Here’s how NOT to choose your brand colors:
- Decide you want to brand/rebrand
- Spend hours curating a Pinterest board
- Pick colors based on your personal preferences
Because FYI: your brand is first and foremost an inside job. The color selection part comes last. We call this whole process Brand Energetics and today I want to show you how it works.
Brand Energetics 101
You need to build your visual identity on your brand’s truth—not your personal taste. Just because you are attracted to certain colors doesn’t mean they are the right colors for your brand.
Too many people jump straight to the fun part of choosing fonts and colors.
What most people don’t realize is that an effective brand identity is primarily an inside job. When you skip straight to the external stuff, you jangle together a misaligned brand that “never feels right.”
If you have the urge to rebrand your business every other month, you might have a Brand Energetics issue.
You MUST do the inner work first. You must get clear on who you are, who you serve, and how you help before you even start weighing your color options.
(Recommended Reading: How Much Do Your Brand Colors Matter?)
Getting Clear on Your Brand Energy
Your brand energy is more than the external appearance of your brand. It’s the energy that you embody and radiate in every interaction with your audience. Whether it’s an Instagram post or a live webinar, you want your brand’s visual energy to match and reflect your personal energy.
At this point, you need to decide what type of energy you want your brand to exude. It’s a fork-in-the-road decision because it will inform the stylistic choices you make for your visual identity.
Values + Beliefs + Emotions = Your Brand’s Energetic Signature
- What values does your business stand for?
- What core beliefs do you hold about yourself?
- What core beliefs do you hold for the people you serve?
- What emotions do you want to inspire in people when they come across your brand?
Answer these questions ^ first, then you can start translating your brand energy into aesthetic design choices.
Warning! Nailing your Brand Energetics can be a lengthy and complex process, so to help I created a shortcut to make it as simple and intuitive as possible. It’s a system based on brand seasons. (Do you know what Brand Season you are?)
Once you identify your brand season, then you can start architecting your personal brand color palette.
