Pick the perfect color combination for your logo color palette with this guide to the best logo colors for branding and marketing. Discover 20+ logo color schemes that make for memorable and effective brand identities.
In this article, we’ll cover:
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Why Logo Color Combinations Are Important
The logo color schemes used by some of the world’s most popular brands are rarely the result of chance. Branding experts know that business color schemes are crucial for making the right first impression, forging a lasting connection with your customer base and shaping the emotional reactions of individuals towards your brand.
If you thought choosing a logo color palette was simply a case of picking a couple of hues from the color wheel, think again!
We know that color can have huge psychological, emotional, and social effects on humans, but the role that color plays in logo design and branding cannot be underestimated.
Research has shown that a logo color scheme unlocks potentially hundreds of culturally-loaded interpretations in the human brain, such as this 2021 survey which connects logo color choice to gender perception in consumers, while this 2020 study showed how crucial logo color choice was in determining whether a consumer thought a product was eco-friendly or not.
In addition to these very specific cases of color use in logo design, it’s important to be aware of how particular colors can make customers feel towards your brand.
A logo that uses an all-red palette might risk appearing aggressive or intimidating in the wrong brand context, or make a consumer feel energized and motivated in a different type of logo design.
When using multiple colors as part of a logo color palette, it is also possible to maximize, downplay, or offset certain psychological color effects, making the task of choosing logo color schemes a fine-tuned balancing act.
You can manipulate the psychological impact of colors in your logo designs by choosing color pairings that bring out the best characteristics of each color. License these logo templates via Dexter Vector and createvil.
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What to Consider Before Choosing Colors for Your Logo
The best logo color combinations are those that are perfectly suited to your brand and its target audience, which requires thoughtful market research into the psychological impact of your chosen colors, as well as insights into common color schemes that are considered to be appropriate for your brand’s industry.
For example, a construction business might opt for an orange and blue color scheme on a logo template, which aligns with the colors usually favored within this sector, but this logo color combination also sends out the right sort of psychological messaging to customers and other B2B contractors, which is that orange is energizing and perceived as representing good value, while blue is stable, reliable, and has a corporate association.
However, you might want to choose a logo color combination that differs to the norm within your industry, in order to create a disruptor brand and mark the business out as offering something different. This is a riskier choice in some ways, but can pay off hugely if the right colors are chosen.
Think, for example, of Apple, who used a multicolored logo in the 1980s and 1990s to create a point of difference in an emerging tech industry that was dominated by blue and gray branding.
While the brand later reverted to minimal black and gray logo color schemes, Apple revisited their rainbow-hued brand origins in a super-colorful ‘Spring Loaded’ marketing campaign in 2021.
While a rainbow of colors might not be the most suitable choice for your brand (but if they are, go for it!), there are a number of different types of color schemes that work particularly well for logo color combinations, including:
- Using a scheme that features high color contrast: This a good color strategy for creating interest and energy in your logo design, and is also an effective way of boosting the visibility of a logo when using for designs that require accessibility, such as websites and apps. Black and white is a high contrast color combination, as is black and yellow, or blue and yellow.
- Using complementary colors as part of your logo color palette: Complementary colors sit opposite each other on the color wheel, and make for a balanced color pairing that feels both interesting and natural. Think red and green, yellow and purple, or blue and orange.
- Try analogous colors in your logo design: A good option for brands that require a calm and collected color scheme, analogous colors sit next to each other on the color wheel, allowing you to create a subtle, graduating logo color palette. Try blue-violet, violet and red-violet, or red-orange, orange and yellow-orange.
Common Mistakes When Deciding on Color Combinations
The two most common mistakes when choosing colors for logo designs is selecting either colors that clash, creating a visually unattractive result, or colors that send out the wrong message to your brand’s audience.
You can sidestep the latter by following the guidance above, and to avoid using clashing colors, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the color wheel.
You can also invest in a Pantone color guide, which suggests seamless (and never clashing) color combinations based on the color institute’s latest marketing research.
How Many Colors Can Be in a Logo Color Combination?
