As a brand, one of the most important steps in building a strong, cohesive identity is choosing the right color palette. Studies show that people can recognize a brand just by its color. Your color choices can greatly affect consumer decisions.

Quick Take:
Choosing the right colors for your brand is essential for creating a strong, memorable identity. A standard brand palette has three to five colors. It includes one main color and a few secondary colors if needed. You can also add an accent color for emphasis and neutral colors for balance.

This guide helps you choose the right colors for your brand. It explains color psychology and why user accessibility matters. Use tools like Coolors and Adobe Color to refine your palette and ensure it resonates across all platforms.

If you're wondering, "How many colors should my brand have?", you're not alone — and the answer depends on a few factors.

In general, a strong brand palette typically includes three to five colors. This range offers enough variety for a flexible and dynamic look. It also keeps things simple and easy to manage.

Some businesses target different audiences. Others offer various products or run seasonal campaigns. These businesses may benefit from using a wider range of colors. This helps them show differences between categories and adapt their brand messaging.

Now, let’s take a closer look.

The Basics of Brand Colors

Before choosing your brand colors, it’s helpful to understand the main types of colors that will make up your palette. Think of it like selecting clothes for your brand—pairing complementary tones to reflect your overall personality and style.

Every brand needs a main color for recognition. It should also have at least two secondary colors for flexibility. An accent color is important to grab attention. Finally, we need a neutral color for backgrounds and text.

Primary Color
Your primary color is the heart of your brand. The first color people will associate with your business should reflect the essence of what you do.
No matter if you are a baker, a realtor, or own a boutique store, your main color should reflect your brand’s personality. For example, if you’re offering a fun, approachable service, consider a warm color like orange or yellow. If your business is more calm and professional, colors like navy blue or soft green might be better.
Secondary Colors
Secondary colors are complementary tones that balance and enhance your primary color. You can have many secondary colors, however, for small businesses I suggest using 2-3 colors to keep it simple.
The job of a secondary color is to support your primary color without competing with it. If your main color is deep navy blue, you can use soft sage green or muted coral as the secondary colors. This creates harmony in your visual branding. It works well when used together for backgrounds, text, and other elements on your website or marketing materials.
Accent Color
Use an accent color carefully to highlight important elements such as buttons on your website, promotions, or calls to action.
Think of this as the pop of color that grabs attention, without overwhelming the overall look. Pick a bright color that stands out from your main and secondary choices and remember, less is more with accent colors.

Expert tip: To find a stand-out accent color for your brand, look across the color wheel from your primary color. This technique, known as using complementary colors, creates a bold contrast that draws attention, without overwhelming the palette. For example, if your main color is a deep teal, a warm coral or orange works well with it.
Neutral Colors
Neutral colors, like black, white, beige, and gray, are the foundation of your brand palette. These colors help to provide structure, clarity, and balance.
They are also important for text and backgrounds. They let your main and secondary colors stand out. Without neutrals, your design could end up feeling cluttered, too busy, and hard to read.

Resources to Build Your Color Palette

To help you create a color palette that fits your brand, consider using these tools:

Coolors.co – A fantastic tool for generating color palettes. You can create, explore, and refine color combinations to find the perfect fit for your brand. Coolors allows you to adjust hues, shades, and saturation to refine your palette.
Adobe Color – This tool is perfect for experimenting with color harmony rules, such as complementary or analogous color schemes. It allows you to create a palette from scratch or explore pre-made palettes.

Finding the Right Balance

While it might seem like the more colors you have to access in your palette the better, often less is more. Having too many colors can create visual chaos and make your brand feel inconsistent. Stick to a few key colors that work well together and that you can use consistently across all of your materials—whether that's your website, business cards, or social media.

That said, there are always exceptions. Depending on the type of business or the personality of your brand, you might choose to incorporate more secondary or accent colors for specific campaigns, seasonal updates, or your marketing collateral needs. Just be mindful of how those colors are used to avoid overwhelming yourself and your audience.

Shades and Variations Can Add Options, Without Adding More Colors

Once you’ve settled on your main colors, think about adding shades and variations of those colors. Lighter or darker versions of your primary color can add depth and variety, making your design more dynamic without changing the overall feel. For example, a light blue could be used for website backgrounds, while a darker blue can be used for buttons or calls to action. This helps create contrast and keeps things interesting without introducing too many colors.

