Uses of Colours in Logo Design

The link between colours and emotions is vital, especially in logo design. Companies and graphic designers must understand the essential things about colour and its impact on innovation. A lack of understanding can result in undeveloped and redundant colour combinations that can provide the wrong message to your audience.

Various Color Representations in Logo Design

Here's a brief look into the emotions represented by the ten most common colours and their use in logo design for specific industries.

Black

Represents: Authority, Power, Mystery, Boldness, Elegance and Sophistication

Black is used to target youth and a high-end audience commonly. It creates a mystery while representing power, authority and elegance in the logo.

Red

Represents: Passion, Love, Anger, Hunger, Health, Excitement and Life

Red is generally an attractive, energetic and powerful colour used in logos of brands in the food, health, beauty and entertainment industries. Several famous brands have coloured their logo red such as Coca-Cola, Kellogg's, Red Bull, Canon and YouTube etc. These brand logos in red are no doubt memorable.

Red logos grab customer attention, and if you want to attract your target market towards your brand, use the colour red. There are many unique ways to use red in your logo to make the design unique, exciting and prominent. These red logo inspirations and tips will get you started! So make a logo design in red and boost your brand recognition.

Yellow

Represents: Happiness, Warmth, Innovation and Caution

Yellow is a warm colour that invokes the feeling of happiness, warmth and relaxation. Generally, it doesn't play a central role in logos and is sparingly used to highlight essential features of a logo. Used alone in bright shades, the colour can be overpowering, so it isn't easy to use. The automotive and food industries most commonly use yellow to represent: Professionalism, Trust, Authority, Power and Loyalty.

Blue is used in corporate logos to create a sense of security while showing loyalty and professionalism. This colour is used by various businesses related to software, finance, the pharmaceutical industry, government and banks. While you can create a logo with just the colour blue, you can also accompany two colours in a design, such as a red and blue logo.

Green

Represents: Harmony, Natural, Healthy, Renewal and Plentiful

Green is mainly used to represent eco-friendly companies or businesses revolving around agriculture, recycling, landscaping, gardening and solar power. It is the colour of nature and gives a calming effect while representing growth. Naturally, one would believe the choice of green is restricted to a few industries. In reality, top brands have used shades of green in their logos.

Orange

Represents: Vibrant, Playful, Happy, Artistic and Energetic

Orange is another beloved colour in the food, art and sports industries. While t evokes an appetite in one sector, it suggests playfulness, creativity and energy in others. Being bright makes orange the favourite colour for enterprises dealing with kids' products and foods. Some creative industries use orange in logos to stand out.

Purple

Represents: Royalty, Luxury, Celebration, Education and Elegance

Being a colour of royalty, purple is mainly used to represent religious institutes and educational organisations. It is seldom used for commercial services unless it can define the main essence of the company it stands for. Chocolate is one food which is often characterised by purple logos. There's no need to shy away from purple and limit it to define feminism, luxury and beauty only. You can pair it with other colours and create a palette. For example, purple and yellow logo designs are popular and exude different meanings.

White

Represents: Pure, Peaceful, Spiritual, Clean and Goodwill

White is a neutral colour that implies purity. It is also the essential colour in negative spacing logos. The FedEx and the Adobe logo make the best use of white. FedEx has a white arrow, while the 'A' in Adobe is designed in white over a red background.

Pink

Represents: Feminism, Innocence, Youth and Beauty

Pink is often considered a feminine colour, so it is popularly used in logos related to beauty, fashion and others. It is also used for companies dealing with children's clothes and accessories. Because it is playful and innocent, it is unsuitable for the corporate or industrial unit.

Brown

Represents: Reliable, Solid, Masculine and Earthly Aura

Brown is a neutral colour that is reliable, solid and dependable. This colour is most commonly used for agriculture, construction and legal industries. Some food-related products like coffee and chocolate are also best represented by brown.