How many times have you bought a shirt or a new piece of clothing because the color looked just right on you? When it comes to color, we all have a favorite and we want to wear what we look best in, to put our best foot forward.

In packaging, color is just as important. It can evoke feelings and emotions that directly impacts the purchasing decision, which makes choosing the right colors for your brand and packaging super important.

Here are a few key, quick tips to keep in mind while choosing the right hue for your brand:

  • Stay true to your brand – You’ve created your brand to have a specific voice and personality. Choosing colors to help carve out that persona is crucial and it’s important to your brand to maintain that message and consistency. While you can experiment with accent colors, your core brand colors should stay consistent to be easily spotted on shelf.
  • Think of your consumers – Who is the target market and what are their needs and motivation to buy? You do not want to choose loud, clashing colors if your audience is 65+. Consider the soothing blue and white palette of Phillips’ Milk of Magnesia.
  • What is it that you want your product to do for consumers? – If your product is all natural or in the Better-For-You segment, choosing greens or colors found in nature, is more on point than using unnatural neon colors. Going for a more premium feel? Use white or black to help elevate your product and evoke those desired emotions from your consumer.
  • Differentiate from the competition – While copying someone is the best form of flattery, using the colors of a competitor does not gain you any attention or sales, although it might get you a cease and desist letter. It is important for your product to be noticed and remembered for its own merits, not someone else’s. Try a contrasting color from the competition but don’t go so far out of category that you become the misfit.

Just for fun, here are a few colors & their attributes:

  • White – Simple, Premium, Elegant, Pure
  • Black – Strong, Commanding, Dependable, Premium
  • Red – Strong, Exciting, Bold, Passionate
  • Green – Natural, Balanced, Secure, Growth
  • Orange – Friendly, Fun, Adventurous
  • Yellow – Optimistic, Energetic, Fun
  • Teal – Calm, Clean, Pure
  • Purple – Indulgent, Luxurious, Peaceful, Spiritual
  • Pink – Feminine, Sincere, Beauty, Soft

We could go on with the list of colors and their meanings, there are so many great choices. Which brings me to my final point. Choosing the right colors for your brand and knowing your target consumer can be challenging. If you’d like some help in choosing what is right for you or if you’d just like to hear “you look amazing in that color,” please schedule a free consultation with us, we’d love to chat!