Color Goals: Defining What Your Palette Needs to Do

Creative Intelligence is a free newsletter about the art and business of color — from trend to strategy to design. Thanks for reading!

Over the next few issues, I am walking you through the steps of designing a color palette — from gathering inspiration to choosing the colors to evolving it in the future. This is the second installment. If you missed the first, you can read it here — Inspiration: Where Color Begins.

One of the most important parts of designing a color palette is defining what it needs to do. Identifying these color goals is a critical step that helps ensure a palette is not only beautiful but functional. This part of the process happens in tandem with gathering inspiration as each informs the other.

Determine the goals your palette needs to achieve by asking these questions:

First, define who your color palette needs to appeal to. Color is a powerful communicator and, when used well, one of the quickest ways to emotionally connect with your target audience. Decide exactly who that is. Consider their personality, lifestyle, values, and priorities now and how they are likely to evolve in the future. The colors you choose for your palette should meet your audience’s needs while also winning over their hearts.

Color has a constant and enormous effect on us. It influences our behavior, decisions, and emotions. The colors you choose and how you use them will directly shape the story your palette tells. Decide what you want that story to be. If you are designing a palette for a personal project, consider how you want to feel when engaging with the finished product. If you are designing a palette for a brand, the colors should capture a seasonal mood that resonates deeply with your customers and conveys the essence of your brand.

Next, identify where your color opportunities are. These are the places where new colors can or will show up. Your palette should be designed to include colors that make sense for the use, materiality, durability, and lifespan of each of these opportunities. At the same time, note what colors are staying the same. In both a brand and personal context, budget, bandwidth, continuity, and strong (or beloved) performers will most likely mean some colors will remain unchanged. Your new colors should merchandise well with them.

Within a single palette, all colors need to merchandise together, but it is also important to define exactly how they should relate to one another. For example, an outdoor apparel company might need a palette that can be divided into sub-palettes for men’s and women’s collections across hiking, surfing, and skiing. The overall palette should feel cohesive, while each sub-palette should carry its own distinct energy. The way color is used helps communicate purpose, intent, and product relationships. Be specific about how your colors need to work together.

Determine how long various colors in your palette will need to last. Colors that remain for several years provide stability and consistency. They are typically well-suited for foundational pieces or higher price points, and tend to be more traditional or safe. On the other side of the spectrum, colors that last a season or two provide energy and excitement. These are typically trend-forward and progressive, making them great choices for high-volume drivers, less expensive products, or, conversely, pinnacle pieces. Between these extremes are colors with a lifespan of 1-3 years. These are a wonderful place to showcase personality in a nuanced and confident manner.

Finally, consider what has worked — or not worked — for you in the past, and whether those patterns are likely to hold true in the future. Also, think about the usual color expectations, trends, or “rules” within your industry, product category, or project. How closely do you want to follow them, and where does it make sense to deviate from them? What are the benefits and tradeoffs?

The more clearly you define what your palette needs to do, the stronger and more effective your color decisions will be. These questions create the foundation for a palette that is not only visually compelling, but strategic and intentional.

Take care,
Dawn Rae

I help brands understand what their customers will love and value in the future, and I create the color design + trend strategy to get them there.

I design client-specific seasonal trend forecasts, color palettes, and color merchandising plans. Find a full outline of my services here.

If you are curious about working together, reach out: knoth@dawnrae.com.

website: dawnrae.com
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