For the latest post in our series on the meaning and use of color, we’re taking a closer look at the color green. You can read more about the color blue here, and the color red here.

Green is primarily associated with nature and the environment. We talk about “green technologies” meaning, scientific advances that are renewable or environmentally friendly. Green also represents positive values like growth, newness, freshness, fertility, healing, and safety. On the other hand, green also represents a few negative ideas like jealousy (you’ve heard the term “green with envy”), illness, and inexperience (think “greenhorn”).

In the United States, green has a very close association with money (because our bills are mostly green—”greenbacks”), so green is often used to represent financial companies and Wall Street. In the middle east and southern Asia, green has a strong association with Islam.

Because of its association with nature, we often see green used in landscaping and real estate company logos. It’s also a natural for golf courses, natural foods, and nature or travel-oriented companies.

Large companies known for their use of green in their logos and trade dress include H&R Block, Animal Planet, Starbucks, Rainforest Cafe, X-Box 360, and perhaps most famously, BP, which has been accused of “greenwashing” their corporate image to appear more environmentally friendly than they really are (we leave it up to you to decide if this is a fair criticism). Another green logo that you are undoubtedly familiar with is the recycling logo found on plastic bottles and aluminum cans.

A couple of my favorite “green” logos from our gallery:

Click here to see more examples of logos in all colors or to get started on your own logo design project.

We’ve written about color before (Paul did talked about color temperature, here, and I wrote about the color red, here). In that last post, we saw how colors have meaning. Today we take a closer look at the color blue.

Interestingly, if you were to ask someone their favorite color, you are mostly likely to be told, “blue.” Blue is preferred over other colors by more than 50% of all people, including both women and men. It is particularly popular among men.

Like all colors, blue is associated with both positive and negative attributes. Some of the positive ideas that blue can represent include: tradition, authority, stability, calm, tranquility, knowledge, healing, loyalty, and quality (think blue ribbon). Blue can also represent negative ideas including cold, depression (the blues), and nasty language (swear a blue streak).

Unlike red, which calls attention to itself and raises metabolism, blue does the opposite. Blue has a calming effect and can lower metabolism and suppress appetite.

Because of its association with trustworthiness and tradition, blue is used by many organizations that want to communicate these values—banks, insurance companies, and investment brokers. It is also used by government, police, and military units to communicate authority and expertise. Politicians often use blue in their signage and logos for the same reason. Large brands that effectively use blue include: IBM, Dell, HP (disclosure: our design shop is owned by HP), Ford, GM, BMW, Prudential, Progressive, United Way, Pfizer, Hilton, Princess Cruises, and Microsoft. Of course, there are dozens of other examples.

Is blue the right color for your brand identity? It all depends on what you are trying to communicate. If your brand stands for trustworthiness, calm, or authority, blue may be a good place to start. Spas, pool companies, law firms, and pharmaceutical and medical companies might also want to start with the color blue.

One of my favorite blue logos from our logo design gallery:

Do you need a logo that uses the color blue, or any other color, for that matter? Call the logo experts at Logoworks. You could see your first concepts in just three business days.

Photo credit: Ehsan Khakbaz.

A few days ago, Paul wrote about the importance of color in the design of a logo. (You can read his thoughts, here.) Color affects everything in a design from how you see an image to how you feel about what you see. Color also adds meaning to a design, so it’s a good idea to keep in mind what colors represent when you use them in a logo.

Take the color red for example. Like most colors, red is associated with both positive and negative ideas. Some of the positive: courage, leadership, vigor, power, energy, heat, strength, passion, romance, and love. Some of the negative: danger, war, malice, rage, anger, sex (the illicit kind), communism, and blood.

Red is very effective at calling attention to itself, which is why it is used on stop signs and traffic signals. It is also used in neon signs and “click here” web buttons for the same reason—it is easily noticed and gets your attention. As Paul mentioned in his post, red brings text and imagery into the foreground of a design.

Because it is so emotionally intense, red has an impact on metabolism. It can raise blood pressure and quicken respiration (hence the term, seeing red). Scientists have actually demonstrated that red can increase appetite (so many restaurants use red in their decor and menus).

Because of it’s instant visibility, red is used effectively by dozens of brands, including Coca-cola, Marriott, Virgin, Johnson & Johnson, Marlboro, Target, Marvel, and Avis. Many fast food brands use the color red, either as the main color or in support: Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Five Guys, Burger King, Jack in the Box, KFC, Denny’s, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, In ‘N Out, and on and on. Other easily recognizable brands that use red: Hanes, DHL, Nestle, ESPN, STP, Lego, Toro, Honda (small engines), Colgate, KitKat, and Firestone. No doubt you could add dozens more.

Should you use red in your logo? The answer really depends on the feelings and thoughts you want to invoke when customers see your product or service. Can you describe your product as energetic, powerful, strong, passionate, or hot? Is your product sexy? Is it a medical or food product? Is your competition using colors other than red? If the answer is yes, than red is probably a good place to start.

Here’s one of my favorite red logos from our logo design gallery:

We worry a lot about hue, saturation and value as designers, but there’s one aspect of color theory that designers often overlook: the TEMPERATURE of the color. This is important because, not only does it establish the mood of the logo, it greatly adds to the visual hierarchy, which is critical in good logo design.

Warm colors from the active side of the spectrum tend to come forward visually. They tend to agitate and convey emotions, sometimes unpleasantly (see the dental logos below). In nature, we see these colors when things are changing, i.e. a sunset, autumn leaves, and volcanoes.

Passive, cool colors like greens and blues recede. They instantly have a calming effect. They’re comforting and nurturing. Too much of it will relax the audience TOO much (see the BigShots logo below), so it’s best to liven it up with a dash of a warm or at least neutral color. In nature, we associate these passive colors with life and water.

You can balance the effect of these colors with neutral colors like grey, brown, ivory and beige. Their flexibility helps to tone down colors that might otherwise be overpowering. Let’s take a look at some examples to see how this works.

Here, the surfer is seen FIRST. The emphasis is on him. This is because the hot yellow will always stand out against a cool blue background.

In this version, the emphasis is paced on the setting, and not the surfer. We focus on what the surfer is looking at-in this case, a beautiful warm sunset.

This next logo is a good example of mixing the warm and cool to bring out certain areas. The dark purple provides a calming base, and the TECH portion stands out so the viewer can instantly see this is a technology-based company.

You need to decide what overall emotion you want to convey. Sometimes it will be excitement and fun, like this logo. Which one conveys those emotions more effectively?

We try to find emotional words in the creative briefs from our clients, and base our colors on those. As you can see from these examples, it’s pretty important.