There is no limit to the number of colors you can have in a logo color palette, and indeed some very successful brands opt for logo color schemes that incorporate multiple colors, to create an ultra-colorful effect.
However, a good rule of thumb is to generally use only one or two colors in a logo color combination. This ensures that the design of the logo will remain clear and legible, and the psychological effect of the chosen colors in your design won’t be diluted by using too many colors.
How do you match logo colors to create a simple yet effective logo color palette? While seeking out color combinations that traditionally ‘match’ one another is a fail-safe approach for building your brand color palette, you might be surprised at the positive results of using unexpected or unusual color combinations.
Below, you’ll find 21 logo color combination ideas that bring together two color combinations into a perfectly balanced pairing.
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21 Logo Color Combination Ideas
Looking for logo color combinations to breathe life into your business brand identity? These 21 color schemes suggest colors that look good together when used in logo design and branding projects, including the suggested best three color combinations for tech startups, retailers, corporate brands, and more.
Below, you’ll find trend-driven logo color schemes to suit every type of brand identity, including neon pastel colors, jewel-toned schemes, and go-getting color combinations for sports logos and fitness brands.
1. Red-Orange and Buff White
Best for: HR Businesses, Sports Branding, Corporate Logos
Temper red’s aggression by using a softer red-orange that radiates warmth without losing the energy and passionate nature of red.
This is a subtle take on a go-getting logo color combination that would be a great fit for corporate branding.
2. Buff Pink and Gray
Best for: Lifestyle Logos, Retail Branding, Wellness Logos
Designing a logo for a lifestyle brand? Try out this whispery and gentle logo color palette of buff pink and green gray that radiates calm and gives a nature-inspired mood to a logo design.
3. Neon Green and Blue
Best for: Tech Branding, Electronics Logos
Play with the eye-catching benefits of color contrast with this dark blue and neon green logo color palette.
Blue brings a corporate, stable element to the energy and eco credentials of neon green.
4. Mint Green and Cyan Blue
Best for: Medical Branding, Pharmaceutical Logos
Medical brands often use green, blue, or white in their branding to signify healing and tranquility. For a modern twist on medical logos, try mint green and cyan blue in a gradient logo color scheme.
5. Peach and Brown
Best for: Beauty Brands, Yoga Branding, Organic Products
This earth-toned logo color combination would be a perfect fit for organic branding or beauty logos. Brown is associated with nature and stability, while peach brings a retro 1970s feel to the color scheme.
6. Green and Cream
Best for: Organic Food Brands, Eco Branding, Sustainable Logos
Up the eco impact of your logo design with this environmentally-minded logo color palette. Combining green with cream feels more contemporary than pairing with white, giving this logo color combination a more muted, pared-down feel.
7. Gradient Pink and Blue
Best for: Media Companies, Advertising Brands, Website Logos
Gradient color palettes are great for injecting logos with dynamism and a sense of movement. They also translate beautifully to websites and app designs, especially when set against deep black backgrounds.
This logo color combination uses two on-trend colors, fuchsia pink and purple blue, that can be graduated together for a serene and futuristic logo design.
8. Forest Green and Amber Brown
Best for: Wildlife Branding, Charity Logos
Bring your brand project down to earth with this nature-inspired business color scheme.
Forest green and amber brown are both colors commonly found in natural environments, and you can boost their earthy mood even further by bringing in sky blue to the logo design or background color.
9. Red and Camel
Best for: Retro Branding, Sports Team Logos
This retro-inspired logo color combination would be the perfect match for sports teams. Red is energetic and primal, but it is given a softer, retro feel when paired with the earthiness of camel brown.
10. Purple and Yellow
Best for: Tech Logos, Sports Team Branding, Research Branding
Purple is one of the most underused hues in business color schemes, but it really shouldn’t be so neglected. After all, purple is expansive, representing forward-thinking, wisdom, and spirituality.
This makes purple a wonderful color partner for brands that want to appear authoritative and future-minded. Team purple with mustard yellow to use a complementary color in your logo color palette, and to offset the somewhat serious mood of this understated hue.
