The Psychology of Colour

From luxury goods to technology brands, colour shapes emotional responses and influences decisions before logic has entered the room.

Brands are often built in haste.

Founders have a myriad of competing priorities. Banks need attention. Staff need hiring. Equipment needs purchasing. Contracts need negotiating. Business plans need writing. Sales need generating.

Against this backdrop, branding can feel like a minor item to tick off a list.

A name is chosen.

A logo is commissioned.

Some fonts are selected.

A colour palette emerges.

Money may be tight. The deadline may be looming. Hiring an inexpensive freelancer on the other side of the world feels like a sensible decision.

Sometimes it is.

Sometimes it isn't.

I once worked with a florist whose brand colour was maroon.

The shop was painted white with maroon detailing throughout. The signage was maroon. The printed materials were maroon.

There was just one problem.

The original owner was colour blind.

The business was around ten years old when I was invited to help its new owner. Despite a loyal customer base and prime location, the business felt tired and uninspiring. The identity did not reflect the quality of the product or the ambitions of the business.

Before making recommendations, I spent time observing.

I spoke to customers.

I listened to staff.

I studied the surrounding area.

I wanted to understand how people experienced the business.

My solution involved a complete reimagining of how the business presented itself to the world.

I introduced a sophisticated palette built around dark chocolate and lime. Rich, natural and distinctive, it immediately differentiated the florist from competitors in the area.

The interior was transformed. Staff uniforms were redesigned. Packaging was elevated. We even developed a purpose-built flower box for busy commuters returning home after a long day, flowers in hand, hoping to brighten someone's evening.

The flowers remained exactly the same.

Yet the business felt completely different.

More contemporary.

More desirable.

More memorable.

The tills started ringing more loudly almost immediately.

Nothing had changed except perception.

And perception is often what customers buy.

This is why colour matters.

Choosing a palette is not simply a design exercise.

It is a psychological one.

Think of Tiffany & Co.

Before a gift is opened, before a diamond is revealed, that distinctive blue box has already done much of the work. Over generations it has become associated with romance, celebration and luxury. The colour itself is elegant. Its true power lies in the feelings and expectations it creates.

Ferrari has achieved something similar with red.

Today the colour is inseparable from ideas of speed, passion and aspiration. Ferrari red amplifies the drama. It transforms a car into something more than transportation. It becomes a statement of intent.

Jaguar takes a different approach.

Its use of British Racing Green feels confident and understated. The colour evokes heritage, craftsmanship and engineering excellence. Unlike Ferrari red, it does not shout for attention. It conveys quiet confidence.

In each case, the colour has become shorthand for a much bigger story.

Colours are rarely powerful because of what they are.

They are powerful because of what they come to represent.

Time and again, I find inspiration in nature.

When developing Jeto, I selected a palette of ivory, taupe, stone and charcoal.

The colours simply felt right.

Only later did I realise that I had surrounded myself with these shades for years. In my home sits a collection of stones gathered from a beach in Pembrokeshire, where my parents retired. Together they form almost exactly the same palette.

Those colours remind me of a happy place.

A place of distant horizons.

Fresh air.

Freedom.

Stillness.

A place where ideas have room to breathe.

Without realising it, I had embedded those feelings into my brand.

Changing a colour palette post-launch can be expensive. Signs need replacing. Packaging needs redesigning. Vehicles need reliverying. Websites need rebuilding.

Far better to make thoughtful choices at the outset.

Curated palettes do more than look attractive.

They evoke emotion.

They trigger memory.

They reinforce association.

And those associations influence how people perceive, value and remember your business.