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Does size matter?
When it comes to your brand’s color palette, it certainly does.
When a brand’s color palette is too big, it adds confusion and makes the product line difficult to shop. Excessive color signals a lack of strategy. It’s a quick way to devalue a brand and turn it into a commodity.
On the other hand, when a brand’s color palette is too small, it limits growth and sales. It dulls a brand’s impact and identity, and it kills one of color’s biggest benefits - the opportunity to build connection with the community it serves.
A right-sized color palette has a distinct point-of-view that is understandable and unique. It makes both the brand and the product line compelling to customers. It increases engagement, sales, and brand cachet - all critical for a brand’s success, both short and long term.
So, how can you design a right-sized palette for your brand?
Follow these guidelines:
1. Determine the optimal number of colorways in your pinnacle and most popular products. This is a fantastic starting point. It outlines the minimum number of slam-dunk, key main colors your palette needs. If you have multiple pinnacle or popular products, decide whether they should all share the exact same colorways or be in complementary colors that merchandise together.
2. Design your palette based on how people use and merchandise your products. Different types of product lines (and brands) have different color needs. A footwear brand, for example, is likely going to need a larger color palette than a water bottle brand. The materiality and components are much more varied and complex for a shoe than a bottle. Likewise, a sportswear brand may need a broader palette than a skiwear brand. While people may wear an orange jacket with orange pants with orange baselayer and an orange helmet on the slopes, in day-to-day life, people tend to wear complementary colors - an orange shirt with tan pants, an olive jacket, and a brown beanie. Design your palette to be the right tool for you.
3. Only add colors with muscle. Meaning: every single color in your palette needs to be a heavy lifter. It needs to have a strong, well-defined purpose that is critical to the impact of your brand. Bonus points for high-achievers with multiple jobs. I’ve seen far too many palettes that have a huge portion of colors not pulling their weight. (Like, color palettes with entire sections for accent-only colors! And not, oh-yeah-WOW, I-freaking-bring-the-sales accent colors, but mediocre ones.) If a color is not vital to the success of your brand, it is not valid to add to your palette.
4. Make sure every color in your palette speaks the same language. That language is the language of your brand. Your palette needs to have an energy and presence that reflects your brand. When it comes to color quantity, that means your palette needs to be tight enough so that message is crystal clear and unified, and large enough that it is wildly interesting to listen to and engage with.
5. Consider your community. Be in tune with what your customers’ and retailers’ needs and loves are, especially when it comes to what you offer. Design your palette so that every color elicits joy for a particular population you serve. Color is a powerful way to emotionally connect with your community, and your goal is to make those connections as meaningful and delightful as possible. Find the right balance for your brand between making every color palatable to every person and nailing the precise, unique desire of different segments of your community.
6. Ensure every color has a consistent thread throughout the product line. Every color in your palette should show up at least a handful of times. If your line can’t support this, cut the color.
7. Make colors distinctly different. Each color in your palette needs to be at least 10% different from any other color in the palette. This keeps your line looking thoughtful and clear. Redundant colors muddle your message. Instead of three mid-tone blues, for example, choose (or find) the one that merchandises the strongest with the rest of the palette and does the best job for what your brand needs.
8. Be realistic about what you can afford. Every color in your palette costs time, money, space, effort. Be upfront about what you are able to manage at the beginning of the color process, and design within these boundaries. When you put this off and make last minute changes, your color strategy ends up disjointed and unbalanced. Don’t do it at all, and you risk creating an unsustainable situation for your business.
Following these guidelines will help you design the right-sized palette for your brand, one that makes both you and your customers happy.
The most frequent mistake I see brands make is having too large of a palette. Be focused and exacting in your color needs and goals. Dial in those color jobs. The ripple effect throughout your line and business is huge and positive!
Let me know how it goes!
