Colour is an important part of how we express ourselves. Colour can make us feel more comfortable, more assured, more attuned.
First impressions count, and colour is the first thing you notice in a logo or visual footprint – 80% of visual information is related to colour* – it does so much work to tell your story before even getting to your logo, typography, image style, use of white space, your tone of voice, and use of language.
You may not like pastels and they may not be appropriate for your business, but each year there are trending colours. I tend to stay away from pastels as they are notoriously hard to colour match on-line and in print (your logo colours should always be colour matched to appear the same on-line in RGB, and when printed as Pantone and CMYK), but if you are a fashionista, ‘Rose Quartz’ and ‘Serenity’ are the trending colours for 2016 from Pantone.
Two colours were selected this year, which is a first for Pantone. They were chosen to connect with the zeitgeist for gender blurring, along with the idea that using two colours reflects ‘a soothing sense of order and peace’ (Leatrice Eiseman/Pantone). What do you think – did they hit the mark? Is your colour palette colour matched for use both on-line, and in print?
2016 will see a move towards logos that lend themselves to animation, as video content becomes a more important factor on websites and social media (think of the new Channel 4 graphics, rather than the new BBC 3 logo!). For example, take a look at the logo Angie designed recently for the Milner Therapeutics Institute. It’s based on the idea of a Möbius strip with a bit of Escher influence – a three dimensional structure with two ‘faces’ that are separate but inter-dependent, representing the symbiosis of research and industry facilitated by the institute. With its building block, three dimensional form, it’s perfect for animating. The colours represent the mix of creativity (orange) and stability (dark blue).
How is your company logo standing up – does it still match your business purpose? Does it need refining? Is your colour palette working for you? Does it need a seasonal tweak? Or consider adding some accent colours. I’m not saying go pastel! Have a think, and then contact us to discuss!
This is how Instagram tweaked its logo and added colour
