March 25, 2019

Georgia O’Keefe said, “I found I could say things with color that I couldn’t say in any other way.”

Color is an integral part of our lives. It elicits responses to the world around us, binds to our memories and gives us feelings we don’t even realize we have.

If you begin to research color theory, you’ll be quickly inundated with ideas and interpretations spanning generations, geographies, and philosophies. Color can represent both harmony and dissonance; it can warm your soul and break your heart, and it can pull you in or turn you away. It’s no wonder that color is such a critical aspect of marketing.  

For this reason, we thought it would be fun to weave the splendor of color into some of the content we plan to share with you over the course of 2019.  If you’re familiar with A-Train’s annual Valentine – our “love letter” to our clients, colleagues and community – you know that we dedicated this year’s issue to the color bible of branding, Pantone.

However, delving into the nuances of color prompted more questions than answers, and we recognized how polarizing and unifying color can be. We know color is critical to how we respond, choose and see what is presented to us.

Therefore, it’s not a topic that should be taken lightly when applied to your branding or anything associated with the way you intend to connect with the audiences you want to reach.  In fact, when we’re asked why brand identity and logo design can span such a wide range of hours, we typically have one response: color.

All people respond to, and see, color differently. Therefore, our job can be very tricky. However, if you take the time to think about a general set of emotions and adjectives that people associate with colors, you can better determine which of them will best suit your organization and audience. We have included a graphic to help you think through this process:

Colors with the feeling associated with each listed

Look for more color insights from us in our future blogs and social media posts, and please do not hesitate to share your color stories with us.