The color of branding?

color paletteEver wonder what psychology goes into choosing a color scheme for a logo or overall look for a brand? Here’s a link to a short but remarkably detailed discussion on that very subject. Good stuff, well packaged, and worth knowing.

Of course, there are also plenty of examples of how completely ignoring convention and doing something totally different, totally original works, too. One of my favorites is how racing legend Dale Earnhardt decided to go with a black race car for his brand’s signature look. “Experts” and “studies” said a black car was a bad idea simply because it wouldn’t stand out on the dark asphalt tracks. A flat black car wouldn’t “pop” on television, they argued, and the arguments were indeed logical and supported with research. Instincts had served Earnhardt well behind the wheel and in the boardroom, so he held firmly to the notion of having a black car. The rest is part of NASCAR lore. The black car and the number 3 remain signatures of the Dale Earnhardt legacy over a decade after his death.

We want to be looking for resources from every source, being careful to never blindly adopt anybody’s theories or ideas, but to instead consider EVERYTHING and see how we might adapt what we think could work for our specific situation. Don’t ADOPT, ADAPT!

“The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car, its the one who refuses to lose” – Dale Earnhardt

 

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