What makes GREEN a great colour choice for your brand?
I’m very keen on choosing brand colours that are meaningful – in terms of who your brand is, what your brand does and what it stands for.
Therefore, it makes sense to connect your brand and brand colours with:
- The psychological meaning of colours
- Colour symbolism – which tends to be cultural
- Popular associations with colours – although you cannot factor in deeply personal associations – like someone hating bottle green because it was the colour of their school blazer and they looked awful in it!
Your brand and the colour green
I really believe that your brand has a job to do in the world. Therefore, it makes sense to align your brand colours and imagery with your brand voice and brand personality.
Let’s, let’s take a few moments to explore the colour green. Choose the format that suits you best. Either watch the video below or scroll down to read the key points.
Key points to consider when choosing green as one of your brand colours
The colour wheel
Green sits in the middle of the warm colours and cool colours.
It’s not a primary colour (the three primaries are red, blue and yellow). Green is a secondary colour created by mixing blue and yellow together and this is why we get such a wide range of green hues, tones and shades.
Green hues
So, we get yellow-toned greens, which can feel very vibrant and zesty. And we have blue-toned greens, which feel calming and restful because they’re taking on some of the characteristics of blue.
Green, psychologically, is the colour of balance and harmony. It’s also relaxing and calm.
What else do we know about green?
Well, green is the colour of nature and is all around us. Leaves, trees, grass, hedges – green is all around us. It’s symbolic of nature. And this is what it’s come to be associated with.
In summary, from a positive point of view, green is natural, restful and harmonious.
However, remember that every colour has upsides and downsides.
What are the downsides of green?
- Green is the colour of jealousy – Shakespeare referred to ‘the green-eyed monster’ in Othello.
- It’s also the colour of poison and putrefaction. Notice when food goes off, it goes mouldy green.
What else does green symbolise?
- Well, green is the colour of the heart chakra
- It’s also the colour of money – think about the dollar bill.
- In astrology, green is the colour of Venus – the planet who rules love (heart chakra), money (dollar bill) and food (nature).
Isn’t it fascinating how all these things about green are connected?
Examples of brands that work with the meanings of green:
Green is a perfect choice if your brand focuses on renewal, reinvigoration or revitalising. Like these brands, choose green with intention, so that it supports your brand purpose, values, and personality – and meets the needs of your audience. You’ll also want to choose green hues that differentiate your brand from competitors.
Supermarket Green
Waitrose greens are a zesty springlike mix. Asda goes bright, bold and fresh, whilst Morrisons opts for a deeper hue that feels more serious – and livens it up with with joyful yellow. All these brands are tuning into the green of nature.
Healthy Green
Holland & Barrett is the leading UK chain of health stores so taps into the healthy attributes of green and like Morrisons, uses a deeper hue to establish authority.
The Colour of Money
Lloyds Bank stands apart from many of the leading banks, who use blue as their brand colour, by tapping into the association of green with money – linked to the freedom that money can represent with their icon of the black horse.
Fighting for Nature
Both Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion draw on the innate link between green and nature by using green in their logos.
They are both activist organisations so use green hues that attract attention.
Greenpeace opts for neon, whilst Extinction Rebellion uses the timer symbol to capture the urgency of time running out for the environment and the need to fight climate change.
Energising Green
NKB Dance School aims to bring the joy of dance and movement to people of all ages, so the brand uses revitalising green, combined with sociable orange to make its mark.
Rebalancing Green
Here the combination of green and pink captures the psychological balance and harmony of green – and the results clients get from a reflexology session.
In summary
Choosing your brand colours is a strategic decision.
This is why you could take into account:
- The power of colour
- The needs, wants and mindset of your target customers and
- Your own brand in depth.
There’s a lot more to brand colours than meets the eye, so do get in touch here if you’d like to discover which colours could work best for your brand.
And sign up for my monthly emails, Branding Matters for tips on building a brand that resonates with your customers.
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