11. Orange and Red-Brown
Best for: Vacation Branding, Hotel Logos, Real Estate Brands
This logo color combination makes use of analogous colors, which are neighboring colors on the color wheel, to create a harmonious and relaxing logo color scheme.
Rich orange and red-brown are warm and pampering hues, bringing to mind the earthy comforts of home, making this color scheme a good fit for hotel brands and real estate logos.
12. Violet and Coral Pink
Best for: Media and Advertising Logos, PR, Startup Branding
A playful take on color combinations, multi-colored logos are a great way to tap into a childlike, open-minded mood in your brand designs.
Violet, occupying the mysterious space between blue and purple, is experimental and creative, while coral pink is naive, warm, and fun-loving.
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13. Orange and Royal Blue
Best for: Food Brands, Wholesale Logos, Logistics Branding
Solid and stable blue teams up with more vibrant and active orange in this well-balanced, complementary color palette.
If you’re looking for a logo color combination that speaks of both a go-getting nature and solid reliability, this is the brand color palette for you.
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14. Teal Blue and Dark Green
Best for: Adventure Branding, Outdoor Sports Logos, Travel Branding
Aquatic teal blue and forest-inspired dark green create the perfect logo color combination for adventure sports logos or travel branding.
Natural and exploratory, this is a color scheme to inspire wistful vacation dreaming.
15. Black and White
Best for: Creative Branding, Art Logos, Movie Production Branding
Black and white is an often underused color combination in logo design, or at least sometimes seen as a basic color pairing to use when nothing else quite fits.
However, both black and white have distinctive personalities and, when combined, create the most striking color contrast.
Use this striking color combo for chic logos (think Chanel), creative branding, or logos for art or movie studios.
16. Hot Orange and Straw Yellow
Best for: Summer Branding, Travel Logos, Budget Brands
Transport your customers to warmer days with this summer-inspired logo color scheme.
A balance of hot orange, which brings passion and energy, and paler straw yellow, which speaks of carefree days under the summer sun, makes this logo color palette a great fit for seasonal branding or budget-friendly brands.
17. Dark Teal Blue and Red
Best for: Fitness Logos, Gym Branding, Food Logos
Inspire action with this sports-inspired palette of dark teal blue and rich scarlet red. Use this assertive color combination for fitness brands, gym logos, or food packaging.
18. Neon Turquoise and Red-Purple
Best for: Creative Studio Logos, Film and Photography Branding
Mysterious and expansive, red-purple is the perfect foil to the sharp, acid energy of neon turquoise green in this high-contrast logo color palette—a nice fit for creative logos or photography brands.
19. Dark Plum and Pink
Best for: Retail Branding, Beauty Logos, Wellness Branding
Bohemian-inclined brands should consider an alternative to earth colors with this dark plum and pink logo color scheme.
Feminine and down-to-earth, this rich color palette brings depth and warmth to logo designs for retail, fashion, or beauty.
20. Orange and Black
Best for: Construction Branding, Architecture Logos
Construction firms and architecture practices trade on reliability and safety, making it paramount to communicate these values through your brand identity.
Orange is considered to be near-universally the color of safety—seen on signage, bridges, and high-visibility clothing—so it makes sense to bring this color into your logo color combination.
This logo color scheme also offers black as a high-contrast pairing for bright orange.
License this logo template via Nicholas Slavinsky.
21. Aqua Blue and Violet
Best for: App Logos, Tech Startup Branding, Corporate Branding
Give your app logo the best chance of standing out on a crowded phone screen with this sharp, tech-minded logo color combination.
Aqua blue is cool and collected, boosting the authority of your brand, while violet brings edgy interest.
How Shutterstock Can Help You Create a Unique Brand Logo
Now that you’ve browsed some of the best business color schemes for creating eye-catching logos, you’re ready to start building your own unique brand logo! Where to begin?
With the resources on offer through Shutterstock, you can create logo designs that are completely bespoke, easily incorporating your own choice of text and colors into a professionally-designed logo template.
You can also check out the brand design templates available on Shutterstock Create, to start creating your own unique brand identity in no time.
Don’t forget to check out these helpful resources for creating brand logos, as well as brand building for solopreneurs, startups, and small businesses:
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