Choosing the Right Brand Colors for Your Business

Angel Brock
Oct 20, 2023
4 min read

Updated: Dec 16, 2025

Choosing the Right Brand Colors for Your Business (2025 Guide)

Choosing brand colors isn’t about picking your favorite shade or following whatever’s trending on Pinterest right now (I know, it's a bummer!).

It’s about strategy, psychology, accessibility, and consistency— and yes, I’ve seen a lot of small businesses get this wrong (usually without realizing it).

Your brand colors quietly shape how people feel about your business before they ever read a word on your website. They influence trust, perception, and whether someone sticks around long enough to learn more.

So if you want your brand to feel intentional, aligned, and built to last, this guide will walk you through exactly how to choose brand colors the right way in 2025.

Step 1: Define Your Brand’s Personality (Before You Touch Color)

Before you open Canva. Before you save Pinterest boards. Before you Google “best brand colors for small businesses.”

You need clarity on your brand personality.

Colors are emotional shortcuts. They tell people what kind of business you are without saying a word.

Ask yourself some questions like these...

Is your brand bold or calm?
Playful or refined?
High-energy or grounding?
Luxurious or approachable?
If your brand were a person, how would it walk into a room?

A brand that’s meant to feel warm and supportive will use color very differently from a brand that’s meant to feel premium and authoritative. When those don’t match, people feel the disconnect— even if they can’t explain why.

Your colors should reinforce your personality, not fight it.

Step 2: Use Color Psychology (But Don’t Over-Simplify It)

Yes, color psychology matters— but it’s not as rigid as “blue = trust” and “red = excitement.”

Context matters. Industry matters. Audience matters.

That said, colors do create emotional cues:

Blues and greens typically feel calming, stable, and trustworthy
Warmer tones (reds, oranges) feel energetic and attention-grabbing
Neutrals can feel elevated, grounding, or understated
High-contrast palettes feel bold and modern
Muted palettes feel soft and intentional

The key isn’t memorizing meanings— it’s asking:

What do I want someone to feel when they land on my website? When they see my brand for the first time?

Then, choose colors that support that experience.

Step 3: Know Your Target Audience (Like, Really Know Them)

This is where most DIY branding falls apart. Your brand colors are not about you. They’re about who you want to attract. If your audience values:

Calm → Loud, high-contrast colors may repel them
Luxury → Playful palettes may feel cheap
Creativity → Overly corporate palettes may feel stiff

Age, lifestyle, values, aspirations— all of this matters.

This is why brand strategy comes before visual design. Without audience clarity, color choices are just educated guesses.

When your colors reflect your audience’s preferences and expectations, your brand instantly feels familiar and trustworthy.

Step 4: Study Your Competitors (Then Decide How You’ll Differ)

Look at the color patterns in your industry:

Are most brands neutral and minimal?
Bright and energetic?
Earthy and natural?

This isn’t about copying anyone, let's be totally clear— it’s about understanding the visual language your audience is already used to.

From there, you decide:

Do you want to align closely with expectations?
Or stand out intentionally— while still making sense?

Standing out doesn’t mean being random. It means being strategically different.

Step 5: Build a Strategic Color Palette (Not Just “Pretty Colors”)

A strong palette usually includes:

🎨 Your primary color, aka your anchor. The color people associate most with your brand.

🎨 Your secondary colors, aka supportive tones that add depth and flexibility.

🎨 Your accent colors, which are used sparingly for CTAs, buttons, or emphasis here and there.

Your palette should feel cohesive, work across web + print, adapt to different moods without falling apart, be accessibility friendly and compliant, and make sense. If everything is loud, nothing stands out. Balance matters.

Step 6: Prioritize Accessibility (This Is Non-Negotiable in 2025)

Accessibility isn’t optional anymore— ethically or legally. And by accessibility, I'm talking about people with visual impairments, which could mean anything from partially blind, to totally blind, to color blind... The same accessibility laws and rules that govern public spaces and buildings also govern online spaces, too. A lot of business owners don't know this, and don't know how to pick their palette accordingly.

Your colors MUST:

Have enough contrast when used together (a minimum contrast score of 4:5)
Be readable for people with visual impairments
Work for people with color blindness
Meet WCAG/ADA standards

Accessible colors don’t limit creativity. They make your brand usable— and more professional.

Bonus: accessibility improves user experience for everyone, not just people with visual impairments or disabilities! Accessible color palettes are just naturally easier on the eyes for everyone,

Step 7: Test Across Platforms (Screens Lie)

Colors behave differently across:

Phones vs desktops
Apple vs Android
Web vs print
Glossy vs matte paper

Test early, test often, adjust as needed. Consistency doesn’t happen by accident— it’s built intentionally.

Step 8: Get Feedback (Before You Lock It In)

You’re too close to your own brand to see it clearly.

Get feedback from people in your target audience, trusted peers, a professional designer. You’re looking for emotional reactions, not opinions on “what’s pretty.” If multiple people feel what you intended them to feel, you’re on the right track.

Step 9: Document Your Color Codes

Once you finalize your palette:

Save your HEX codes
RGB color codes
CMYK color codes

This becomes your brand’s visual rulebook. Consistency is what builds recognition— not perfection.

Step 10: Implement Consistently (This Is Where Brands Win or Lose)

Your colors should show up EVERYWHERE:

Website
Social media
Graphics
Emails
Print materials
Product packaging
Uniforms
Everywhere

Inconsistent color use erodes trust faster than a “bad” palette ever will.

Consistency = professionalism.

Step 11: Revisit and Evolve (When It Makes Sense)

Your brand isn’t static. As your business grows, your colors may need refinement, not constant reinvention, but intentional evolution. Rebrands should reflect growth, not boredom.