--- title: "How to choose brand colours for a business · Ingenious Hub" description: "A step by step way to choose brand colours: how many, what each is for, contrast for readers, and how they behave in print. Meaning depends on your audience." canonical: https://www.ingenioushub.com/notes/how-to-choose-brand-colours-for-your-business updated: 2026-11-05 publisher: Ingenious Hub (https://www.ingenioushub.com) --- Branding # How to choose brand colours for a business Pick one main colour, one or two supporting colours and neutrals for text and backgrounds. Choose them for your audience and your trade, check that text is readable on them, test them in print, and write down where each is used. By [Daitiva Sharma](https://www.ingenioushub.com/studio) 5 Nov 20264 min readReads at about Class 7 **In this article4 min read** 1. A word on what colours mean 2. The steps 3. How many colours 4. Contrast and readability 5. Print versus screen 6. Write down where each is used 7. When you do not need a studio Colour is the first thing people notice about a brand and the easiest thing to get wrong in small ways. A colour that looks right on your laptop may be hard to read on a phone in sunlight, or dull on a printed box. This guide gives a calm sequence for choosing colours that will still work in two years. ## A word on what colours mean You will read that blue means trust and red means energy. Treat such lines with care. Colour meaning is cultural and changes with place, trade and age group. Red is a bridal colour in many Indian weddings and a warning colour on a road sign. White may suggest calm in one setting and mourning in another. Rather than borrow a rule, look at what your own customers see every day, and at what your competitors use, then decide where you want to sit near them and where you want to stand apart. ## The steps - Write three words for how the business should feel, for example warm, careful, modern. Those words guide every choice that follows. - **Collect what already exists:** your logo, your board, packaging, anything customers know you by. Keep a colour that people already link with you, unless it is the problem. - Look at five competitors and note their main colours. If everyone uses the same one, you can choose it and stand out some other way, or choose a different one and accept that it will feel different. - Pick one main colour that can carry the logo and the main buttons or headings. - Add one or two supporting colours, then neutrals for text and backgrounds. - Test them together on a real page, a real board and a real label, not as swatches alone. Our [brand colour palette builder](https://www.ingenioushub.com/tools/brand-colour-palette-builder) helps you build and compare a set, and the [logo in context tool](https://www.ingenioushub.com/tools/logo-in-context) shows how your logo and colours look on a board, a card and a page. A [colour palette](https://www.ingenioushub.com/glossary/colour-palette) is the set you finally agree on. [Colour palette](https://www.ingenioushub.com/glossary/colour-palette): A colour palette is the defined set of colours a brand uses, usually one or two primary colours, a few supporting ones and neutrals. ## How many colours A workable set | Role | How many | Used for | | --- | --- | --- | | Main colour | One | Logo, key headings, main buttons, the pack front. | | Supporting colours | One or two | Highlights, icons, charts, secondary buttons. | | Dark neutral | One | Body text and dark backgrounds. | | Light neutral | One or two | Page backgrounds, panels, spaces. | | Alert colours | Only if needed | Errors and success messages on a website or app. | Fewer is stronger. A palette with eight equal colours has no voice. If the main colour covers the page less than you expect, that is fine: restraint is what makes it noticeable. ## Contrast and readability A colour that looks lovely as a large block can be unreadable as small text on a coloured background. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines describe minimum contrast ratios between text and its background so that more people can read the page, including people with low vision and people on a phone outdoors. Check every text and background pair you plan to use with our [colour contrast checker](https://www.ingenioushub.com/tools/colour-contrast-checker). If your main colour fails as text, use it for large shapes and use the dark neutral for the words. ## Print versus screen A screen makes colour with light and paper makes it with ink, so the same colour can look different. Some bright, glowing screen colours cannot be matched exactly in print. Choose your colours with both in mind, ask the printer for a proof and look at it in daylight. Our note on [how to prepare artwork for print](https://www.ingenioushub.com/notes/how-to-prepare-artwork-for-print-in-india) explains colour modes and proofs. Record each colour in the formats you will need: screen values and print values. ## Write down where each is used The step most businesses skip is the one that keeps the brand consistent: a short rule for each colour. Main colour on the logo and primary buttons. Supporting colour only for highlights. Dark neutral for text. Put that and the exact values in your [brand guidelines](https://www.ingenioushub.com/glossary/brand-guidelines), and see [what is in brand guidelines](https://www.ingenioushub.com/notes/what-is-in-brand-guidelines) for the rest of that document. Then a new designer, a printer or a staff member can follow it without calling you. [Brand guidelines](https://www.ingenioushub.com/glossary/brand-guidelines): Brand guidelines are a written set of rules for using a brand's identity: logo versions, colours, typography, imagery, layout and tone of voice. ## When you do not need a studio If you are starting out with a simple logo and a home-made look, choosing one main colour and two neutrals yourself is a sound start. Bring in a studio when you are building a full identity, entering a crowded market, or need colours that work across packaging, signage and a website from day one. About the author [Daitiva Sharma](https://www.ingenioushub.com/studio) is the founder of Ingenious Hub, a brand and design studio in Jaipur. A designer, brand strategist and photographer, he has worked in design since 2007, leading design teams before founding the studio. