International Business Machines (IBM) has another familiar moniker: Big Blue. This massive technology corporation has shaped the American office as we know it for over a century. For the last 50 years, it has done so under an unmistakable Paul Rand logo: the letters “IBM” in slab-serif type with blue and white scanlines recalling the cathode-ray monitors and televisions of old.
But the color blue spans a wide spectrum, from an azure sky to a midnight-navy blazer, and it’s not just any shade that Big Blue employs. It is Pantone PMS 2718C that the firm insists upon, and for good reason—a name by any other hue just wouldn’t be the same. Just like multinational corporations, consistent color matters to your business’s brand, too. We’ll show you why it matters and how you can ensure it.
Recognition in the Marketplace
Picking a color scheme and sticking with it helps customers recognize your brand. When your brand uses its colors in every aspect of your business, from product packaging to website design, customers will associate your brand with those colors. This association creates a sense of trust, familiarity, and connection with your brand.
Avoid Brand Dilution
Consistent color also aids in brand recall. It’s a crowded marketplace, and you need to stake your position in it. Rendering various versions of your logo in hunter green, Kelly green, and mint green, thinking it doesn’t matter, won’t help. A rigid color scheme makes it easier for customers to remember your brand. When they see your brand’s trademark color outside of your business, they will make an association with your brand, even if your logo or name is not present. If you saw Starbucks’s medium-dark green hue out of context, you may easily find yourself in the mood for a cup of coffee.
Convey Precise Brand Values
Colors have meanings. Cerebral blues, earthy greens, and appetizing oranges can evoke specific emotions and feelings in customers. But even within a primary or secondary color, there are different connotations. A pastel “creamsicle” orange and neon orange send different messages. So do burgundy and pink, though both fall under the umbrella of red. In fact, we can take it another step further: compare hot, fluorescent T-Mobile pink with soft, pastel Pepto-Bismol pink. Which message does your business want to send with its color? Think carefully, choose wisely, and commit.
How Do You Ensure Color Consistency?
We’ve established why consistent color matters to your business’s brand. The next step is putting those principles into action. Businesses can ensure the consistency of their brand colors across print and web applications by taking several steps.
Start by establishing a comprehensive style guide that outlines the specific color values that represent your brand. It should include Pantone colors for print, RGB values for digital screens, and Hex codes for web design. Communicate this brand style guide to everyone involved in creating branded materials—if your printing vendor can’t follow this guide, you need a new partner. Use color management tools and software to maintain color consistency across different platforms and mediums and compensate for the variations that can occur due to different printing processes or screen settings. By following these steps, businesses can ensure their brand colors remain consistent across both print and web applications.