5 Common Brand Color Mistakes That Could Hurt Your Business

Did you know your brand colors are more than just a visual element? They influence customer perceptions, emotional responses, and how your business is perceived.

Choosing the right brand colors can strengthen your identity and enhance customer loyalty. But making mistakes during this process can lead to confusion, lost trust, and missed opportunities.

In this blog, we’ll uncover 5 common mistakes businesses make when selecting brand colors and share expert tips on how to avoid them.

Let’s dive in!

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5 Common Mistakes to Avoid Before Picking Brand Color

1. Skipping Audience Research = Influences Disconnection

Many businesses make the mistake of selecting brand colors based on personal preferences or trends instead of researching what resonates with their target audience. This disconnect can make your brand appear out of touch, potentially driving customers away.

Why It’s a Mistake

Colors evoke emotions and associations that vary by culture, age, and industry.

For example:

• Blue is often associated with trust and professionalism, making it a popular choice for banks and financial institutions. 
• Red evokes passion and energy, perfect for sports or fast food. Moreover, it is more suitable for billboard ads that seek attention.
• Green signifies growth and sustainability, ideal for eco-friendly brands such as–agro products.

How to Fix It

• Study Your Audience: Conduct surveys or use tools like social media polls to learn about your customers' preferences.
• Analyze Competitors: Examine successful brands in your industry and identify gaps or opportunities for differentiation.
• Test Your Colors: Use focus groups to see how your color choices resonate with potential customers.

2. Using Too Many Colors = Spreads Confusion

Overloading your brand with too many colors can dilute its identity and confuse your audience, making it harder for them to remember and recognize your business.

Why It’s a Mistake

A cluttered color palette lacks focus and makes it harder for customers to recognize and remember your brand. Iconic brands like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s succeed because of their simplicity.

Coca-Cola sticks to red and white, while McDonald’s uses yellow and red.

How to Fix It

• Limit Your Palette: Stick to 3-5 colors:some text
  • A primary color that defines your brand.
  • Secondary colors to balance contrast on your user interface.
  • Neutral tones like white or gray for the clickable one.
• Maintain Harmony: Use tools like Adobe Color or Color Hunt to create a cohesive palette.

Google’s use of four distinct colors works because it’s balanced and consistent, while too many shades could feel overwhelming.

3. Ignoring Industry Alignment = Looses Emotions

Your brand colors should align with your business values and industry norms. Using colors that don’t resonate with your industry can confuse your audience and harm your brand’s credibility.

Why It’s a Mistake

Colors carry emotional and cultural significance. For example:

• A luxury brand using pastel colors might feel cheap.
• A natural product using neon shades might seem artificial.

How to Fix It

• Define Your Brand Values: Match your colors to your personality whether it is bold, calm, playful, or elegant.
• Understand Industry Norms: While differentiation is important, don’t stray too far from what works in your sector.
• Use Color Psychology: Research the emotions different colors express. Attach them with your brand message.

Ferrari’s signature red reflects speed and excitement, while Starbucks’ green evokes freshness and sustainability.

4. Being Inconsistent Across Platforms Reduces Credibility

Inconsistency in applying your brand colors across platforms can confuse your audience and weaken brand recognition, undermining trustworthiness.

Why It’s a Mistake

If your colors appear differently on your website, social media, and packaging, customers may not recognize your brand. Besides, it can put your customer in a maze hole.

How to Fix It

• Create a Style Guide: Document your exact color codes (HEX, RGB, CMYK) and guidelines for usage.
• Use Templates: Design standardized templates for ads, social media posts, and presentations.
• Audit Your Branding: Regularly review all platforms. Use audit tools like Google Search Console, semrush, ahrefs to see what is happening around you. 

Canva’s shades of blue are uniform across their website, app, and marketing materials, strengthening brand recognition.

5. Ignoring Accessibility = Threats Inclusion 

Not everyone perceives colors the same way, and failing to account for color accessibility can exclude a significant portion of your audience, limiting your reach.