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/daitiva) Disagree, or want to argue the point? hello@ingenioushub.com Share this note - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ingenioushub.com%2Fnotes%2Fhow-to-choose-brand-colours-for-your-business) - [X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ingenioushub.com%2Fnotes%2Fhow-to-choose-brand-colours-for-your-business&text=How%20to%20choose%20brand%20colours%20for%20a%20business) - [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/?text=How%20to%20choose%20brand%20colours%20for%20a%20business%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ingenioushub.com%2Fnotes%2Fhow-to-choose-brand-colours-for-your-business) - 4 min read Share this note - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ingenioushub.com%2Fnotes%2Fhow-to-choose-brand-colours-for-your-business) - [X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ingenioushub.com%2Fnotes%2Fhow-to-choose-brand-colours-for-your-business&text=How%20to%20choose%20brand%20colours%20for%20a%20business) - [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/?text=How%20to%20choose%20brand%20colours%20for%20a%20business%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ingenioushub.com%2Fnotes%2Fhow-to-choose-brand-colours-for-your-business) - ## Tools and terms for this note Try it yourself, free - [Brand colour palette builderBuild a colour palette and check its contrast.](https://www.ingenioushub.com/tools/brand-colour-palette-builder) - [Logo in contextSee your logo on a signboard, a carry bag and a chat avatar. It stays in your browser.](https://www.ingenioushub.com/tools/logo-in-context) - [Colour contrast checkerThe WCAG ratio for text on a background, with AA and AAA results.](https://www.ingenioushub.com/tools/colour-contrast-checker) Words used in this note - [Colour paletteBrand and identity](https://www.ingenioushub.com/glossary/colour-palette) - [Brand guidelinesBrand and identity](https://www.ingenioushub.com/glossary/brand-guidelines) [The full glossary](https://www.ingenioushub.com/glossary) ## Keep reading More on [Branding](https://www.ingenioushub.com/notes/topic/branding) - [How to write website copy for your businessMarketing · 4 min read](https://www.ingenioushub.com/notes/how-to-write-website-copy-for-a-small-business) - [Instagram profile setup for small businessMarketing · 4 min read](https://www.ingenioushub.com/notes/instagram-profile-setup-for-small-businesses-india) - [Logo or brand identity: which do you need?Branding · 5 min read](https://www.ingenioushub.com/notes/logo-or-brand-identity-which-do-you-need) - [Rebrand, refresh or leave it alone?Branding · 5 min read](https://www.ingenioushub.com/notes/rebrand-refresh-or-leave-it-alone) - [Trademark basics before a logo, in IndiaBranding · 3 min read](https://www.ingenioushub.com/notes/trademark-basics-before-you-design-a-logo-in-india) - [Personal branding for foundersBranding · 3 min read](https://www.ingenioushub.com/notes/personal-branding-for-founders-and-consultants) [All notes](https://www.ingenioushub.com/notes) The argument, applied ## Volimy: A debossed mark for a category-creator. A custom wordmark and a signage program, with a packaging system for a launch SKU. [Read the case study](https://www.ingenioushub.com/work/volimy) [All work](https://www.ingenioushub.com/work) [ *(image: Volimy: A debossed mark for a category-creator.)* ](https://www.ingenioushub.com/work/volimy) ## Where this thinking goes to work - [Branding & IdentityBrands people remember.](https://www.ingenioushub.com/services/branding) ## More on this topic. Something we haven’t covered? [Ask us](https://www.ingenioushub.com/contact?from=notes-how-to-choose-brand-colours-for-your-business). **How many colours should a brand have?** One main colour, one or two supporting ones and a few neutrals is a workable set. Fewer colours used with discipline look stronger than many used equally. **What does each colour mean?** Meaning depends on culture, trade and audience, so there is no fixed answer. Look at what your own customers see in your trade and decide how you want to sit among it. **Why does my colour look different on print?** Screens use light and paper uses ink, and some bright screen colours cannot be matched by ink. A printed proof, checked in daylight, shows the real result. **Can I use my favourite colour?** Yes, if it works for your audience and passes the readability test with the text you plan to put on it. Check contrast before you commit. **Should I change my colours when I rebrand?** Only if the current ones are part of the problem. A colour that customers already link with you has value. Keep it unless it fails on readability or fits badly with the new direction. ## Want this applied to your brand? [Start a project](https://www.ingenioushub.com/contact?service=branding&from=notes-how-to-choose-brand-colours-for-your-business) [See what Branding & Identity starts at](https://www.ingenioushub.com/pricing#price-branding) [Free brand audit](https://www.ingenioushub.com/brand-audit) Based in Rajasthan? [Branding Agency in Jaipur](https://www.ingenioushub.com/branding-agency-jaipur) Source: https://www.ingenioushub.com/notes/how-to-choose-brand-colours-for-your-business