Marketing

Create a Timeless Color Palette for Your Creative Business

Want to pick the perfect colors for your creative business? Here are 8 easy steps to choose the perfect color scheme that reflects your business brand.

8 min read

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Table of Contents

Finding a color palette for your creative business is a key part of promoting your brand. Many people do not think much about picking a color scheme, but the truth is that colors can make or break a company's identity. By differing from your competitors, you can make an ordinary brand memorable and engaging..

When choosing a color scheme, make sure you pick colors that not only reflect your personality, but convey professionalism and the nature of your creative business. You also want to ensure your color palette invokes the correct response from your buyers.

1) What is a Color Palette and Why do You Need it?

Creating a color palette for your online business can make your company brand stand out.

A color palette, or color scheme, is a selection of colors that work together to create a harmonious whole. This means that all of the colors you choose should work well together and complement each other.  

A cohesive color scheme is an essential part of creating a successful and memorable brand. It should be tailored to your specific business and the audience you are trying to reach. Some color schemes work well for creative businesses, while others palettes are better for more traditional businesses.

When you properly utilize harmonious color combinations, you can unify your branding and make it more recognizable. By having a cohesive color palette, you will be able to create a distinct visual identity for your business that people will remember.

2) How to Find Inspiration for Your Color Palette?

Creating the perfect color palette can take time, but it is easy when you find inspiration
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

One of the best ways to get started in creating a color scheme for your creative business is to look for inspiration. A smart way to begin creating a color palette for your business is to look at other businesses in your industry and analyze their color choices. Try to determine why they chose those colors and see if there is a pattern. What colors are they using and why?

You can also look for inspiration from other sources, such as nature, art, or even your favorite color. Going to your local hardware store and search paint swatches can be an excellent place to start. Finding colors that are pleasing to the eye that you can associate with the brand is the key.

A website that has at least a couple thousand color palettes is Color Palettes. This site allows you to filter by color, warm colors, cool colors, pastels, and contrasting palettes.

Further, there are a number of online tools available, so it is worth taking the time to find one that works best for you. Once you have an idea of what you like, it's time to create your own color palette.

3) How to Create a Cohesive Color Palette

Creating a cohesive color scheme across all mediums for all your advertising will ensure consistency for your online business

Once you have some inspiration, the next step is to create a color scheme that is cohesive across all mediums. The colors you choose should complement each other and be used consistently throughout all of your branding materials.

The best way to create a cohesive color palette is to experiment with different combinations until you find something you like. It can be helpful to use online color generators, such as Coolors to help you find the perfect color combinations.

Coolors is my favorite because it not only allows you to generate color combinations quickly, you can also explore color palettes already generated that are searchable. By simply clicking on your spacebar, you can see a new color palette, which is very helpful.

Because it is extremely fast and simple to use, Coolors allows you to generate color palettes with ease. You can save your palettes in PDF, PNG, SCSS, SVG or export them as URLs. Plus, they have an amazing collection of color palettes that you can customize. Once you get use to it, you will use it in almost every project because it can save you a lot of time.

There are a few things to keep in mind when creating a color palette:

  • Use a limited number of colors: Too many colors can be overwhelming and make your brand difficult to remember. Try to stick to 4-5 colors to create a cohesive look.
  • Make sure you find colors that will look nice on light and dark backgrounds.
  • Avoid using too many bright colors or pure black and white.
  • Use color to create contrast. Contrast is an incredibly powerful design principle to make your brand stand out. This is done by combining light and dark colors together or by using complementary colors. When done correctly, contrast can help grab attention and make your brand more appealing.
  • Make sure your colors work together. This is essential when creating a color palette. All of your colors should complement each other and be used in the same way.

4) How to Achieve the Correct Emotional Response?

Get the correct emotional response by choosing the right colors for your new business

Each color has a different mood that it can evoke, so you need to use colors that will reflect the mood you want to create. When selecting a color palette, think about the emotions you want your audience to feel.

If you are selling a product or service, choose colors that will create the mood you want your customer to feel. For example, if you are selling calming products, use shades of blue that are associated with relaxation and calm. If you are selling a product that is exciting, use bright and vibrant colors to generate your buyer's response.

