In the last episode, I spoke about why color is a strategic decision rather than a decoration, and why sharing a color family with a competitor isn’t automatically a problem. Today we’re going to talk more about color and close out the chapter.
We start with this common question I get. How many colors should my brand actually have? Keep it lean, keep it clean. One primary, one secondary, one high-contrast accent color, and then two, maybe three complementary colors. For most brands, less is more, and that’s very important.
If you’re running a business with multiple products or services, color can do some real heavy lifting, giving each product or service its own identity while keeping your whole family connected. Just know that a palette like that needs careful planning and an iron grip on consistency, with the brand manual to match. Here’s some advice you can write down. More color is not more brand. It’s more chaos.
Now a quick word on the technical side of color. Here are some terms that you’ll hear a lot. RGB, CMYK, Hex, Pantone, PMS, RAL, NCS. You don’t need to memorize any of it. A good designer will be able to include all relevant color specs in your brand manual.
But the basics read like this. Screens use RGB: red, green, blue. Printers use CMYK or Pantone. CMYK is just an ink breakdown: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Pantone is a number-specific color system. It’s why your logo looks slightly different on a screen than on paper. They’re fundamentally different systems. The designer’s challenge is to create color specifications for each system that keep your brand colors looking as consistent as possible wherever they appear.
Just a quick one. We spoke about the importance of a brand audit, so now I’m opening up a draw for a brand audit slot, live right here in a future episode of BRAND:NEW. It could be your business; it could be a friend that you refer. Dissect it under the microscope. Real brand, real audit, real results right here on the show. And if you don’t want to wait for the draw, reach out anytime. Either way, the details are in the show notes.
In the previous episode, we discussed how we choose colors and how we don’t just pick a favorite. I’ll tell you a couple of war stories from the trenches of agency boardrooms.
A few years ago I presented a brand refresh for one of the largest retail chains in the country. Their blue was iconic, established, trusted — around fifty-six years of equity sitting in one single color. In the follow-up meeting, the CEO leaned forward and said to me, I showed this to my wife, and she doesn’t really like the blue. Can we look at a different color?
Mind-blowing. 56 years, millions in brand equity, the collective memory of an entire nation of shoppers, nearly dismantled over a dinner-table conversation. Designers have a name for this. The spouse trap. It’s one of the most dangerous forces in brand management.
Yes, brand colors can change, but that change needs to come from an actual urgent business need, a shift in market, a new demographic, a genuine rebrand, not a personal preference from someone who was never in the boardroom. Color equity is very real. It’s invaluable, and it’s fragile. Once you’ve built it, you need to protect it.
My second war story involves something very technical, but very important. A question that comes up sometimes. Why do some color combinations physically hurt to look at? When two highly saturated competing colors sit next to each other, their wavelengths confuse the eye. It causes a kind of visual vibration that strains your focus, and there’s an actual term for it. It’s called chromostereopsis.
I had a client once, confident in his vision, immovable in his conviction, who insisted his black logo sit on a bright red background. It was his style, he insisted. I explained chromostereopsis, I showed him the science, and then I showed him his own eyes struggling to focus on his own logo. He nodded thoughtfully, and then asked if I could make the logo bigger.
So if you want to actually attract eyeballs, listen to your designer. If you want to sell Advil, go ahead, put a black logo on a bright red background. Remember, when every color is shouting, none of them get heard. Just as Cadillac knows that lime green does not belong on a luxury SUV, your brand needs colors that reinforce the story you’re actually telling. Choose your color with intention, apply with consistency.
Before we wrap, a quick one. There’s exciting news coming about the book this podcast is based on, The Business Owner’s Guide to Branding. So keep an eye out for an update. Our next episode is a new chapter: typography. In other words, the font choices that you make — the voice of your brand — nobody thinks about until it’s wrong.
That’s it for this episode of BRAND:NEW. Thank you for spending a few minutes with me. I don’t take your time for granted. If this helped you, share it with a business owner who needs it. And if you’ve got 10 seconds, please leave a rating. It would really mean the world to me.