Example of shades and tints in a color palette

How to Choose the Right Colors for Your Brand

Choosing the right colors for your business isn’t just about picking your favorite color—it’s about choosing shades that align with your brand’s mission, values, and personality. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you pick your brand colors:

Know Your Brand’s Message: Before you choose colors, think about what your business stands for. Are you fun and playful? Professional and trustworthy? Bold and energetic? Your colors should reflect this. For instance, if your business is all about helping people relax, soft blues and greens might be a good fit. But if you’re a fitness coach or a creative agency, you might opt for bolder, more energetic colors like red or orange.
Consider Your Target Audience: Who are you trying to attract? The colors you choose should appeal to your ideal customers. If you’re targeting a younger, trendier crowd, bright and bold colors might appeal to them. If you’re targeting professionals or a more mature audience, neutral and classic colors will be more appropriate.
Use Color Psychology: Colors are a powerful tool in branding because they can influence how people feel and act. By strategically choosing colors, you can create a specific mood or reaction from your audience, helping to enhance your brand’s message and influence their decisions. Whether you want to convey trust, excitement, or calmness, the right color can set the tone for your entire design.
- Red: Energy, passion, excitement, urgency.
- Blue: Trust, calmness, professionalism, stability.
- Yellow: Happiness, optimism, creativity, attention-grabbing.
- Green: Nature, growth, balance, relaxation.
- Purple: Luxury, creativity, wisdom, elegance.
- Orange: Enthusiasm, energy, warmth, friendliness.
- Pink: Femininity, compassion, romance, nurturing.
- Black: Sophistication, power, elegance, exclusivity.
- White: Purity, simplicity, cleanliness, freshness.
- Brown: Warmth, stability, reliability, earthiness.
Keep It Simple and Consistent: As tempting as it might be to choose a rainbow of colors, simplicity is key. You want your colors to be easily recognizable and consistently used across all of your materials, from your website to your social media to your packaging. Having just a few colors to work with will make it easier to keep your brand cohesive.
Test Your Colors Across Platforms: Colors can look different on various screens and printed materials. Make sure to test how your colors appear on different devices, from smartphones to laptops to print. You may need to adjust the brightness or tone to ensure they’re readable and visually appealing in every format.

Testing the Accessibility of Your Color Palette

Ensuring that your color choices are accessible is crucial for creating an inclusive and user-friendly experience. Color accessibility means making sure that all users, including those with visual impairments like color blindness, can easily perceive and interact with your content. By choosing accessible colors, you ensure that your message is communicated effectively to a wider audience, improving user engagement and satisfaction.

When your color choices aren't accessible, you risk excluding individuals with various forms of visual impairment, which can lead to frustration and cause them to disengage with your site or content. Additionally, accessible design practices often align with legal standards for web accessibility (like WCAG), helping to avoid potential legal issues and promoting a more equitable digital space.

Here are some tools you can use to check your palette for accessibility:

Contrast Checker by WebAIM – WebAIM's Contrast Checker helps you test the contrast ratio between text and background colors to ensure legibility for those with visual impairments. A contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text (typically defined as 18pt or 14pt bold and above). This ensures readability for users with visual impairments.
Color Oracle – This free color blindness simulator shows how your palette would appear to individuals with different types of color blindness.

Final Thoughts: Crafting Your Brand Color Palette

Choosing the right colors for your small business helps to establish a strong, memorable brand. Stick to three to five colors—your primary color, a couple of secondary colors, an accent color, and some neutrals—and ensure those colors work together and reflect your brand’s personality, and you’ll have your brand on the right track.

By using tools like Coolors and Adobe Color and testing your colors for accessibility with tools like WebAIM's Contrast Checker and Color Oracle, you'll be well on your way to creating a cohesive and effective color palette for your business.

Remember, your colors are more than just aesthetic choices—they’re a strategic way to communicate who you are as a business and connect with your customers. By taking the time to choose your colors thoughtfully, you’ll set your business up for visual success and create a brand that people can easily recognize and remember.

I’d love to help you create a brand that’s not only beautiful but also meaningful. Ready to build a color palette that truly represents your brand? Reach out and let's get started.

How Many Colors Should a Brand Have?