How To Build A Brand Story With Color

Want to uncover brand color meaning? We’re here to help.

When it comes to branding, there are definitely a lot of decisions that need to be made. How do you build a compelling brand story? And how can you curate a strong brand message with brand visuals? 

We know this is an arduous journey that business owners take, especially when brand colors can convey a lot of meaning and value to your brand. 

It’s not always an easy undertaking to create a brand from scratch, or even to rebrand, but here’s a small step to start. 

 

What is a brand story? 

Simply put, a brand story is a narrative that explains the enterprise’s motives, goals, and principles. A compelling brand story is more than just your color palette, your logo, and your typeface. It’s supposed to bring together your brand voice, messaging, and target audience. 

Think of it as the heart of your brand. 

Do you need a brand story? 

We wouldn’t say a brand story is required for you to legally open a business. But…as marketers, we will say that it’s a huge asset to have your ‘why’. After all, uncovering the emotions behind why you started your business can be part of a larger mythos. 

The introduction of a story brings more warmth to your brand, and it can draw more customers in with relatability and charm.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with your brand concept and story. The best brand concepts don’t play it safe after all. And don’t inhibit yourself by just sticking to what you know. You can totally play around with various color combinations to find the right fit for your brand. 

 

Brand color meaning, uncovered 

We’ll just say it. There’s definitely no rule when it comes to creating a brand palette. In fact, you can have as much fun with it as you like. Rather than color palettes, it’s the actual execution that matters. 

If you consult search engines online, there’s a general consensus of these brand color meaning: 

  • Red: Passionate, stimulates, emotional
  • Blue: Trustworthy, pure, intellectual
  • Purple: feminine, playful, elegant 
  • Green: Organic, clean, and calming

While these sound incredibly objective, these are just some of the general know-how when it comes to color branding. If you want to find out the most used colors of some major corporate brands, you can check it out yourself using this site.

Sometimes, brand color meaning is simply just to better accommodate accessibility. For instance, Wise has debuted alternate colors that they can use during dark mode.

Another thing we can say about color palettes and brand stories is that trends are making a splash in how companies are refreshing their brand stories. Here Wise and Nokia. 

For Wise, they’ve adopted a bright green and forest green main palette to signal their commitment to a more global audience. Nokia, on the other hand, has decided to adopt a kaleidoscope color palette. In turn, this allows for flexibility in the marketing communications campaign. 

 

Brand story example (with explanation)

Here are some brand story case studies so you can see what we mean.

1. Fishwife

To give you an example of a simple brand story though, we recommend checking out Fishwife. This woman-owned tinned fish company got its name from the derogatory term, Fishwife, which was used to refer to foul-mouthed and brazen women. 

brand color meaning

Their logo makes their brand meaning clear. Their logomark depicts a woman carrying a basket of fish on her head, with a smoking pipe on her lips. This reclaiming of the term is in itself 

Rather than sticking to one solid palette color, Fishwife engages their color palette playfully. This is amped up by their illustrations, present in the packaging and on their website. 

2. INKA

We also want to give a shoutout to INKA for their superb brand story. The brand colors on their website suggest a preference for muted pastels. Here, you have a muted lavender shade that’s paired with a cream color. The vibrancy of their visual look comes from food photographs which are artfully curated to whet the appetite.

Not only is this a good balance between the elements, but this set-up also highlights the food and the lunch box, which is the brand’s product. Their lifestyle-oriented magazine branding also drives home their young and elegant brand story.

 

3. Tower28

Here’s a similar color story with INKA but with a different execution. Tower28 is a cosmetics brand that is targeted at individuals with sensitive skin. At first glance, you can also see their preference for pastel shades, specifically, lilac and baby pink shade.

The vibrance of their brand comes from their bright orange brand color. It’s in the product packaging, as well as their makeup colors. Apart from this, Tower28 also prioritizes a clean and minimalist vibe, which can be seen from their preference to use transparent packaging.

 

DotYeti offers premium branding and logo design services for hundreds of businesses around the world. Our creative artists have years of experience creating brand books and color stories that sum up a meaningful brand story.

We’ve already helped hundreds of clients reinvent their brand. Share your story with us to get started with limitless design!

More Articles
Best Logos Ever for Food Brands

Best Logos Ever for Food Brands

If you’re looking for the best logos ever, these are some of the most creative branding work we’ve seen from F&B brands.  Are you thinking of starting your own food business? Then you’d be competing with hundreds of cafes, catering services, personal chefs, and...

read more
What is Cherry Red? The Color Taking Over Social Media

What is Cherry Red? The Color Taking Over Social Media

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of cherry red?    If you’ve been living far, far away from social media trends, then chances are, you haven’t heard of these terms. But here’s why you need to know these aesthetics today.  The internet is a...

read more
Our Favorite GenZ-Inspired Branding in 2024

Our Favorite GenZ-Inspired Branding in 2024

The Y2K trend is one of the hottest lifestyle trends that’s been dominating marketing circles everywhere. With GenZ leading the Tiktok-popularized trend, the aesthetic has become ubiquitous, often used to convey a certain youthful and refreshing mood.  We don’t see...

read more

Creativity is all that you need!

Stop living a dull life and fill it up with color.
Subscribe to our newsletter and give your creativity a boost.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.