The Psychology & Symbolism of Color in Logo Design

Great care should be taken in choosing the colors for your identity. Once a color is owned it will be forever associated with you and your company. It can be just as important to your identity as your logo. If a shape provides a symbol, you should know that color does the same.
It is important to understand the psychology behind color choices. A good color selection can help make an identity system more effective, while a poor color selection can actually damage your company's image in the eyes of the public.
Colors evoke feelings and represent ideas. In logo design-as in all things designed- knowledgeable and appropriate use of color is critical.
The power of color is something that most people are unaware of - in fact, few are unaffected by it. It is quite important that we live with the colors that best suit our personalities so that we can enjoy a more contented and healthier life. Colors affect people in many ways, depending upon one's age, gender, ethnic background or local climate. Certain colors or groups of colors tend to evoke a similar reaction from most people - the overall difference being in the shade or tones used.
Warm colors include Reds, Oranges and Yellows and create a mood of excitement & warmth, stimulating activity and creativity.
Cool colors have passive, calming qualities that aid concentration and can create a mood of peacefulness and tranquility, reducing tension. Energy, Passion, Power, Excitement Health, Regeneration, Contentment, Harmony Happy, Confident, Creative, Adventurous Honesty, Integrity, Trustworthy Wisdom, Playful, Satisfying, Optimistic Regal, Mystic, Beauty, Inspiration. Cool shades include Violets and Blues.
Green can be either warm or cool. When it's influenced by yellow, it becomes warm and when it's influenced by blue, it becomes cool.
Neutrals are great for adding stability and balance in a room. They include white, black, gray and colors that contain a significant amount of gray.
When choosing colors, it is also important to consider the effect of the lightness and darkness, or value of color. Lighter colors tend to be more active, and deeper colors tend to be passive.
The effects of color differ among different cultures, so the attitudes and preferences of your target audience should be a consideration when you plan your design of any promotional materials. For example, white is the color of death in Chinese culture, but purple represents death in Brazil. Yellow is sacred to the Chinese, but signifies sadness in Greece and jealousy in France. In North America, green is typically associated with jealousy. People from tropical countries respond most favorably to warm colors; people from northern climates prefer the cooler colors.
In North American mainstream culture, some colors are associated with certain qualities or emotions: Red colors can stimulate warmth, hunger, and excitement. Cooler colors such as green and blues, enhance calm and content feelings. Dark colors make objects seem heavier, while light colors make them seem lighter. Yellow may reflect a lack of worry, while black a troubled state. Of course not all colors mean the same things to all people. Yellow may sometimes mean cheap, Green may mean money or greed, black may mean elegance or death.
Psychologically, and on its own, white is the color of cleanliness and purity, truthfulness, youth, simplicity and innocence. White has become a very popular background color in web sites, because it offers the best readability onscreen, and as a "non-color," just about any palette works well against it.
Market researchers have also determined that color affects shopping habits. Impulse shoppers respond best to red-orange, black and royal blue. Shoppers who plan and stick to budgets respond best to pink, teal, light blue and navy. Traditionalists respond to pastels - pink, rose, sky blue.
Use the following charts to help you with color preferences for your logo design project.