How to choose a brand color scheme for your small business start-up

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It has taken me a while to fully commit to my brand color scheme for my small business. I had plenty of ideas and inspiration, but it can be daunting to move on aspects of your brand identity for your small business. 

I repeatedly changed my brand color scheme because I was afraid of being wrong. I wanted to lure my clients into a modern, clean and inviting professional space. Yet every time I tried to envision that space, it would change.

A brand color scheme is not the end-all-be-all for your brand identity. There are so many brands that have changed things over the years. Especially now that we are in a digital age, brands can change colors easily. It might be a bit jarring at first, but we can easily change things with enough forethought that it doesn’t jar customers too much over time.

Even when you keep primary colors the same, your supporting colors can change the whole aesthetic. I tend to think of the primary black and white photos that many 1990s and 2000s ad campaigns in plenty of retail stores to give customers moody vibes.

No matter how you choose your brand color scheme, it can be a roller coaster of self-doubts and questioning your business owner’s gut and your ideal client persona.

Here are a few ways I finally decided on a brand color scheme for my small business.

Choose a primary brand color

I found it easier to figure out my primary brand color for my small business first and then fill in colors around it. No matter what your color or brand color scheme will be, you can always center this color and have the others revolve around it.

Essentially, it was easier to pick one color, rather than a whole color scheme. I’d suggest finding one color that resonates with your brand and immediately sticking it with your primary colors for your brand identity.

From there, you can pick contrasting and supporting colors depending on your brand color scheme.

Choose a ‘contrasting’ brand color

Now that you have your primary color: choose a contrasting brand color. Your contrasting color will depend on your color palette: analogous, complementary, a ‘pop’ color scheme, etc. Each color option has a few different ways your contrasting brand color might appear within your color scheme.

You will need to remember about this color because it will stand against your primary brand color. So even if you are selecting a color within the same color palette, like green and blue, you need to make sure both colors are different enough from each other that they can stand against each other.

Some sound advice I’ve heard for your primary and contrasting brand colors is to choose your color and one for your audience. Crystal Oakes from Oakes Creative House told me of that trick, and it helped me solidify my brand colors for a more streamlined choosing-process.

Choose 1-3 supporting colors

For supporting colors, I’d look into tints and shades of your primary and contrasting colors. Using shades or hues will help give you a sense of variety while still keeping your brand color scheme as a cohesive unit. You can also choose other colors, but if you’re not used to picking color selections, I find it easiest to stay within your color palette.

The number of colors will depend on what you envision for your brand color scheme. You might only need one other color that ties your brand color scheme together, but others need three more colors to encapsulate the brand they want to take on fully.

If you’re having trouble finding your supporting colors, I suggest using an image that showcases your brand colors and importing it into Adobe Color. This website gives you a few alternative options in your color palette and brand color scheme.

Choose a ‘black’

Black colors are usually more lenient. The safest bet would be to go traditional (#000000) for your primary black, but it can be too harsh to use them in some contexts, so using alternative options can help.

Your black colors can be blacker versions of one of your colors, but it should contrast well enough to be considered black to the untrained eye. Some of the most common are brown, navy blue, or charcoal gray. I’d also consider emerald greens and maroon reds to be considered dark enough, but again it would depend on how dark you made the colors and the contrast point against them.

You don’t have to use these alternative colors, but your black will usually be easier to use as text on your collateral, like marketing and advertisement materials.

Choose a ‘white’ 

While I would stick with a traditional white (#ffffff), you can also look into some off-white options, especially when it comes to your website. When thinking about off-white possibilities, try to stay as close to traditional white as possible. 

I say this not to discourage anyone from looking into other forms of white, but it can appear dirty when you use a form of off-white. Usually, off-white is slightly yellow or grey compared to different colors, which is intentional, but it can look dingy or gross when looking at other shades in comparison.

When you need to consider an off-white color, make sure to use an accessibility tool like Colorsafe. This way, you will have a reason to choose an off-white color to contrast in comparison.