Do you know the real power of a color palette?
- SaeLoveart
- Apr 16, 2022
- 3 min read
It is undeniable that colors are everywhere.
Colors help us when used in chromotherapy, delight us when used creatively and communicate important information, often without words.
Each color acts differently, depending on the occasion, cultural context and chromatic chord in which they are inserted.
In my 5 years of experience working with games (digital and analog) I learned a very unusual lesson about the best way to create cards efficiently: Game cards need to communicate as much information with as little text as possible. The ideal is to be able to create a card with only symbols, colors and some numbers.
Sounds difficult, doesn't it? But with a lot of study and practice this ends up becoming more and more natural in every type of work I do, including (and especially) when creating a visual identity for a brand.
Brand visibility and recognition
The brand's colors are selected and placed on a palette, containing from 2 to 10 colors, which are used to represent the company. Consistent and strategic use of brand colors can dramatically increase your visibility and recognition.
Often without a visible logo, without details and without text, a brand can still be identified only by the proportion in which each color appears in a marketing material, whether printed or digital.
Some easy to analyze examples in action are the "pop culture blocks" available in Jybe Characters.
Can you identify the cartoon by the proportions of the colors alone? In the image are shown from the most classic to the newest designs, so no age group is left out ;)
A) The Simpsons | B) The Flintstones | C) Scooby-Doo | D) Winnie-the-Pooh | E) Dexter's Laboratory | F) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | G) Spongebob.
How many were you able to identify?
Learning more about colors
It is common for most people to know more feelings than colors. Unless you're an artist, designer or someone who works specifically with color, you'll have a hard time naming more than 20 colors... It won't be impossible, but it will be difficult. Try it!
During the process of creating a visual identity, each Color Palette will be developed through the harmonization of colors, considering their vibrations and meanings, within the study of Color Psychology, taking into account factors such as the history of use of colors when over time, market research and socio-cultural baggage in which the visual identity will be inserted.
Personal preferences for proposed tones during the Briefing response will also be considered.
A well-responded Briefing shortens the delivery time of your project, which may even end up being delivered earlier than expected, as it avoids the rework of making multiple changes throughout the project.
After the color palette is created, and the project is finalized, it is common to send an image of the color palette for quick reference when the final files are delivered. This image usually contains the colors indicated in:
- Hexadecimal: For WEB, digital, etc.
- CMYK: For PRINTING, graphics etc.
The color file called Color Swatches is also delivered in .ase format which can be used in professional graphic software.
Examples of some more color palettes:
PANTONE correspondence is usually only provided upon request during the Briefing. These are special colors, which can hardly be reproduced by common printers.
By using these colors in a project, the final cost of producing the printed material can be greatly increased, which will need to be done in a specialized printer. Only use it if you really need it (international companies with several branches around the world).
References:
Heller, Eva: Psychologie de la couleur – effets et symboliques, pp. 179-184
P. Ekman, “Facial Expressions of Emotion: an Old Controversy and New Findings”, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London, B335:63-69, 1992
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