How to Create Your Own Color Palette
Your color palette for your blog or business explains what you’re all about before people start reading any of the words. If you do research on color meanings, you’ll quickly discover that all colors convey subconscious messages to us. For example, the color red conveys a message of passion, anger, and even hunger. This would explain why you see red used so much in fast food restaurant logos or in anything talking about love. The color purple conveys a sense of royalty or even mysticism, which is why you see it associated with religious groups. The color yellow is happy and energetic, which explains why it’s used so much with materials that relate to school children.
And of course, one of my favorite colors, pink, conveys a message of femininity. This is why I’m using it on my website…because my target market is women. And it’s also why you see the color pink associated with various breast cancer organizations. I could go on, of course, but I just wanted to drive home the point that colors are chosen ON PURPOSE. Creating the color palette for your blog or business isn’t something that should be taken lightly or done on a whim. It’s important to take the following questions into consideration when you are deciding which colors are right for you.
“Creating the color palette for your blog or business isn’t something that should be done on a whim.”
What is your blog/business about?
Think carefully about your topics, mission, and exactly what you’re trying to accomplish as a blog or business. Is your goal to get more readers to have access to easy, healthy recipes, as a food blogger? Is your mission to inspire women with positive messages on stylish graphic tees? Are you working on a business that sells unique candles that will make your customer feel relaxed? Really flesh out and articulate what your business is all about from the start, so you have a clearly defined path to follow.
Who is your target audience?
Once you know what the goal of your business is, think about who your target audience is. Who would benefit the most from your products, services, or blog content? What kinds of benefits would you be providing to them? Be very specific with this step because businesses and blogs that target everyone, end up appealing to no one in particular. You want your target audience to feel like your work was created JUST for them.
“You want your target audience to feel like your work was created JUST for them.”
What look/feel do you want?
Think of how you want people to feel once they view your website, your collateral, your social media profiles, etc. Do you want a light and airy feeling? A bold and energetic, vibrant feeling? Be specific with this too, because, like I said, all colors convey certain feelings subconsciously, and you don’t want to choose colors that go against the message that you really want to communicate.
Related: 4 Steps for Branding Your Business or Blog
What adjectives would you use to describe your blog or business?
Describe your business of blog using descriptive adjectives. Would you describe it as welcoming, inspiring, or even organic? Whatever it is that you’re going for, write those words out. Use these words to reference when you are choosing your colors.
Research
Finally, be sure to do thorough research on color meanings, as I mentioned in the beginning. After you establish your business or blog mission/goal, your target audience, the look and feel that you want, and the adjectives that you would use to describe your blog or business, you’re ready to start researching to see which colors will fit the best. You can check out this very thorough article on color meanings and how to pair them to get started on this step.
Once you're done with your research, you can select one or two colors to compare as your “leading” colors and use tools like Adobe Color to select complementary colors to go with it. I’d suggest selecting no more than two or three complimentary colors as a DIYer, not counting the neutrals like black, gray, and white.
And there you have it! These steps will help you quickly get started on picking the color palate that will truly represent your blog or business beautifully! If you want to dive deeper into this, be sure to download my free color scheme worksheet here.
