The Rebrand - Part 3: The Colors

Welcome back to Part 3 of The Rebrand series where I’m sharing the behind the scenes of my recent rebrand.

Today, we're diving into colors. I spent a lot of time deciding on a very specific colorway for my rebrand.

I’m excited to share with you why color matters so much, and why I went with black + white + rainbow for my rebrand.

The Importance of Color in Branding

Colors are more than just colors.

They evoke emotions and feelings, often subconsciously.

Each color you see registers a specific emotion in your brain.

For example, if you look back to last week’s article, you’ll notice that I chose a specific color for each of the 4 Basic Human Desires: Health, Wealth, Relationships, and Happiness.

• Health - red
• Wealth - green
• Relationships - blue
• Happiness - yellow

These were all calculated decisions.

Similarly, I went with yellow for “be happy” (happiness) and green for “make bank” (wealth).

Carefully choosing your brand’s colors will allow you to convey meaning that runs deeper than just words on a page.

Breaking Down Colors and Their Meanings

Some colors’ meanings can vary depending on the person and their experiences/cultural background, but generally, each color is associated with the following feelings:

• Yellow: Happiness and positivity. I think of smiley faces, the sun, and sunflowers.
• White: Neutral, clean, open air. It’s great for providing a balanced backdrop for other colors.
• Red: Strong and bold associated with love, passion, and sometimes danger. It’s a powerful color that you should be intentional about using.
• Orange: Clean, imaginative, vibrant, energetic. Orange reminds me of lovely citrus freshness.
• Green: Life itself, nature, money, and intelligence. Green can feel very wholesome and natural, but also kind of like science class.
• Blue: Calmness and serenity. Blue makes me think of water, the ocean, and fluidity.
• Purple: Royalty, intrigue, and mystery. Purple has historically been associated with wealth and luxury due to its rarity.

Note: different shades of colors can give off different emotions.

Example:

• Royal Blue feels rich, true, and all-encompassing making me think of the ocean and water.
• Light Blue feels sharp, crisp, and to the point making me think of glaciers and ice crystals.

The Power of the Rainbow Colorway

The one colorway that stood out while researching brands was rainbow.

Why?

It’s simply iconic.

Don’t believe me?

NBC, Apple, Polaroid, and Google and so many more use it.

Seems like a common trend hidden in plain sight, I didn’t really notice how many HUGE companies use rainbow in their branding, but now I can’t unsee it.

Usually when you think of a brand, you think of 1-2 colors.

So why do these prolific brands all use rainbow?

The feelings it conveys.

What feelings?

Versatility. Creativity. Imagination.

There’s something there that’s intangible whenever there are 4-5 colors.

It feels so dynamic, like anything is possible.

And even though I like yellow for happiness, there’s something to be said about the relationship between rainbows and happiness. Subconsciously, possibly, it makes you feel like you’re able to get to the pot of gold on the other side…maybe a bit abstract, but maybe not.

This multifaceted approach reflects what I want my brand to embody - teaching skills to master the digital world with a sense of versatility and education.

Also, rainbow is fun.

We like to have fun here :)

Polaroid: A Case Study

Polaroid’s use of the rainbow color scheme is particularly interesting, and they’re the brand I studied the most in my research.

The thing I liked the most is how they’ve implemented different shades of their rainbow palette for different campaigns.

Some look more playful, others more nostalgic, even some that are really bold and in your face.

I like that I now have this double bubble of versatility of more colors for conveying multiple emotions and more shades for slightly altering those emotions based on the use case.

Right now i’m going with this pastel version because it carries a soft sense of childhood. These shades feel like you’re opening a box of crayons or markers as you sit in your tiny little desk about to tear up a coloring book.

When someone arrives on my profile or website, I want them to feel like they’re at the the playground during recess or in arts and crafts at summer camp, not working at a boring old desk at another boring old job.

Black + White vs. Rainbow

Contrast is key.

When you’re dealing with something as lively and energetic as rainbow, you need something solid and neutral to balance it out.

*cue black and white*

I’ve always been keen to liking things that are black and white with a pop of color. Again, there’s some intangible energy that it holds.

It feels like both something rooted in history but also very much alive and in movement.

Rainbow is a BIG pop color, possibly the biggest.

So it’s important to use it carefully while balancing it with a neutral base like black and white.

Personally, I like white text on a black background with the pop of color because the “pop” pops more. But I do plan on sprinkling in black text on white with pop of rainbow as well when it makes sense.

Sometimes the white background gives that sense of clean, open air like we talked about earlier.

Action Items

• Are your brand colors in line with your mission?
• Do your brand colors match your Basic Human Desires?
• What feeling are you trying to convey to your audience?

If your colors don’t align with the feelings you want to give off right now, don’t worry.

It’s never too late to pivot.

The Rebrand Series Recap

I hope this series has helped you:

1. Figure out what your mission is.
2. Root your branding in a psychological human desire.
3. Choose the right colors to bring your brand together cohesively.

If you enjoyed this, share it with someone who might also enjoy it.

Talk to you next week,

-Ryan Ward

P.S. you’ll probably like this video where I break down my new colors topic in more depth

P.S.S. you’ll also like this thread where I collected even more brands that use the iconic black/white/rainbow colorway

black/white + rainbow = iconic

Apple
Google
Microsoft
Ebay
NBC
Polaroid
LaLiga
Activision

it’s a design trend i’ve noticed.

Why is this colorway so iconic?

one word: versatility

you feel a sense of dynamism when you see it.

like ANYTHING is possible.

that’s why i chose… pic.twitter.com/2H2wfIUhgp

— Ryan Ward (@iamryanward) June 17, 2024