Color in Advertising and Design

What is the dominant color or colors within your company? What do you use for your logo, printed materials, your ads and on your website? Why have you chosen these colors? Do you think these choices make sense?

Color is one of the most fundamental tools for designers of all types. Color is used to create moods, contrast and also harmony. You want to choose company colors that make sense for your type of business—don’t just make choices based on your personal preference. Think of the complex meaning of different colors. White is clean and pure. Blue is sky and water—calm and relaxing. Red is fire, hot, exciting and sexy. Green is natural and lucky. The eye can distinguish millions of different colors, so there are almost endless variations that you can work with to create your own unique look. It’s good to try different color schemes to best complement your brand and then stick with your final choice. Don’t keep changing—consumers need consistency to be able to recognize you.

When it comes to your advertising, makes sure that your company colors are present (to stay consistent with your brand) and then decide what other colors would work to convey your message. The example below for Terry Overacker Plumbing accomplishes this—their company colors are blue, cool gray and black—hinting at water and chrome fixtures. The ad itself has another bluish color echoing the water’s color of the photo and then the striking red is used to communicate the warning message of the ad.

I’ve worked with a lot of clients who want simple, bright colors just for the purpose of “trying to stand out”. If this is the sole reason for color choices, you’re just going to end up looking generic. If every single business used bright red, then we’d live in a monotone world. 

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