Why It’s a Mistake

Plan for inclusive marketing. Low-contrast color combinations or over-reliance on colors to convey information exclude individuals with visual impairments or color blindness.

How to Fix It

• Prioritize Contrast: Ensure enough contrast between text and background colors using tools like Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, GIMP.
• Add Patterns or Labels: Don’t rely solely on color. Instead, use textures, icons, or typography to indiscriminately clarify meanings to mass people.

A website with light gray text on a white background may look polished but is unreadable for many users. Dark text on a light background is more effective.

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The Power of Color Psychology in Branding

Understanding color psychology can make all the difference when selecting your brand's color palette. Colors evoke specific emotions, and these feelings influence how your audience perceives your brand.

This section can give a deeper dive into the psychology behind popular colors and how they impact customer behavior.

Why It’s Important

Color psychology isn’t just a marketing buzzword—it’s a powerful tool that can enhance customer engagement and build emotional connections with your audience. By aligning your brand colors with the right psychological triggers, you can reinforce the messages your business wants to convey.

How to Use It

• Red: Often linked to excitement, passion, and urgency. It can be perfect for calls to action or brands looking to create energy and enthusiasm.
• Blue: Associated with trust, calm, and professionalism. A staple for financial institutions and tech companies.
• Yellow: Represents positivity, warmth, and creativity. Use it to evoke feelings of optimism or energy.
• Green: Evokes nature, growth, and health. Ideal for brands focused on sustainability or wellness.
• Purple: Symbolizes luxury, creativity, and elegance. Perfect for high-end brands or creative industries.
• Black/White: Represents simplicity, elegance, and sophistication. Great for minimalist and luxury branding.

Testing and Evolving Your Brand Colors Over Time

As your business grows and evolves, so should your brand colors. What worked for your brand when it was just starting out might need to be reassessed as your audience, industry, and goals evolve. This section can provide guidance on how to test and adjust your brand colors for long-term success.

Why It’s Important

‍Brand colors aren’t set in stone. As consumer preferences change and your business evolves, so too should your color strategy. Testing and tweaking your brand colors is essential to stay relevant and maintain a strong emotional connection with your audience.

How to Test and Evolve

• A/B Testing: Run A/B tests with different color variations in your ads, website, and social media posts to see which resonates better with your audience.
• Feedback: Regularly gather feedback from your customers through surveys or social media polls to ensure your colors still align with their expectations.
• Stay Updated: Pay attention to design and color trends, but don’t just follow them blindly. Incorporate trends that still resonate with your brand values and audience.

FAQs

Why is audience research important when choosing brand colors?

Audience research ensures your brand colors resonate with your target customers, evoke the right emotions, and align with their preferences. Without it, your colors might fail to connect effectively.

How many colors should a brand use in its palette?

A well-designed brand palette typically includes 3-5 core colors: a primary color, a secondary color, and a few accents. Using too many colors can create confusion and dilute your brand identity.

What’s the risk of ignoring industry-specific color trends?

Ignoring industry alignment can lead to miscommunication with your audience. For example, a bank using bright neon colors might undermine trust and credibility.

How does inconsistent color use across platforms affect branding?

Inconsistent color usage can confuse your audience and weaken brand recognition. Consistency ensures a cohesive identity across websites, social media, packaging, and more.

Why should accessibility be considered when selecting brand colors?

Accessibility ensures your brand is inclusive and user-friendly for people with visual impairments or color blindness. Ignoring this can alienate a significant portion of your audience.

Final Thoughts

A well-chosen color palette can set your brand apart and make a lasting impact. While there are many resources available, selecting the right colors requires a deep understanding of your target audience and brand values.

We suggest a 15-minute strategic call to the top expert in the branding design world.

Don’t worry—making your brand look the same every time isn’t boring. It helps your audience trust and recognize your brand.