The psychology behind colour choices
Research shows that colour can influence up to 90% of snap judgements about brands. This psychological impact stems from both cultural associations and evolutionary programming.
Blue, for instance, often evokes trust and reliability—a reason why many financial institutions, health and tech companies favour this hue. Meanwhile, warm colours like red and orange can create urgency and excitement, making them effective for calls-to-action and promotional content.
Blue - Evokes trust and reliability
Building brand recognition through colour
Your brand’s colour palette serves as a visual shorthand for your values and personality. Over the many years of developing brand identities, we understand the need to select colours that not only differentiate our clients from their competitors, but also resonate with their target audience’s expectations. The consistent application of these colours across all touchpoints—from brand logo to brand identities and marketing materials—helps build brand recognition and trust.
Using colour successfully in a digital world
When designing for digital devices, it's often better to use dark grey text instead of pure black on white backgrounds as it significantly reduces eye strain. The contrast of pure black text can cause fatigue during prolonged reading sessions. Additionally, dark grey text appears softer and more sophisticated, improving the overall user experience.
Also:
- Using slightly warmer background tints helps to reduce blue light emission
- Ensuring colour contrast ratios are high help projects meet WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards
- Using contrasting colours on call-to-action buttons increases visibility and click through rates
- Subtle background colours help to create visual hierarchy and improve readability
- White space can help important elements stand out
- Colour-coding strategies can help to differentiate service categories, improving navigation
Measuring colour’s impact
From experience and through A/B testing, we’ve discovered that thoughtful colour choices can increase conversion rates by up to 24%. This data-driven approach has helped us refine our colour strategy for maximum impact, leading to more recognisable identities, better user engagement and more qualified leads.
Looking ahead: colour trends and adaptability
As design trends evolve, colour strategy remains dynamic. As part of our role as a strategic creative partner, we monitor industry trends and user preferences to ensure our colour choices remain relevant while staying true to our client's values.
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