Ep 8. How to Choose the Right Colour for Your Brand
Nourish Your Brand · Episode 8
Today we're exploring a subtle but seriously powerful part of branding, one that can completely change how someone perceives you: colour. Just like the right spice transforms a dish, the right colour defines a brand. Let's get into it.
Colour is a storytelling tool
When I rebrand a business inside the Brand Kitchen, colour is one of the most powerful visual elements I consider, because it's one of the first things someone sees and connects with, even in passing.
Think about cooking a chilli con carne. The same dish lands completely differently depending on your spice. Sweet, mild pink peppercorns give you something subtle. Red chillies and chilli powder give you something fiery. Colour works the same way. The same colour, in a different hue or saturation, tells a totally different story. A colour isn't just a colour in branding. It's a storytelling tool, and it's all about the emotion you want to stir in your people.
Same colour, different story
Take pink. It's incredibly versatile, anything from playful and youthful to edgy, bold and striking.
Look at Barbie versus Benefit. Barbie uses a bright, bold, almost-hurts-your-eyes pink that screams fantasy, fun and vibrancy. Benefit uses a warmer, lighter pink that feels like care and warmth, for people who want a bit of fun but also want to feel looked after. Both brands lead with pink. Both tell completely different stories. That's the power of tone.
How to pick the right tone
Choosing the right tone of any colour comes down to your brand personality and the emotions you want to evoke. I talk about personality a lot, and this is where it becomes practical. What do you want people to feel? Whimsy and playfulness? Boldness and excitement? Calm?
That feeling should drive the hue and saturation of your primary colour. This is exactly the kind of thing I get clear on with clients before we ever pick a palette, and if you want that clarity first, a Brand Recipe session is the place to start.
A small tweak can change everything
I worked through this recently with a client who knew they wanted pink as their dominant colour, but the pink they had didn't show the sophistication they were after. So I deepened the saturation, made it less pastel, less fluffy, and brought it down to earth a little.
That one tweak, just the hue and saturation, changed the feeling of the entire brand. Still pink. Still them. But suddenly it spoke volumes and amplified exactly what they wanted to say. Getting your colour to pull that kind of weight is part of what we do together inside the Brand Kitchen.
Ask yourself this week
Take a moment with the colours in your brand.
What do you actually want people to feel when they see you?
Look at your primary colour. Is it too muted for that feeling, or too bold?
Remember, colour isn't just decoration. It defines your identity as much as your logo does.
Where to go from here
Like the right spice in a dish, the right colour can make your brand unforgettable. The wrong one can quietly undersell everything you do.
If you'd like help getting your colour, and the rest of your visual identity, telling the right story, that's exactly what happens inside the Brand Kitchen, my signature rebrand sprint. Book a free Brand Pairing call and let's see if it's the right fit. No pressure, no hard sell.
Related episodes
Ep 13: Brand identity: how to make your brand recognisable (Branding Pie Part 3)
Ep 50: 50 branding tips (Part 3: Visual Design)
Ep 61: Why your visuals struggle before you even start
Resources mentioned
Brand Kitchen – my signature rebrand sprint, where we get your colour and visual identity telling the right story
The Spread – my email newsletter, with new episodes straight to your inbox
Here's More…
How do I choose the right colour for my brand? Start with the feeling you want to evoke, then choose the hue and saturation that matches it. The same colour can read playful or sophisticated depending on the tone, so let your brand personality lead the choice.
Does the shade of a colour really matter in branding? Massively. Two brands can use "pink" and tell completely different stories. A small tweak to hue or saturation can change the entire feeling of a brand, as it did for one of my clients.
What does colour communicate in branding? Emotion and identity. Colour is one of the first things people register, often before they read a word, so it's doing real storytelling work. It defines your brand as much as your logo. Getting it right is part of what I do in the Brand Kitchen.
About the host
I'm Aiza, the brand chef behind Studio Coya, a branding studio with a food-themed twist. I help established coaches, creators and service providers brand their signature offers so their best work looks as good as it actually is, and sells like hotcakes.
