bookmarked for future reference smile Thanks!
However a couple of things I noted here; that there doesn’t appear to be any real distinction between grey and silver. Are they not separate colours with different meanings and psychologies? Or is silver just considered a shade of grey?
The article gives grey some attributes that I’d be more inclined to credit to silver; namely authority, respect and stability.
Also notable by its absence is gold. Is this considered a shade of yellow? I would have thought over the years with so much marketing in luxury goods, that gold would have done enough to be considered a separate colour with the connections of luxury, wealth and success.
In any case, thanks for a well-written and nicely presented article. I’ve picked up some info I’m sure will come in handy when making my report 🙂
Really cool! Thanks for sharing.
I really like that new mcdonalds logo. Is it possible that you can make such a logo for uour site?
What an amazing post! I would like to thank you for sharing it. You are putting very good effort into the stuff you post.
Logo seems to be a significant one if you are branded.As you can see that many branded things are identified with their awesome logo.
Hi! This is a great article. Thanks for sharing.
I did just want to point out one little thing: When referring to the printing process, black is actually the presence of all colors, not the absence. It is the absence of all colors when referring to light.
Very useful article. Thank you.
I love your design and you did a great job with this post! I’ve heard that the red/yellow combo evokes hunger as well. I think because they are warm, energizing colors – like food! Ketchup and mustard. We don’t see much blue in our food, so it would be counter-intuitive to have a blue logo for a restaurant.
It would be interesting to look at this topic from other cultures’ perspectives too; like in Asia, where white represents death instead of purity and red is good fortune.
This is great information to share!
its really great article for logo designing…Thank You So Much
Thanks for this article. This came at the right time.
Color Psychology in Logo Design – Interesting topic to discuss. Thanks for the awesome info you had given
Very interesting article about logos. All these logos can properly used in web design of any complexity.
It’s important for us as designers to use color appropriately and understand the meaning behind the colors we choose. Thank’s for the post
Great post! Thanks for sharing.
Great info, me likes!
Yeah now i’m understand why i always pick green and blue as my favourite logo color.
its a nice blog! didnt know that every colour of a brand had a meaning
Hi! –
Interesting article. Much like most of our other perceptions in and of society have changed, so too, has our view on “Color Psychology in Logo Design “…Well at least in my case. I tend not to follow much of the studies done in the 50’s and 60’s, blotch testing etc…
We no longer look at a youth standing with his ball cap sideways on the street corner as a ‘thug’ or ‘pusher. Or observe a male colleague in a pink polo top and second guess their gender preference. Far analogy I know, but I hope the point gets across about evolving perceptions.
Since the trend of some major corps in terms of their brand marks using transparencies and gradation of tones(i.e MasterCard logo) others have followed suit. You would figure with the clout the bigwigs have and resources on recent colour psychology, focus groups and the rest of the gamut, I think that things might have changed on this subject.
Considering the above, what do you think gradients and transparencies invoke?
– Raja
Really Great collection! It’s nice to know all these things…!
GOOD POINTS!!
I remember studying psychology and color theory – and wondering why they aren’t in the same class (for designers). Great post – I’ll bookmark this.
Marvellous!
I was hunting for knowledge in this area. I got certain pointers. Thank you very much.
I wish this study could turn to Indian aesthetic research on colour in art!
Very nicely presented in a simple manner. Really liked it
thanks.
Good info, tnx for sharing with us!
This is now one of my bookmarks, this is interesting. Also to see the importance and meanings of coloring in logo’s.
This really help me a lot,thanks.
i started my new work. i need a suitable logo for it. can u help in this matter,or do u have suitable template for my web site? please reply to my registered mail address. thanks
great and very useful, thanks.
I think you described the colors very good, I am a orange man, I just love that color!
excellent!! thank you for the insight!
Nice article. I would add, however, that some of these associations are cultural. Eastern and Western cultures share many of the same associations, but not all.
I am looking for a good book on colour psychology. Any recommendations from anyone?
I like orange and green colors and don’t like red… The RedBull example seems to me is awful
Nice descriptions for colors.
Really great stuff! I am a business coach, with many clients in the interior design field, where I am also considered a color expert. I teach a 2-day course on color to Interior Designers and Certified Interior Environment Coaches.
I loved what you had to say, and I especially loved that you showed specific examples that relate the color meanings to actual branding. This will help many start-up entrepreneurs to think about their logo in terms of exactly what they want to say to their ideal prospects long term.
You did a fantastic job in laying out this article/post. Thanks for the insight in applying color to business and branding. Keep up the great work!
Your article color psychology in logo design was well writtern.
I like this article, and agree with a lot of the points made.
By the way, the girl scouts logo has three faces not two since it’s also meant to signify diversity. 😀
This is a really interesting post. Great information for someone to have when designing a logo for their business.
Very useful info. Hope to see more posts soon.
Wow, what an information about the psychology of colors! I’m a newbie in designing logos and this is great stuff. Thanks for posting!
excellent article.it help me to understand color thory.thanks
Great analisys. Thanks for sharing.
nice article thx!
Thanks for this article.
Great information. Ads a designer I can use this info very much. Like the comment: Yellow, much like red, can have conflicting messages. It can represent sunshine and happiness or caution and cowardice. Yellow is bright and highly visible which is why it can often be found on caution and other road signs. Yellow is often used in logo design to get attention, create happiness and warmth. Great explanation and useful stuff to think about.
Black is the combination of all colours not the absence of them.
Nice post really,As i am also associated with this business so i am well aware how important the color selction is when designing a logo
Thanks once again…
Yellow, much like red, can have conflicting messages It can represent sunshine and happiness or caution and cowardice. Yellow is bright and highly visible which is why it can often be found on caution and other road signs. Yellow is often used in logo design to get attention, create happiness and warmth.
Great article. I teach colour psych to web design students, and will be sharing this with them.
Very very useful! Merci!
Indeed, nice information.
Thanks for a very helpful article – concise with clear examples. I’m amazed at how many people don’t actually read before they comment, however… 🙂
Really good post guys. Though as others have said I feel these colour representations are down to culture. But Ill be passing this link on to others. Cheers
great going mate w
Wow, I had no idea color made such a difference and meant so many things! Thank you for a great read and the awesome example logos.
Just bookmarked it 😀
Interesting article, very good post.
its very useful for me great analisys.
Does anyone know a link to asite where i can upload a logo and ask for critiques?
That is one big thank list! Thank you for your good sense of humor and kindness.
In print, black is a pigment that doesn’t reflect light. In a monitor/screen environment, it’s the abscence of light.
Good list, now it would be nice to see how the differing shades of these colours shift the meaning – say with green you want ‘environment’ and not ‘money’ to be conveyed, which varation of green would lend itself to this? Do you move through the spectrum towards yellow because of the ‘sunshine, warmth’ aspect?
Thank you, they look gorgeus. thanks 4 sharing
that is very useful for us, you know if i want to have a nice website,i need to know which color is suit for my site.
Thanks for sharing. I bookmarked this page.
Thanks for a great post – some really interesting points to consider when choosing a colour scheme.