The Psychology of a Brand:
People attribute value to a brand by developing perceptions and expectations around that brand. If you are consistent with your company’s delivery of brand experiences, you build trust with your audience.
Marketers understand that while people might change how they gather information (e.g. online, word of mouth or at events) or how they make decisions (e.g. referrals or content), people’s basic psychological make-up remain constant.
A person’s reaction to a brand usually involves an emotional connection and/or being able to see treasured values played out by a brand. Indeed, there is a psychology behind any brand.
Whether you know about branding or not, a brand means something to you.
Your perception of a brand links to your unique experiences and the society you grew up in or live in. The visual appearance of a brand, the values that it represents, and the characteristics of key components, resulting in a person’s overall perception of your brand.
In this blog, I will cover the key components of a brand – colour, shape and typography – and what they mean for the psychology of a brand.
Know the Basics
When branding or rebranding a company, it is important for the business owner and/or senior team to understand the implications of key decisions.
Ask yourself,
“Why am I choosing this colour?” and
“Does it fit with my business values?”
Ensure that you base every choice on your values.
For instance, red would imply energetic or alarming while green is more symbolic of nature and calm. When it comes to shapes, sharp edges are more solid and stronger than round edges. Serif and Sans Serif are the two main type classifications with Serif being more traditional than Sans Serif. Let’s go over each component of a brand, starting with typography.
Typography
I won’t go into the entire history of typography but if you’re interested in some background, check out More than words: 6 typefaces that changed how we see the world. As I mentioned earlier, Serif and Sans Serif are two classifications of typefaces. The origin of the Serif typeface is going back to the times when the Romans carved letters into stone. The most known and common Serif fonts nowadays are Baskerville and Times New Roman.
Serif typefaces feel more secure as these are fonts that have stood the test of time. It portrays a serious, traditional brand and is often associated with legacy and trust.
Sans Serif typefaces have a much shorter history – created in the early 19th century – and had their revolution with the rise of the computing era as they are more modern and easier to read on screens. Well-known Sans Serif typefaces are Helvetica and Arial, although nowadays, there are millions of typefaces to choose from.
There is such a big variety which makes it hard to choose the right typeface for your marketing material. When choosing a typeface always make sure that it’s easy to read, so your customers don’t struggle to understand you. The Sans Serif typefaces look more contemporary, modern and depending on the style or font it can appear more fragile or less durable.
Colour
The colour of your brand is a huge part of your corporate identity. Brands like Coca-Cola can be identified by its colour alone. Let’s look at the different colours and what they portray for a brand.
Warm Colours
Warm colours are more emotional and represent a friendly and lively brand. Such colours include yellow, red and orange.
Yellow represents a positive and energetic brand, a great colour for an engaging, interactive business.
Red is also energetic but it has additional dimensions of being driven, bold and opinionated. It’s one of the popular choices for companies with a strong direction. For example, EON uses red as the main colour in its branding. Note that red can come across as less flexible than yellow.
Orange is in between yellow and red and therefore drives the best of what both colours can offer. However, orange can look quite dated. It is also difficult to print as it might come through as brown.
Cold Colours
Cold colours are often referred to as “brain” colours or “thinking” colours and give you quietness and rest. Such colours include blue, green and purple.
Blue conveys decisiveness and trust. Many technical companies use it (e.g. Schlumberger, Dell, BHGE) and also finance firms (e.g. American Express, Allianz). Depending on the shade of blue, blue can be an uplifting colour.
Green is generally a cold colour, but it gets “warmer” if you add more yellow to it. Traditionally, green shows calmness and links to nature. Nowadays, it stands for environmental friendliness and sustainability. It is often used by companies in the wellness industry and also by the renewable sector. However, the popularity of greens in these sectors could mean that companies should rethink their use – be different!
Blue conveys decisiveness and trust hence many technology companies use it…
Purple has strong roots in Christianity. While it is a cold colour, it is warmer than blue. Purple brands are often associated with royalty and thus synonymous with high-quality brands. An example of such a brand is Asprey of London. Purple is used in celebration and portrays a trusted, premium brand.
Black, White & Grey
There’s been some movement towards the minimalist approach in branding. Black and white brands are often part of that movement.
Black projects a premium, straight-forward product. It is focused, simple and very strong – it knows who and what it is!
Imagine the white blank page… When it comes to marketing materials, a lot of people are scared of white. People think,
“Why is there so much white space?”
“Maybe we can fill it with more information.”
No.
White is premium and portrays simplicity, but it adds other qualities such as purity and calmness. It can be perceived as comforting and a strong foundation, providing structure for the brain. Design needs calm space, white space. However, white needs support so it is usually paired with other colours to help it stand out.
Grey is not as strong as black. Some people call it silver, giving the perception of high-quality as is found in technology companies e.g. Apple. Grey is a cool colour that is a good complementary colour. It can also stand on its own, unlike white. Grey can feel like a halfway house between black and white, therefore being indecisive.
Shapes & Lines
The strongest shapes are circles and squares. A single straight line is stronger than a curved one. Let’s look at shapes and lines in more detail.
Circles
We perceive round shapes as more human. This is because humans don’t have sharp 90-degree edges – we are generally round! Circles don’t have a start or an end so you can relate circles to an ongoing process. Some characteristics of circles are circulation, continuity, solid and trust.
Squares
Squares have edges, are solid and therefore trustworthy – even more solid than the circle. Squares give a feeling of being grounded as they have a base, while a circle could be floating. Therefore, a square could be more grounded and perceived as more reliable.
In general, squares are less approachable (i.e. less human) and more unfriendly. This shape is more technological and brainy – like a “thinking” shape.
Lines
We can use lines to make an emphasis. We are used to underlining things, for instance, while reading an article. Lines can be used as a border to focus attention or to separate things. It can also give direction, like an arrow.
…humans don’t have sharp 90-degree edges – we are generally round!
Diagonals
In the Western world, we read from left to right. So, if we have a diagonal going from the left up, we create a positive move to the sky i.e. representing growth and progress. When you do the opposite i.e. go from the right up, we perceive that the brand is going downhill and we could lose trust in the company.
An Example of Applying all 3 Brand Components
Let’s put these brand components together for a friendly, approachable technology company. Say we’ve been asked to develop its brand identity.
What could this look like?
Colour > Blue is a great colour for technology companies. If you are a friendly and approachable brand, cyan blue is a suitable colour. It’s a lighter blue but it’s a strong shade of blue. As a rule of thumb, the lighter the blue, the more approachable it will be even though it’s a cold colour.
Alternative colour > We could also combine cyan blue with purple (if you’d like to stand out more – blue is used a lot in the technology world). Adding purple enhances the perceived quality of your brand.
Shapes > We could go for a rounded square. That way the edges are not too sharp and therefore more friendly.
Typography > A Sans Serif typeface would be a good one to use. Let’s choose a wider font with more round edges than sharp ones to stay strong but at the same time being friendly and approachable.
The importance of branding can never be underestimated. A signature colour can boost your brand recognition by 80 per cent.
If you are looking to brand or rebrand your company’s identity, feel free to contact me for an informal chat by sending an email to mail@anjapeter.com. I’d be happy to help!