Colour Consistency in changing times
Colour is one of my favourite parts of creating a brand, and it’s also one of the most common topics of conversation when speaking with clients. How much colour is too much? Can we introduce something new? How do we create more flexibility without losing consistency? These questions become particularly important as a business grows.
A brand may have started with one or two core colours that worked perfectly in the beginning, but as the business expands with more products, campaigns, content, team members or even new markets, those original colours can begin to feel limiting. This is often where I see the colour scheme start to creep away from the original plan.
A new shade appears in a social post.. another is introduced for a campaign.. packaging takes a slightly different direction, then before long, the colour that was once strongly associated with the business is competing with several others with no real connection. And slowly but surely, one of the brand’s most valuable assets is being diluted.
Recognition comes from repetition
Think about McDonald’s as an example.
Its use of red and yellow has become so distinctive that its advertising can be stripped back dramatically and still feel unmistakably McDonald’s. One campaign titled “You know where” relied solely on its colours alone without needing the full logo or wordmark.
That level of recognition hasn’t happened because the brand continually reinvented itself. It has been built through decades of consistent use.
Of course, most businesses aren’t McDonald’s, but the principle is just as relevant.
The more consistently you use your distinctive brand elements (including colour) the easier it becomes for people to recognise you.
Consistency doesn’t mean restriction
Of course, we do understand that as a business grows it may genuinely need more flexibility.
A marketing team might need a broader palette to create varied campaigns. A product business may need to distinguish between ranges. A company entering international markets needs a visual system that can work across different teams, applications and environments. The answer isn’t necessarily to abandon the colour people already associate with you. Often, it’s about building around it.
I recently had the pleasure of refreshing the brand of a New Zealand business that has grown internationally. One of the most important parts of the process was looking at what already had value and what was beginning to hold the marketing team back.
Its primary colour had become an iconic and recognisable part of the brand, so changing it simply for the sake of change would have meant throwing away years of visual recognition.
Instead, I retained that colour at the heart of the identity and developed a broader, more flexible palette around it. The result gives the team considerably more creative freedom while ensuring the brand remains recognisable wherever it appears.
I’m looking forward to sharing the full case study with you soon.
Before you introduce another colour...
Ask yourself why.
Is there a strategic reason for it? Does it have a defined role within your brand? Will your team know when and how to use it?
Or are you simply getting a little bored with your existing palette?
We get it, you see your brand every day, but remember, your customers don’t.
If you’re feeling tired of your colours, resist the temptation to change them simply to make your marketing feel new. The colours that feel familiar to you may only just be becoming familiar to your audience.
And if your palette genuinely no longer gives you the flexibility you need, that can be a useful signal that your business has evolved beyond the brand system it started with.
It doesn’t always mean a complete rebrand.
Sometimes the strongest approach is to step back, identify what still has value, strengthen what isn’t working and build a more flexible identity around the recognition you’ve already earned.
One final note for growing teams
Make sure anyone creating content for your business understands your brand guidelines.
A palette containing six colours doesn’t mean all six need to appear at once. Knowing the role each colour plays is just as important as knowing the colours themselves.
A strong brand gives your team room to create, without losing sight of who you are.
Has your business grown beyond the brand you started with?
If your brand is beginning to feel restrictive or you’re unsure how to evolve it without losing what already works, feel free to get in touch here. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes is all you need.
Leticia Masseurs
Founder & Creative Director
Organic Lines Design Studio