Some of the biggest brands in the world are immediately identifiable by color association alone. Think Starbucks green, Target red, UPS brown. These brands have made color a critical element of their process, a key consideration in their outreach efforts, and consistency across platforms, materials and devices is critical. Even for small and mid-size B2B companies, consistent color can work to your advantage. So how do you make sure you’re getting color right?
Have you ever been faced with two “matching” colors — that look different on your business cards and website?! Have you found yourself staring at PMS, CMYK, RGB and HEX color acronyms and percentages, and don’t know what to do next? What does each of these acronyms mean? How is color different? Why do you need to know? Read on to learn how to navigate the world of color for your business brand.
There are basically two categories of color types: print (PMS & CMYK) and digital (RGB & HEX). It’s important to understand that digital and print mediums render color very differently and the two mediums shouldn’t be interchanged. So let’s take a closer look:
Print Colors: PMS & CMYK
PMS (Pantone® Matching System)
Ideal for one- or two-color jobs such as letterhead or business cards where there aren’t any photographs.
PMS colors (also called Pantone® colors) are patented, widely adopted, standardized color inks made by the Pantone company. Each of the 1,867 solid PMS colors is a proprietary color blend. Pantone inks are sold to printers either premixed or as a formula that printers mix on their premises to get each unique color. This ensures that the printer will produce the exact right color, every time, to ensure uniformity.
Pantone color codes look something like this: PMS 540 C -or- 540C. The C stands for coated – and is distinguished from “U” or uncoated, as the paper finish can also have an effect on ink color.
CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black)
Ideal for full-color brochures, flyers, posters and postcards, etc.
The CMYK color specification is made up of only four colors: Cyan (bright sky blue), Magenta (bright pink), Yellow, and Black – each with a saturation scale ranging from 0 to 100. CMYK is also commonly referred to as four-color process printing. Materials printed using CMYK are printed using different combinations of large and small CMYK transparent dots overlapping each other to create a wide spectrum of colors. If you look at a CMYK printed piece through a magnifying glass, you can see a pattern of CMYK dots and how they overlap to make the final color. This is the most common type of printing today because it is much cheaper to print using only four colors, rather than the nearly 2,000 unique PMS colors.
CMYK is considered a subtractive form of color creation, where a reading of 0% of each color will give you white and 100% will produce a rich black. Subtractive means that when all ink is used, you have black and as you subtract ink you get closer to white.
CYMK color specifications typically look like this: C=30, M = 10, Y = 42, K = 5, or simply: 30, 10, 42, 5 .
Digital Colors: RGB & HEX
RGB (Red, Green, Blue)
Ideal for social media graphics, e-newsletters, Word, PowerPoint, etc.
RGB is the process by which colors are rendered onscreen by using combinations of red, green and blue. RGB is referred to as an additive color specification. It represents the amount of red, green, and blue light used to create the color. RGB is used specifically for digital applications (computer monitors, smartphones, televisions) because they all use light to create color. Each color of the RGB model is represented by numbers between 0 and 225 for each red, green, and blue value. This tells a screen how much output of each color to use. Zero is the lowest amount of a color used, and 255 is the highest. If you remove all three colors in RGB (0,0,0) you get black. Using the fully saturated levels of each (255,255,255) will give you white. RGB colors appear vibrant because they are illuminated by the device on which they appear and there is a larger range in color gamut than what you’d get on the printed page.
RGB color specifications have three numbers and typically looks like this: R=44, G=96, G=34, or simply: 44, 96, 34.
HEX (hexadecimal color)
Ideal for websites, apps and coding.
Designers use HEX colors in web design. HEX Code and RGB create color the same way, but with different standards. A HEX color is expressed as a six-digit combination of numbers and letters defined by its mix of red, green and blue (RGB). Basically, a HEX color code is shorthand for its RGB values. If you know the RGB code of the color you are using, it is simple to find out its hex code by using an online converter.
A HEX Code typically looks like this: #48C4AC
Using Color to Communicate Your Brand
Color may be the most important element of your brand components. And you will want to make sure you are “spot” on. Do some color tests. Make sure your mixes are exactly right and then keep all of your color values on hand for easy reference.
Knowing when and where to use which version of a color will help solidify your brand and ensure consistency across your print materials and online presence. Using your brand colors consistently will make it easier for prospects to recognize your business when they see your colors. Stand out from your competitors, and “own” your brand every time.
As brand enthusiasts, we can’t help ourselves from noticing colors and selecting just the right color palette for our clients’ brands. Do you need help defining your brand and colors? Let us know! We’d be delighted to help.
