How I Create a Brand Colour Palette with Strategy (Not Just Pretty Colours)
As much as business owners and marketers wish they had full control over their brand perception, here's the reality: you don't.
Your brand is what your audience perceives you to be - or, as I like to say, it's what people say about your brand when you're not in the room.
Here’s the good news. Although you can’t control what others think, you can help shape perception!
And one of the most powerful ways to influence that perception? Your colour palette.
But here's what drives me crazy - most businesses are out there picking colours because they "look nice together" or because they happen to love a particular shade of pink. That's not strategy, that's just... well, it's pretty colours.
So, how do I actually create brand colour palettes that work strategically? Let me walk you through my process.
It All Starts with Getting Real About Your Brand
Before I even THINK about colours, I'm diving deep with an in-depth questionnaire. We're talking about:
What your brand actually stands for (not just what you think it should)
Who your ideal audience really is - and I mean REALLY understanding them
Where you're trying to go with this business
What perception you want to create
How you want people to feel when they interact with your brand
Your brand personality
This is the foundation of everything. Without it, you're basically just throwing darts at a colour wheel and hoping for the best.
The Five Things I Always Consider
Once I've got that solid understanding, here's what I'm looking at:
1. Making Sure Your Colours Actually Work Together
I'm looking for colours that complement each other, but also - and this is huge - making sure there's enough contrast so people can actually READ your stuff. Beautiful colours mean absolutely nothing if your audience is squinting at your website, trying to figure out what it says.
2. Your Brain's Sneaky Little Shortcuts (AKA Heuristics)
OK, this is where it gets interesting. Our brains are basically lazy (in the best way), and they're constantly looking for shortcuts to process all the visual stuff we see every day. These shortcuts are called heuristics.
Think about it for a second:
Environment or organic stuff? You're immediately thinking greens and earthy colours
Ice cream shop? Those soft pastels pop into your head
Fast food? Bright reds and yellows, every time
This isn't random - these are deeply wired mental shortcuts that help us quickly understand what we're looking at.
3. Colour Psychology (Because Colours Mess with Our Heads)
Different colours literally trigger different responses in people, and they don't even realise it's happening:
Red makes things feel urgent and fast (there's a reason fast food loves it)
Orange screams creativity and energy
Dark blue or navy feels trustworthy and authoritative
Green says growth, nature, balance
When I'm building a colour palette, I'm thinking about what emotions are going to serve your brand best.
4. Making Sure Your Colours Work Everywhere
This is something a lot of people forget about - your colours need to work across both print and digital. I always make sure to establish Pantone colour references alongside your digital hex codes because colours can look completely different on screen versus when they're printed.
There's nothing worse than spending all this time perfecting your brand colours only to have your business cards come back looking completely off-brand because the printer couldn't match what you see on your screen. Trust me, I've seen it happen way too many times.
5. Standing Out from Your Competitors (Without Looking Weird)
This is where strategy gets tricky. You want to lean into those industry heuristics so people immediately get what you do, but you also need to stand out from everyone else doing the same thing.
It's like walking a tightrope. Maybe that means finding a different shade of blue than your competitors are using, or adding an accent colour that makes you pop while still feeling authentic to your industry.
Here's the Thing Though...
Your colour palette doesn't exist by itself. It's part of your entire visual identity - your logo, your fonts, your imagery style, all of it. Everything needs to work together to create this cohesive experience that just feels right to your ideal audience.
Why This Actually Matters for Your Business
When your colours are chosen strategically instead of just randomly picked because they're pretty, they become a real business tool. They help you:
Attract the right people (and repel the wrong ones)
Build trust before people even know what you do
Stand out in a crowded market
Create those emotional connections that turn browsers into buyers
Make sure people remember you
Every single time someone interacts with your brand, you've got an opportunity to reinforce exactly how you want to be perceived. Don't waste it on random pretty colours.
Ready to create a colour palette that actually works for your business goals? I'd love to help you build a strategic visual identity that attracts your ideal audience and sets you apart from the competition.
