How to choose your brand colours and website theme

If you are looking to create your brand identity, or to rebrand an existing business, then perhaps you are looking for some fresh inspiration.

Chances are there may be some colours and themes that you already prefer. Some people tend to gravitate towards vibrant and bold colours while others may prefer earthier tones.

When clients are asked about what look or feel they are going for, they may describe a venue (such as a dance club or modern cafe). Consider places or styles that inspire you, and write down a few of these ideas, even if they don’t seem to match with each other.

Visit Pinterest or Instagram, and browse through images to see what inspires and resonates with you. Save some of these images to create a mood board to determine the overall look and feel of the colour palettes you prefer. Keep it simple and pick out anything that catches your eye – and bonus points if you feel excited or happy when you look at it. Here’s a mood board we made for this post:

There’s no right or wrong way to choose your colours. However, in the end, each colour palette affects the way your brand is viewed by your clients. Colours influence our moods and our perception of the world around us, so it’s important to be mindful of how the colours make you feel when curating a colour palette.

If you decide to write notes or save images online regarding the look and feel that you are aiming for, bring these notes to your meeting with your graphic or website designer. These notes will be helpful in creating your brand identity. This person can use these images as a reference on the types of colours you prefer, and the images that you are attracted to. This will be helpful for you to achieve a satisfactory end result. A good designer will aim to give you an end-product that you are proud to show off as your own and that feels like home to your business or personal brand.

It’s important to stay consistent with your colours when marketing and advertising, as it creates a uniform look. Once your customers are accustomed to your brand it should feel familiar to them when they view any advertising from you. Some of the most successfully branded companies are identifiable before they even say their company name in an advertisement.

Try looking at some of your favourite brands and identify why you like the look or feel of their branding, or describe what you enjoy about their product or service. Is it complex, simple, elegant, classic, or what words best describe them? What elements do you want to incorporate into your branding? The idea isn’t to copy it, but to be inspired. Try the same practice if you want a naturally inspired look and feel. Go outside and take some photos of your favorite areas, and pick out three or four colours from that photo that you really like. These are some palette’s we made in the hopes to inspire you: