Today, I woke up to a graph on Reddit that showed similar information to one of my most popular articles on this website (from 2019). Clicking through to the linked website for Wizard Pins, that their supporting information mirrored my own, original research.
Wizard Pins Article: https://wizardpins.com/blogs/education/colors-ranked-by-how-many-fortune-500-logos-they-appear-in
My Articles:
- https://verderamade.com/2019/12/05/the-most-common-logo-colors/
- https://verderamade.com/2021/03/18/the-science-of-color-in-branding/
Here’s Wizard Pin’s Chart:
Here’s My Chart:
Here’s Wizard Pin’s Color Graph:
Here’s My Color Graph:
Wizard Pin’s Article provides similar information about color theory to my articles. Here’s one example:
Wizard Pin Article
If you are interested in designing a logo and want to imbue it with psychological color theory, here is a quick rundown of characteristics commonly associated with each color:
Red logo color meaning – Passion, heat, energy, vitality, power, hunger, emotion
Blue logo color meaning – Trustworthiness, maturity, calmness, authority
Green logo color meaning – Renewal, freshness, nature, youth, cheerfulness, safety, balance, money, success, luck
Purple logo color meaning – Richness, nobility, decadence, exclusivity, brilliance, imagination
Yellow logo color meaning – Innovation, individuality, warmth, energy, joy
Orange logo color meaning – Friendly, cheerful, productive, adventure, thrill, strength
Black logo color meaning – Boldness, durability, timelessness, elegance, prestige, intensity
Grey logo color meaning – Balance, neutrality, dignity, professionalism, intellect
My Article:
Red
Red alerts us to pay attention. It is sexy, provocative, dynamic, stimulating, and exciting.
Kathy Lamencusa, Emotional Reactions to Color
Red remains an eye-grabbing color. In the past, red was often added as a spot color in print. It stood out in black and white advertisements. You’ll often see red as the core color for a long-established brand.
People usually associate this color with:
- Lust
- Power
- Excitement
- Love
- Anger
Example Brands
- KFC
- Coca Cola
- Target
- Netflix
- Nestle
Red is typically seen as a color of attraction for several reasons. First, it’s been largely touted as a sexually appealing tone for women. Red lipstick and red dresses are lauded in women’s magazines as a way to catch a guy’s attention. Second, the restaurant industry has adopted the idea that red stimulates the appetite. While the color is used throughout many different types of brands, it’s very common for organizations that work with food.
Pink
Color historians, if there is such a thing, have pointed out that pink for girls became an accepted part of American culture in the 1930s and 1940s.
People usually connect pink to femininity. A stroll past toy aisles shows how often toymakers use pink to target young girls. Consequently, it’s often seen as a youthful color, especially in brighter hues.
People usually associate this color with:
- Sophistication
- Sincerity
- Femininity
Example Brands
- Barbie
- Victoria’s Secret
- Baskin Robbins
- T Mobile
While there are outliers, like the Taco Bell logo, the color isn’t common for big brands. Niches for women use pink most often.
Orange
If we are to take the shades of orange, each one has a particular meaning. Peach color is excellent for communication, influences good manners and calms down. Golden orange represents vitality and self-control. Amber helps the confidence and self-esteem, but it can also give a degree of arrogance. Burnt orange is the color of aggression, pride, and tension. Dark orange the color of the advantage taker, making a selfish earn out of everything.
Dena Przybyla, Orange Color Psychology and Meaning
Safety signals often use the color orange. It stands out, much like red. You often spot it in utilitarian settings, like construction sites. Brands associated with rugged activities prefer orange.
People usually associate this color with:
- Boldness
- Safety
- Construction
- Utility
Example Brands
- Home Depot
- Popeyes
- Firefox
- Nickelodeon
For logos, it’s not a popular corporate color. It’s a complementary shade so, it wasn’t used as much during the early days of printing. Now, softer shades of orange are starting to pop up in design — from peach to gold.
Yellow
Certain shades of yellow, to some personality types, are associated with uncertainty and restlessness. Yellow cautions us to be careful.