If you want to know more about the various colors and responses, check out Canva's color meanings and symbolism page. It allows you to explore color combinations or even search for your color to see if you are achieving the desired response from your color palette.

When you create your color palette, think about the emotions you want your audience to feel and use colors that will convey those emotions. Try to determine the colors your customers prefer and use those colors to create the appropriate emotional response.

5) How to Use Your Color Palette in Your Branding Materials

You want to use your color palette online as well as in your printed marketing materials like business cards and brochures
Photo by Alexa Williams from Unsplash

Once you have created a color palette that is cohesive and reflects your brand, it's time to start using it in your branding. This includes all of your marketing materials, from your website to your business cards.

To effectively use your color palettes in your branding materials, you need to keep a few things in mind:

  • Use the same color palette across all mediums: This will help create a cohesive look for your brand.
  • Make sure your colors are consistent: All of your colors should be used in the same way, and you should use the same amount of each color.  
  • Don't be afraid to experiment: Try using different colors combinations to find the one that works best for you.

6) How to Use Color in Your Website or Online Shop

You want a color palette for your business that looks good on the web as well as your printed materials

Along with your marketing materials, you want to use your color scheme on your website. Not only does it help to create a cohesive look, but it can also be used to influence the mood of your website.

There are a few ways to incorporate your color scheme on your website. You can use it in your header, background, and other elements to create a cohesive look. You can use color to highlight key text or create a different mood for different sections of your website. Images are also a great way to show off your products and services, and you locate images that complement your color palette.

7) Test Your Color Scheme

Creative businesses need to test color palette for marketing and branding
Photo by Katie Goertzen from Unsplash

Testing your color scheme before you create all your marketing materials will ensure you are happy with your choice. You want to test your color scheme to ensure it reflects your brand and what you stand for.

One way to do this is to create a mood board with examples of how you might use your colors. A mood board is a visual tool that arranges images, materials, text, and other design elements into a format that is representative of the final design's style. Mood boards can be used for creating brand designs, product designs, or even marketing collateral.

By creating a mood board, you can visualize your ideas. You can create a physical mood board or a digital one. This can help you see how different colors work together and whether or not you need to make any changes before you make your final decision.

You can also test your color scheme on different types of devices and in print materials. Things to keep in mind when testing:

  • How your colors appear on a light background and dark background
  • How your colors are displayed on different types of screens, such as computer screens, phones, and tablets
  • How your colors look when they are printed. Remember that colors will vary from printer to printer, so even if you have marketing materials professionally printed, you are likely to see a difference.

The ideal way to test your color scheme is to create a few marketing materials using your colors and see how they turn out. This will give you a better idea of how your colors work together and how they will be perceived by your audience.

8) Don't be Afraid to Change it Up

If your color scheme is not matching your brand, don't be afraid of changing your brand colors
Photo by rawpixel from lifeofpix

Once you find the perfect color scheme, do not be afraid to make changes. Although your color scheme seemed perfect when you started, it is perfectly acceptable to make changes. As your brand evolves, so should your color palette. Also, make sure to print out your colors if you plan to use them in marketing materials. What you see on the screen is not always what it will look like when you have it printed.

Even if you already created your branding materials, it is not always necessary to change all of your branding materials when you make changes to your color palette. A few tweaks here and there can help keep everything looking cohesive.

If you find your color palette does not accurately reflect your brand, or if you are not achieving the desired results, it may be time to redesign your color palette. It may be time consuming, but sticking to the wrong color scheme will not help your business, and it can actually hurt your company's brand.

If you are feeling stuck, consider hiring a professional designer who can help you create or update your color scheme. A professional designer will have the experience and knowledge to help you create a color palette that accurately reflects your brand and enables you to reach your target audience.

9) Start Creating Your Own Timeless Color Palette

Although creating a color scheme that stands out from your competition may seem challenging, it plays a vital role in your company's success. You can create a palette that will help you achieve a cohesive look for your brand and reach your target audience. Always be prepared to make changes, as your brand and color palette will evolve over time. When in doubt, keep looking for inspiration until you find the perfect color palette for you and your creative business.

Now that you understand how the create the perfect color palette, check out our post on choosing the perfect font for your creative business. Thanks for reading and don't forget to get our newsletter so you can stay up to date on how to start and grow your creative business.