Logo colors: how to choose brand colors that help you sell
Colour is the first thing a customer notices, often before they read your name. A well-chosen palette makes your business easier to recognise and remember. Here's how to choose logo colours step by step, without theory you don't need.
What colours communicate
Colours don't have one universal meaning, but some associations are widespread. It's worth knowing them, so you can use them on purpose or break them on purpose.
- Navy and blue: trust, calm, professionalism. Common in finance, law and tech.
- Green: nature, health, sustainability, growth. Florists, landscapers, physiotherapy, organic products.
- Red: energy, passion, urgency. Food, sports, sales. Tiring in large doses.
- Orange and amber: warmth, optimism, approachability. Great as an accent for buttons and details.
- Yellow: joy, attention. A great accent, but hard to read as text on white.
- Black and graphite: elegance, prestige, modernity. Fashion, beauty, premium brands, architecture.
- Purple: creativity, luxury, spirituality. Cosmetics, education, wellness.
A brand palette is 3–4 colours with roles
Instead of hunting for one perfect colour, build a small palette where each colour has a job:
- Primary: logo, headings, text. It must be dark enough to read well on white.
- Secondary: a calm companion to the primary, for backgrounds and icons.
- Accent: a lively colour for buttons and highlights. Use it sparingly, on about 10% of the surface.
- Light background: a very pale tint for website sections and cards.
A simple ratio that works: 60% light background, 30% primary, 10% accent.
Try it on your own logo
Type your business name and the logo maker shows three logos made for your industry. Free, no sign-up.
Create a free logoCheck contrast before you commit
A colour that looks beautiful in a swatch can be unreadable on a website. The WCAG accessibility guidelines recommend a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. You can check it with free contrast tools by entering two HEX codes. Light yellow, light green or pastel pink rarely pass as text colours, so keep them for accents and backgrounds.
Colours by industry: inspiration, not a rule
| Industry | Common directions | How to stand out |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting, law | navy, bottle green, gold | deep burgundy or graphite with a warm accent |
| Construction | yellow, orange, black | graphite with one bold accent |
| Café, bakery | browns, creams | terracotta, olive, deep green |
| Beauty | pinks, black, gold | cool sage, sandy beige |
| Tech and software | blue, purple | dark green, graphite with a neon accent |
| Health, physiotherapy | teal, green, white | navy with a warm accent |
An industry colour helps customers quickly understand what you do. An unexpected colour helps them remember you. The best approach combines both: a safe primary colour and a bolder accent.
Write down your colour codes
Record each brand colour in several systems, so it looks the same everywhere:
- HEX (e.g. #1A1A1D): website, social media, Canva.
- RGB: office software and presentations.
- CMYK: printed business cards, flyers, packaging.
- Pantone (optional): when exact matching matters, e.g. for signs and apparel.
Put the codes in your brand guidelines and share them with everyone who creates materials for you. To learn which logo files to send your printer, read our guide to logo file formats.
Common mistakes
- Too many colours in the logo (more than three).
- Light text colour on a white background.
- A different shade on every material because nobody wrote down the codes.
- A logo that only works in colour. Always prepare black and white versions.
In the markignite logo maker, every concept comes with a palette whose text contrast has already been checked, and you get the HEX, RGB and CMYK codes with your files. Read more about designing the mark itself in our 10 rules for a good logo.
Try it on your own logo
Type your business name and the logo maker shows three logos made for your industry. Free, no sign-up.
Create a free logo