Creating a color palette for your biz should be fun! You’re building the face of your business after all, isn’t that exciting?
But hey – I also know that sometimes picking a set of colors can be dreading, and this is where most creative entrepreneurs get stuck. If this is you, don’t worry. As always, I got your back. In this post, I will share some tips on how to create, test, and refine your color palette for your business.
So let’s get to it: if choosing ONE set of colors feels intimidating and you are lost in this phase, this is for you.
Before we dive into the actual golden tips… Here’s my disclaimer.
You are a multi-passionate human being, let your personality shine online
If there is ONE thing, that I get constantly asked is: “How can I pick a few colors only? I like them all and I don’t want to put myself into a box”.
And I get it, it is the same thing for me. I am a brand strategist and web designer, but this is only my work. I love it with all my heart, but I am more than a job title. And I have countless other passions. I want to incorporate them.
I promise you: creating a color palette for your business is gonna be the easiest thing in the world IF you follow a process, and yu’ll be able to incorporate some aspects of your life in it, too.
Let’s start with the deep questions
1. What’s your brand about, and what words best align with it?
You bet I’m giving you homework, but this is a fun one I promise.
Brainstorm 10 to 15 words that would fit your brand’s personality, and put them on paper. They can be words, adjectives, feelings or anything else. If you are a language nerd like me or can speak other languages, let this (amazing) skill help you out. Some languages have the wonderful power to describe words and feeling better than others.
(Like, in Italy I don’t think we have the word “empowerment” and if we do, I probably don’t wanna hear it).
You can also enroll in Google University and google new words, lists of adjectives, and feelings. Make sure every word that you pick is in line with your business and, most importantly, they hold space for growth.
For example, “inspiring” is a wonderful adjective that you could pair to you business, but does it really align with you, specifically? Or is it a pretty generic word? You wanna be unique, and it starts with the words you use.
Once you have your words and you are confident with them, simply keep them in mind for step 2.
2. What emotions do you want your clients to feel?
It’s a bit harsh to say, but your brand won’t exsist without your audience and clients. Your people are the fuel of your business! Besides buying from you, they advocate for you, support, inspire, and follow you. Your people ARE the essence of your business, and this is why it’s so important to find the right colors for them.
Colors invoke feelings and emotions, so why not letting color psychology help us out?
Color psychology is the best resource you could ever turn to when it comes to create a color palette for your biz. Simply take the emotions you want to invoke, and match it to the right color.
At this stage, we are not creating a color palette but we are simply picking the right colors for your brand. Simply write down what would be a good fit for you and your brand, and let’s worry about the rest in step 3.
The cheat sheet below is taken directly from my Freedom-Based Branding Kit, a step-by-step self-paced kit that will help you create your branding from scratch! There is a whole section dedicated to feelings and another section all about color psychology and color palette for your biz. You can check that and other DIY resources in my shop!
3. Create your color palette for your biz
Okay, now that you have your colors and emotions, is time to go into creation mode. Before I give you some free resources for color-matching (if this is even a word), let’s have single, simple guideline for when picking colors for your brand.
A few primary colors + a few background colors + a few contrast colors = your perfect color palette
When I say “a few” I mean 2-3 MAX! Don’t overwhelm yourself with too many colors and if you see you are going a bit wild with the numbers of colors, go with the rule 2 + 2 + 1. Two main colors, two background colors, and 1 contrast color.
When I brainstormed my colors and divided them into my categories, this is what my color palette looked like:
Then, I used THE MOST AMAZING platform to actually create my color palette, organize my colors, and grab all of ym HEX color codes. The platform is called coolors.co and has infinite features, resources, and tools to actually help you create the perfect color palette. You also have the option to generate a color palette from a picture!
4. Organize everything nicely in a mood board
There are infinite ways to create a mood board and to pull colors from it. Some people prefer to create the colors first and then organize a mood board, while other creatives (like me) prefer the visual approach, and than back it up with colors.
Whatever your approach is, you need a mood board. Period. And if you are questioning it, maybe you should read this blog post where I explain why a mood board is crucial for your business. You can also snug some mood board templates at the end 😉
I hope this blog post clarifies everything about creating color palette and the strategy behind it. Of course there is so much more involved, and different criteria to follow, but if you are looking to pick your colors, this is the best starting point!
Now, before I let you dive into work, what’s gonna be the main color in your color palette? And what feelings are you trying to invoke?
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