In branding for small businesses, the importance of color continuity across mediums cannot be overstated. Color is one of the first ways a person identifies a company’s brand. Making sure those colors are seen as often as possible in as many spaces as possible is one of the best ways for an organization to increase brand recognition, build trust, and encourage loyalty in the long-term.
One of the best examples of branding through color is from one of our clients at Rise, Hart & Huntington Orlando Tattoo Company. Rise is my Orlando web design company whose main focus is to engage our client’s communities through the digital space.
Who is H&H?
Founded in 2007, Hart & Huntington Orlando Tattoo Company is a division of celebrity motocross and off-road truck racer Carey Hart’s Hart & Huntington Tattoo Company. If that sounds familiar to you, you may have seen Hart & Huntington Vegas featured on A&E’s television series Inked. H&H Orlando delivers a clean, professional tattoo shop staffed with the best artists in the world.
After our initial meetings with H&H Orlando owner Chris Turck, we set about the business of honing in on look and feel that he and his team wanted to project to the world.
Mood Boards
One of the ways we work with clients to finalize their overall design, including color choice, is to mock up one or two mood boards. A mood board is a poster that represents what a website may look and feel like. It isn’t an actual homepage design but gives the impression, through color, text, and images, of how one might want their site to look and the emotions or moods they want it to evoke.
For H&H Orlando we created two very different mood boards.
One, a bright, playful take, reminiscent of some of the excellent artwork created by their talented staff.
The other a dark, rich embodiment evoking the Orlando tattoo shop’s own deep wood tones and maroon-saturated interior palette which was modeled after the original Hart & Huntington Tattoo Company shop in Vegas.
While both mood boards represented two ways to advance the H&H Orlando brand, the final decision was made to carry on with the colors already in use in their physical space.
Chris felt it was important to continue to use the warm colors found in their shop, inviting users in without distracting from the content.
With that choice having been made it came time to apply those colors across every medium available.
Application of Color Across Mediums
After branding their shop followed by their website in maroon, wood, and parchment, H&H Orlando wanted to upgrade their social spaces to include the now branded hues. From a branding perspective, they could not have made a wiser choice.
“We wanted to create digital spaces that were as vibrant and visually attractive as our shop. It’s helped to entice customers to learn more about our work, meet our artists, get tattooed, and to keep in touch through social media.” -H&H Orlando owner, Chris
Brand + Color + Unity!
So, while it certainly takes forethought, planning, and diligent execution, utilizing consistent, branded colors is a great idea for any business but especially small businesses. This is even more critical as your business starts dabbling across multiple mediums, as it should, for greater reach and effect in a competitive marketplace. Make it easy for your audience to know who you are, no matter where they seek to find you. Make it easy, keep it consistent, and be ready for the benefits of it.
Rise above,
Stephan
