Brandcurve - branding and marketing

Color Theory Primer Part 6: Color Inspiration

by Susan Gunelius on March 28th, 2008

The sixth part of the Brandcurve Color Theory Primer is actually not as much about theory as it is about finding inspiration for your brand’s color palette. Simply looking at a color wheel and trying to choose a compelling color palette for your brand might not be the most effective way for you to go. Instead, you might prefer to find inspiration from another source. If that’s the case, one of the best things to do is to look to nature for inspiration for your brand color palette.

For example, look at your surroundings. Everything around you can serve as inspiration for your color palette. Scenes directly from nature can provide some of the best color palettes, but truly, anything around you can be used to derive a color palette.

Take a look at this subdued color palette pulled from a picture of desserts. Rather than relying on a color wheel, this color scheme was created simply from real-life objects.

Alternatively, take a look at this more vibrant color palette pulled from a floral arrangement. Again, rather than relying on a color wheel, this color scheme was created from a floral designer’s artistic inspiration.

For more ideas and inspiration derived from nature and photographs, take a look at some of the winners of the ColourLovers.com Photo Color Inspiration Contest. There are some excellent examples of how you can pull color palettes from just about anything you see.

Check back within the next day or so for Part 7 of the Brandcurve Color Primer or subscribe to the Brandcurve feed, so you won’t miss any color branding lessons.

Follow the links to read more of the Brandcurve Color Theory Primer:

• Part 1: The Color Wheel
• Part 2: Color Harmony and Context
• Part 3: Basic Color Terms
• Part 4: Color Models
• Part 5: Color Schemes

Image Source: Susan Gunelius

Tags: color theory, color branding, color marketing, color theory primer, color tutorial, color palette, branding, logo design, website design, corporate identity

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• Color Theory Primer Part 10: Color Resources

POSTED IN: Color Branding