Introduction
Color in legal branding is one of the most powerful tools for communication and evoking emotion. According to the studies, people form impressions within 90 seconds of their initial interactions with people or products. Impressively, 90% of the assessment is based on colors alone. Ultimately, this impression dominates 67% of the purchasing process.
By using colors, you can create an impactful strategy to communicate your message without words. In fact, brands and color are intrinsically linked because color motivates the human subconscious. When it comes to recognizing a brand, color is what people remember. Often, the audience connects the color with certain needs or expectations.
Hence, a potential client’s reaction to color must be taken into consideration when developing marketing strategies. Your law firm’s website may be the first and only contact a person has with your company. To work, all your branding elements must be professional, evoke the right emotion and make a connection. This includes colors, that play an important role in making that connection.
In marketing, there are countless ways to use color to communicate with your clients. Color associations are just one way to communicate with a target audience. Here are examples of color associations that can influence a potential client’s impression in legal branding:
Red
Red is associated with energy and passion and gives an impression of warmth and boldness. Additionally, it symbolizes strength, power and determination and inspires feelings of importance. For these reasons, over 26% of large law firms use red in their branding. The color red attracts attention making it useful in branding and marketing. Deep reds are associated with power, endurance, prestige and leadership. However, bright reds signal hazard, urgency or danger.
Often, it is used to make people make quick decisions. For example, it can be found in the “buy now” buttons. Additionally, red can also affect people physically. Exposure to this color has been shown to raise people’s heart rate, blood pressure and perspiration rate. Interestingly, it even provokes the frequency of eye blinks. In design, red can be commanding as an accent color but overwhelming as a layout.
Orange
Orange is a color of energy and vitality, associated with many naturally occurring things. It combines the energy of red and the freshness of yellow. Moreover, it symbolizes enthusiasm, success and creativity. Orange inspires feelings of determination and encouragement. Nonetheless, only 5% of large law firms use orange in their branding.
Bright orange is associated with health, energy and vibrancy. On the other hand, dark orange can invoke feelings of strength and endurance. Like red, it is generally best used in moderation. As a neutral warm color, it can be incorporated well into many law firm brands. For example, from personal injury to immigration to estate planning with equal efficacy.
Yellow
Yellow is another color in legal branding with a split personality. It can be associated with creativity and sunshine but also with caution. In design, bright yellow communicates your firm is willing to innovate and implement new or creative solutions. Yellow is associated with energy and intellect and inspires feelings of confidence. It symbolizes success, understanding and creativity. Yet only 1% of large law firms use yellow in their branding. However, 16% of law firms use gold in their branding.
One of the reasons why yellow is underused might be because it can be hard to read in text form and is generally harsh on the eye. Still, there are many benefits to using yellow in brands and marketing. For example, when compared to black, it can give a fresh look to your brand. Additionally, yellow is associated with the stimulation of mental activity and memory. Bright yellow attracts attention and invokes feelings of revitalization, energy and loyalty. Gold yellow communicates prestige, wisdom, quality and endurance.
Blue
Blue is a tranquil color associated with depth and stability and inspires feelings of calmness and security. It also symbolizes loyalty, wisdom, confidence and intelligence. Additionally, it gives the impression of steadiness, trust, professionalism and prestige. For these reasons, over 45% of large law firms use blue in their branding.
The color blue is also very versatile in design. For instance, it can be vibrant and friendly or cool and steady. When used with warm colors, it can create high-impact, memorable designs. Light blue is generally refreshing and brings a soft, calming energy to any brand. Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.
Ultimately, it is the most popular color in the world, when it comes to usage in business logos. This is due partly to its versatility and partly to the ideas it represents. Blue is calming, and therefore good for emotionally charged practice areas. It is also grounded, representing responsibility, stability and power. Since it is so widely used in corporate branding, blue also carries a sense of professionalism and experience.
Green
Green is a natural color that can be used to represent freshness and growth as well as stability. It is the color of nature that symbolizes growth, stability, endurance, tradition but also freshness. Green is commonly associated with nature and is also a symbol of growth and renewal. Additionally, it inspires feelings of safety and is commonly associated with money. For these reasons, over 15% of large law firms use green in their branding.
Bright greens are popular in modern design. Moreover, they can be used to tell clients your firm is forward-looking and willing to take a fresh approach to solve legal problems. This color is balanced, meaning that it stands out next to both warm and cool colors. Light or bright green is generally associated with friendliness, youth and endurance. On the other hand, dark green represents wealth, ambition and determination.
Purple
The color of royalty has more energy than blue while similarly conveying ideas of strength, power and wealth. Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. It symbolizes healing, wisdom, strength and ambition. Purple inspires feelings of dignity, creativity and mystery. However, only 1% of large law firms use purple in their branding. Some people consider it to be artificial because it is a very rare color in nature. When used as the dominant color, it can create a sense of elegance, decadence and quality. Light purple evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings whilst dark purple inspires feelings of wealth and luxury.
Gray
As the intermediary between black and white, gray defines neutrality and inspires feelings of formality and traditionalism. When used for backgrounds, it gives a feeling of professionalism. Based on the vibrancy, it can be either attention-grabbing or be subdued. This may be the reason over 31% of large law firms incorporate gray or silver in branding.
Brown
Like black, brown can work well as an intermediary or accent color. It is most associated with richness, leather and nature. Brown can exude a classic, traditional or rustic atmosphere. Pairing brown with other colors effectively is tough, which may be why only 5% of large law firms incorporate brown in branding.
Black
Almost 50% of large law firms use black as the main or accent color in legal branding. Probably because black is associated with power, elegance and formality. Moreover, it denotes feelings of strength and sophistication. Additionally, black can make other colors stand out and it contrasts well with bright colors. Typically used for text, black works well as the primary color for backgrounds.
Conclusion
As seen above, color in legal branding can contribute and influence mood and feelings, positive and negative. However, the same applies when it comes to poor color choices. For example, it can turn off users to your website, with no chance of a return visit. When colors are a bad fit, they feel wrong because they don’t match preconceived expectations.
With these descriptions in mind, you can more effectively communicate your brand’s personality. When using colors, be sure they are cohesive and work together with the design. Before finalizing your decision, consider if the traits and emotions of the colors you selected are consistent with the spirit of your law firm.
These same principles of color-based judgment apply to your web presence. Using different colors can send unique messages to site visitors and shape their perception of your firm. Ultimately, using colors to manifest critical messages enhances attention by 82% and brand recognition by 80%. If you require further assistance, feel free to reach us and schedule a free consultation with our experts.