Kathy Lamencusa, Emotional Reactions to Color
Tones of yellow are usually used to signal positive feelings. It’s a difficult tone to use because it doesn’t pop against white. Yellow must be layered on a darker color to really have a visual impact. Few big brands use it as their core color.
People usually associate this color with:
- Competence
- Happiness
Example Brands
- McDonald’s
- Best Buy
- Nikon
- Livestrong
You don’t see it as a core color because it can be hard to integrate into a design. When used correctly, it feels fresh and signals positive feelings.
Brown
The color brown is quietly confident and stabilizing. If your brand personality has a strong sense of duty and responsibility or is practical and down-to-earth, and your target audience values stability, quality, and wholesomeness, brown could be an optimal color choice.
An earth tone, brown connects the mind with the natural world. You see it in brands that embrace the senses like food or handmade goods. Chocolate, leather, and coffee beans all evoke the tactile aspects of brown.
People usually associate this color with:
- Ruggedness
- Chocolate or rich foods
- Leather or handmade goods
Example Brands
- UPS
- M&Ms
- Hershey’s
- Cracker Barrel
- Louis Vuitton
Less intense than a straight black, using brown adds nuance to a design. It does not signal luxury as strongly.
Green
Often associated with the environment, forest green has been used for designs related to causes supporting the earth and its ecosystem.
A life-affirming tone, people see green as a natural and sensuous color. Most people link it to friendliness, refreshment, and healing. Dark green colors telegraph wealth, fame, and power.
People usually associate this color with:
- Good Taste
- Envy
- Power
- Wealth
- Healing
Example Brands
- Whole Foods
- BP
- Spotify
- Starbucks
Whenever you see a brand using green, they usually picked the bright or dark end of the spectrum with intention.
Blue
If you review all 500 companies, as I did, you’ll find that Blue (37%) and Black (31%) dominate the core colors for logos.
Light and bright blues are linked to drama and energy. Dark blues are corporate and institutional. Brands frequently use this color because it’s safe without being as harsh as black.
People usually associate this color with:
- Masculinity
- Stability
- High Quality
- Corporate culture
Example Brands
- General Electric
- Geico
- Dell
- HP
Most big brands use this color. So, it does signal a lot of stability. Companies that use blue visually align themselves with the values of well-known organizations.
Purple
Purple is the hardest color for the eye to discriminate.
Although most young people see purple as a happy color, people usually associate it with sophistication because of its rarity. It’s not easily found in nature and thus, was scarce in early design.
People usually associate this color with:
- Authority
- Sophistication
- Power
Example Brands
- Yahoo!
- FedEx
- Cadbury
Overall, it’s sensual and a little mysterious. You often see it in spiritual and majestic designs.
Black
While black is still associated with death and mourning, today, it is also associated with sophistication and strength.
Kathy Lamencusa, Emotional Reactions to Color
Strong, classic, and elegant describe our feelings about black. When used correctly, it aligns a brand with strong, established organizations.
People usually associate this color with:
- Grief
- Sophistication
- Expensive
- Fear
Example Brands
- Nordstrom
- Adidas
- Apple
In general, the color black blends in. If you use it in a logo, you have the freedom to add other colors into your designs around the simple logo (like Apple during the 00s iPod campaigns.)
There are some other unusual things if it’s truly two people having the exact same idea. For example, I only chose to display red, blue and black (in that order). They did exactly the same with their chart. Also, Redditors noticed that their math doesn’t seem to add up.
Curiouser and curiouser.
The Currency of Content
Content has value, which is why writers and content creators should cite their sources. My original idea has been featured in many other articles, with backlinks to me. Just over this past weekend, I saw that HubSpot’s blog referred to my chart and gave me a backlink. If my article recently inspired the writers at Wizard Pins, as it appears, they could have done me the courtesy of acknowledging my work and giving me a backlink. Instead, they copied the concept — down to a near-identical format with how they grouped the logos by color.
I don’t expect they’ll acknowledge me. I’ve addressed it briefly on Facebook, Instagram and here. It’s obviously not direct plagiarism or a copyright violation. Just an example of Goliath copying David’s trending content as a shortcut.
