Have you ever wondered why certain colors can make your hungrier? Or, why certain colors tend to entice certain feelings?

Color is the first thing anyone notices while visiting your website, glancing at your business card or looking at your company logo. This is a large part of the initial impression for your company’s identity. Here are 5 reasons why color is important to your brand:

1. Colors increase brand recognition of your company by 80% and are an important part of the brand’s identity for your audience. Studies have shown that a product color can influence 60 to 80 percent of a customer’s purchasing decision, meaning color can make or break a product.
2. Color is the first thing a consumer will notice about your logo. Therefore, integrate your brand colors across the board – your logo, landing page, business card, and more – to achieve the highest impact.
3. Colors elicit different responses from humans. There are two categories that colors are essentially divided into, warm and cold. Warm colors, such as red, yellow, orange and black are associated with energy. Cold colors, such as purple, blue, green and white are more about calmness and security.
4. The best way to choose a color is to understand your target audience and consider their response to the colors, not your own. The end goal is to have them choose your company or product, so your color palette should appeal to them.
5. Determine what colors work best for your audience. It is about creating a response from the consumer. You gain a greater ability to choose the right color for your audience by identifying and understanding your audience’s age, gender, class and trends.

[For more information on colors and graphic design for small businesses visit: Top 5 Reasons Why Social Networks Benefit Your Start-up BusinessThe 5 Things Your Start-Up Really Needs