Your color palette refers to the unique set of colors chosen to reflect your personal artist brand. If the logo symbol is the body, then the color palette is the spirit. In logo design, I consider colors individually but it is most important to consider the collective meaning of the color combinations that is, the palette, in your design. When selecting a color palette, the three things I consider are the spirit, values and audience. Here, I’ll share how I selected orange, white and gold for the logo of Elevate the Artist.
spirit
The essence of your brand.
Your brand has a spirit, an energy, an essence and it is the first consideration when I select colors. Return to the moment when you first thought of your brand. What motivated you to create the product, the service? Why did you offer this to the world? This energy you had at the moment of conception if the energy that you want to recall and bring to life through the color palette of yor brand. I refer to this as the brand spirit.
Spirit is defined as “the real meaning or the intention behind something as opposed to its strict verbal interpretation” and the “attitude or intentions with which someone undertakes or regards something.” We want to select a color for your brand’s spirit.
Color Wheel Pro offers general insight on the meaning of colors and how they might be perceived in your brand here
I selected white to represent Elevate the Artist’s spirit.
+WHITE
White represents opportunity. It’s the moment before the race begins. It’s the blank canvas. White represents what can be; it says that you can create the world however you wish it to be.
AUDIENCE
Consider who will interact with your brand and how they will interpret your brand color palette.
+ ORANGE
How do you want people to feel when they use your products or services? Serious and stern? Childlike and playful? Hopeful and inspired? I’m sure you are aware of it on some level but it is very true that the colors that you select reflect the energy and mood of your brand.
Orange represents the new, fresh artistic work that promises to spring forth. I chose orange because it is a high energy color that inspires fresh ideas, a thing that springs forth. By just gazing at the color, I feel a sense of excitement and change. This excitement is what I feel when I imagine the elevated artist – empowered and free to create products in new and fresh ways.
According to Color Wheel Pro: “Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation. Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. It is highly accepted among young people. Orange is the color of fall and harvest. In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance. Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most important elements of your design.”
VALUES
Be sure that your color palette aligns with your brand values.
The key value that defines the purpose of Elevate is reform. Reform requires hard, work, diligence, persistence and excellence. I added gold to the color palette for Elevate to convey the powerful essence of the brand’s core value to embody the core method of elevation and also to ensure that the orange did not make the brand too playful.
GOLD
Gold symbolizes excellence. The brand invites the artist to bring their new and fresh ideas, and embrace the opportunity to pursue excellence. According to Color Wheel Pro: “Gold evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes high quality.”