Should the color of a logo and its associated brand design features have a rare or odd color? The choice of a logo’s color is drawn from strategy decisions intended to create one of the best ways a business can work out its distinctive market presence by which it will be associated and or identified. This decision takes place bearing in mind everything about the business; from vision, core values, industry category and more. For example Red is associated with Cocacola, Blue with IBM, Yellow with MTN, Brown with UPS, Orange with Orange Telco, Green with Globacom.
Now, what is a rare or odd color? You may ask. A rare or odd color is simply the type of color that does not look exactly like the Primary, Secondary and Neutral Colors despite being derivatives. To be honest, I have defined it according to what I’m guessing graphics designers who profess their love for such colors, think it to be. I have never bothered to ask because their thinking isn’t in line with the common sense of reaching out to the market and establishing a recognizable color differentiation or identification for any brand.
Here’s why! Primary colors are: Red, Blue and Yellow. Secondary colors are: Orange, Green, Purple and Brown. And the Neutrals are – Black and White. From when we all started school and advanced throughout elementary, middle or secondary school, we were only taught the basic colors broken into Primary, Secondary and Neutral Colors. Guess what? That’s what our brain has been conditioned to grasp and give real world associations to.
So Imagine if someone expects you to remember at all times to use the plus (+) sign in place of the minus (–) sign to make an addition based calculation? For example: What if I told you that you must now accept that 2 – 2 = 4. Instead of the 2 + 2 = 4 that you’ve been made to know. How do you think your brain feels about it? Awkward right?
Similarly for odd or rare colors, our brain cannot understand why it needs to remember it, let alone associate it with a business. Matter of fact, the more you put such a color in the customers face, the more you make them confused or feel at odds with the brand.
Never think that the brain of a human being can easily undo what its been programmed to know since it began to become aware. So you see, it is actually a dumb idea to create a logo with all its associated brand design features in an odd or rare color. As a designer or entrepreneur or management team, set your personal preference(s) aside. And besides, personal preference isn’t in any way a service providers prerogative. Rather, all of your intuition, creativity and dexterity should be towards making what makes business sense and ultimately justifies a businesses value to the market.
