What brand colour is for
Colour is the fastest signal a brand sends. It is seen before the logo is read and remembered after the tagline is forgotten. The job of a brand colour is to be consistent enough to own, distinct enough from competitors to stand out, and appropriate enough to the category that it does not fight expectations.
Famous brand colours at a glance
| Brand | Brand colours | What the choice does |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | White, black, silver, grey | Stays neutral so the products carry the colour |
| Blue, red, yellow, green | Primary colours read as approachable; the order breaks the pattern | |
| Coca-Cola | Red and white | One colour held for so long it is the brand |
| Microsoft | Red-orange, green, blue, yellow | Four squares for a range of products |
| Amazon | Black and orange | Orange reserved for the smile and for action |
Five brands, five choices
1. Apple: no colour at all
White, black, silver and space grey. Apple's colour strategy is restraint: the products carry the colour, the brand stays neutral. Lesson: absence of colour can be a position, if everything else is disciplined.
2. Google brand colours: primary colours, one rebel
Blue, red, yellow, blue, green, red. Playful primaries say approachable; the green L breaks the pattern to say Google does not follow rules. Lesson: a system with one deliberate exception is more memorable than a perfect one.
3. Coca-Cola brand colours: one red, everywhere
Coke red with white. A single colour applied without exception for over a century. Lesson: consistency over time is worth more than the exact shade.
4. Microsoft: four colours, one portfolio
The four-square logo uses red-orange, green, blue and yellow. Microsoft presented the squares as standing for the range of its products, and they are widely read as Office, Xbox, Windows and Bing. Lesson: colour can organise a portfolio, not only decorate a mark.
5. Amazon: black plus one accent
Black wordmark, orange smile-arrow. Orange is the action colour across the whole site; it means buy. Lesson: an accent reserved for action becomes a call to action by itself. GoDesign's own orange works the same way on this site.
Company colours by industry
Look at the company colours in any one industry and patterns show up. They are conventions, not rules, and they are worth knowing before you choose, because they tell you what customers already expect and where there is room to stand out.
- Banks, insurers and software: blue is common because it reads as calm and dependable. That also makes it crowded.
- Food, drink and retail: red, orange and yellow are common because they read as warm, fast and appetising.
- Health, environment and money: green appears often, as a signal of health, nature or money.
- Luxury and fashion: black, white and gold, with little else.
- Children's products and entertainment: many bright colours at once.
A brand name built on a colour (Orange the telecoms company, or a business with a colour in its name) has the easiest job of all: the colour is the name. Everyone else has to earn the link through repetition.
How many colours should a brand have?
One primary colour, one accent and two or three neutrals for text and backgrounds is enough for most brands. Large companies add secondary palettes for sub-brands or product lines, as Microsoft does. More colours make the brand harder to recognise and harder to apply consistently.
How to choose your brand colours
- 01Audit the category. List competitors' colours. Owning a different one is easier than fighting for the same blue.
- 02Decide the feeling. Warm colours read energetic and friendly; cool ones read calm and trustworthy; neutrals read premium. Pick the one your customers need to feel.
- 03Choose one primary and one accent. Add two or three neutrals for text and backgrounds. More than that dilutes.
- 04Test on real surfaces. Website, sign, business card, phone screen, dark mode. Check contrast for accessibility.
- 05Write it down. Hex, RGB, CMYK and Pantone values, plus rules for use, in a brand guide.
Our list of online colour tools covers the palette generators and contrast checkers we use for steps three and four. If you want the palette chosen and documented for you, it is part of our brand identity and logo design service.
Common questions
- How many colours should a brand have?
- One primary, one accent and two or three neutrals is enough for most brands. Large companies add secondary palettes for sub-brands or product lines, as Microsoft does.
- What are Coca-Cola's brand colours?
- Red and white. Coca-Cola has used its red with a white script logo for over a century, which is why the colour alone is enough to recognise the brand.
- What are Google's brand colours?
- Blue, red, yellow and green. The logo repeats blue and red and places green on the L, breaking the sequence of primary colours on purpose.
- Can I change my brand colour later?
- Yes, but recognition resets. Evolve a shade rather than switching hue unless the business itself has changed. A rebrand is the right moment for a real colour change.
- Should my brand colour be different from competitors?
- Usually. If every competitor is blue, owning a different colour makes you findable on a shelf or a results page. The exception is when the category colour carries trust you cannot afford to lose, such as blue in finance.