I’m Donovan. This has been BRAND:NEW.
How MANY COLORS SHOULD MY BRAND HAVE?
One of the most common questions I get asked is how many colors a brand should actually have. My answer is always the same.
Keep it lean and keep it clean.
A strong color palette starts with one primary color, one secondary color, and one high-contrast accent color. From there, you can add two or maybe three complementary colors to round things out. For most brands, less is more, and that principle matters more than people expect.
If you’re running a business with multiple products or services, color can do some real heavy lifting. It gives each product or service its own identity while keeping the whole family visually connected.
A palette built this way needs careful planning and an iron grip on consistency, backed by a brand manual that captures every detail.
Here’s some advice worth writing down. More color is not more brand. It’s more chaos.
Keep it lean and keep it clean.
More color is not more brand. It’s more chaos.
THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF COLOR
Now for a quick word on the technical side of color. You’ll hear plenty of terms thrown around: RGB, CMYK, Hex, Pantone, PMS, RAL, and NCS. You don’t need to memorize any of it. A good designer will add all relevant color specifications to your brand manual.
Here are the basics. Screens use RGB, which stands for red, green, and blue. Printers use CMYK or Pantone. CMYK is simply an ink breakdown made up of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.
Pantone is a number-based color system, and it’s why your logo can look slightly different on a screen than on paper. These are fundamentally different systems.
A designer’s challenge is to create color specifications for each system that keep your brand colors looking as consistent as possible wherever they appear.
You don’t need to memorize any of it.
These are fundamentally different systems.
The SPOUSE TRAP AND PROTECTING COLOR EQUITY
I want to share a couple of war stories from the trenches of agency boardrooms, because they say more about color than any theory ever could.
A few years ago, I presented a brand refresh for one of the largest retail chains in the country. Their blue was iconic, established, and trusted, with around 56 years of equity sitting in a single color. In the follow-up meeting, the CEO leaned forward and told me he had shown the work to his wife, and she didn’t really like the blue. He asked if we could look at a different color.
That moment still stops me in my tracks. Fifty-six years of brand history, millions in brand equity, and the combined memory of an entire nation of shoppers, nearly dismantled over a dinner table conversation. Designers have a name for this. It’s called the spouse trap, and it’s one of the most dangerous forces in brand management.
Brand colors can change, but any change needs to stem from an urgent business need. A shift in the market, a new demographic, or a genuine rebrand all qualify. A personal preference from someone who was never in the boardroom does not. Color equity is real; it’s invaluable, and it’s fragile. Once you’ve built it, you need to protect it.
Designers have a name for this. It’s called the spouse trap.
Color equity is real; it’s invaluable, and it’s fragile.
Chromostereopsis and Choosing Colors With Intention
My second war story is more technical, but it matters just as much. People sometimes ask why certain color combinations physically hurt to look at. When two highly saturated, competing colors sit next to each other, their wavelengths confuse the eye. This creates a kind of visual vibration that strains your focus, and there’s an actual term for it. It’s called chromostereopsis.
I once had a client who was confident in his vision and immovable in his conviction. He insisted his black logo sit on a bright red background, because it was his style. I explained chromostereopsis to him, showed him the science, and then showed him his own eyes struggling to focus on his own logo. He nodded thoughtfully, and then asked if I could make the logo bigger.
If you want to actually attract eyeballs, listen to your designer. If you want to sell Advil, go ahead and put a black logo on a bright red background. When every color is shouting, none of them get heard. Just like Cadillac knows that lime green does not belong on a luxury SUV, your brand needs colors that reinforce the story you are actually telling.
Choose your color with intention and apply it consistently.
When every color is shouting, none of them get heard.
Choose your color with intention and apply it consistently.
This article is a companion to Episode 16 of the BRAND:NEW podcast. Listen to the full conversation, including the audio version of this transcript, above.
COMPLETE THE FORM TO
BOOK A STRATEGY CALL
"*" indicates required fields
COMPLETE THE FORM TO
BOOK A STRATEGY CALL
"*" indicates required fields
Subscribe and Share – WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT
