During this module we covered a lot of different aspects of brand identity, and the one I found most interesting was colour study, due to the different meanings in each culture, an example being purple meaning royalty in some cultures but death in others. So I kept this consideration when designing for my brand XP, But I want to delve further into the colour subject, There are a number of different colour systems, four in particular: CMYK, Pantone, RGB and RAL. By understanding colour systems, you can achieve consistency for your brand design across printed materials, digital experiences and production, That being said the colours I used for my brand XP were, Purple, Green, Cyan, White and Black, The reason I chose these colours based on their meanings. Purple means royalty and ambition in most cultures but it can also mean grieving and the fragility of life in other cultures, which I didn’t really want to be the meaning of my bank, more the ambition part than anything so that is why I made the purple brighter to hopefully curb the dark meaning. Green means wealth in most cultures and I had planned to use it for anything money related. Green also symbolises growth and harmony and that helped fit my ethics of being for new users. Blue is often categorised as depth and stability which is why I chose it, as well as it is a common colour used for banking in general. It also symbolises trust, loyalty and confidence which is a message I wanted for my bank.

Already I have established so much of my brand through my colour choice, and I haven’t shown any designs or guidelines, That is why I chose colour as the topic as It is one of the many foundations of a brand.

I feel there is no argument when it comes to colour, as it is one of the most essential components of brand identity, choosing a colour that is authentic to the brand and it’s personality, it’s also important that the colour appeals to the audience and is different from other brands, I feel a good example of colour use in branding is Coca-Cola

Red is the colour of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. And Coca-Cola uses a trademarked red owned by them of course and it is one of the most recognisable things about the brand, the colour in this context connotes energy, passion, desire and love, taglines that are also associated with their marketing. The red helps to identify the brand in shops and marketing. This reminds me of the cold Coke-Zero bottle, it used to be black and it didn’t sell that well compared to Diet-Coke, But then they changed the black bottle to red and Coke-Zero has gone up in sales becoming more popular, and you could argue the sugar tax impacts this but I feel the colour of the bottle helped consumers have a sense of familiarity with the drink

https://electroiq.com/stats/coca-cola-statistics/

In conclusion colour is one of the most important features of a brand due to it’s ability to connote meaning, create exclusion from other brands and how it helps with brand design. My personal thoughts with colour is I believe it is important obviously, It is something I spend a while deciding on through each project, usually dedicating a day to choosing them and knowing why. I chose Coke’s colour as it is recognisable and has been used a lot for their advertising and products, as well as even some niche aspects like Santa Claus’s costume being derived from Coke.

Colour is important to establish a brand and it should be something that is well-thought out and not rushed as it can make or break a brand.