Individual preferences or color psychology: what should you rely on when creating a logo?
Many small business owners underestimate the importance of color for their company logo. The international creative platform 99designs has summarized just how important color is and how to choose the right one.
Most entrepreneurs overlook the benefits that the right colors can bring to their business or brand. In a survey of small business owners conducted by the international creative platform 99designs, 65 percent of them said that "personal taste and preference" was the deciding factor for the colors of their logo. Almost half (48%) said they hadn't thought about the potential impact on their brand.
In response, 99designs has developed an interactive logo color consultation tool: the Color-O-Mat. Users can use it to identify the right color for their brand personality. It is published as part of a comprehensive study that combines the findings of scientists on the psychological effects of color and an analysis of more than 14,000 logos created on 99designs. The following industries were considered: Retail, Real Estate, Technology, Finance/Accounting, Legal, Marketing/Communications, Healthcare and Agriculture.
These are the most important results of the analysis:
Technology: The color blue appears in around 60 percent of tech logos, both at 99designs and at leading companies in the industry. Blue is associated with know-how, security and trust. Accordingly, it is only logical that innovative, disruptive companies want to reflect these characteristics in their branding.
Retail trade: Attention-grabbing red dominates the retail sector: loud, playful, youthful and modern, this color is particularly suitable in the context of a store to attract customers to the respective store.
Right: Logos for law firms tend to be simple and minimalist. A trend towards monochromatic color choices or the addition of a second neutral color is currently emerging among industry giants. Here too, shades of blue dominate the spectrum, while black and red - as well as the neutral colors black, white and grey - are also very popular.
Marketing/Communication: The marketing and PR sector also relies on blue: the color appears in almost half (43 percent) of all logos created for the industry on 99designs. Lighter shades of blue embody friendliness and trust, darker shades professionalism and security. The choice of color reflects the important role such companies play in shaping public image.
Agriculture: Green dominates both the agricultural logos of the leading companies in this sector (60 percent) and those of 99designs customers (64 percent). The focus is on combinations of black, white and blue.
"The analysis clearly shows that consumers are strongly influenced by color. Yet many businesses pay little attention to this and spend little to no time considering the impact of color," says Pamela Webber, COO of 99designs. "We're now combining the science of color psychology with ease of use and an aha effect in an interactive tool that helps companies find the right color for their brand."
Further information and tips on selecting logo colors and the free tool mentioned above can be found at 99designs.com/logo-design/psychology-of-color
