Consistent branding is imperative to building brand recognition. Among other things like fonts and logo usage, one of the most important ways to achieve this is sticking to your company’s brand colors. Instead of painstakingly trying to find the same color you used last time with the color picker on the color wheel, it’s important to use the exact same set of colors, every time. Sound daunting? What if I told you that you don’t have to be a designer to be on-brand?
What are Hex Codes?
Hex color codes are six-character codes that can contain letters and numbers that represents RGB (digital) colors, capable of producing any color imaginable. While RGB has three sets of numbers and each number can be one, two, or three digits, Hex codes simplify the entering process by having just one, six-symbol equivalent. Hex colors are the easiest to use in digital things such as eNewsletters, social media, and simple web updates.
What if I don’t know my brand’s colors?
First, you should look for your company’s brand guide, complete with all logo versions, fonts, colors, etc. If you do locate a guide, chances are the hex codes are already available to you. Only when you ensure you don’t have an existing brand guide to work with, it’s time to find your brand colors from scratch.
How do I find hex color codes?
If you work in the management and communications side of things, it’s likely you don’t have design programs such as InDesign or Illustrator to easily find your brand colors. There are online resources where you can upload your logo or brand element and in turn get the codes you need, such as GiniFab.com or ImageColorPicker.com. You can also provide your logo to a creative agency who will lay out not only Hex codes but all the color codes necessary for your brand.
How do I use hex color codes?
Once you have your new set of hex codes, stick with them. It’s no use going through all of this (valuable) work if you do the same thing over again next time, inevitably ending up with a slightly different scheme and still not being on-brand. Save them in a simple document for your whole team to utilize. You’ll find your brand image being much more consistent. Plus, no more messing with the tedious color wheel! Simply find the area in the program you’re working with (Mailchimp, Canva, etc.) to type in (or copy-paste) your hex code and voila — your brand color appears.
To find all the color versions of your brand (including Hex, RGB, CMYK, and Pantone) the WhiteBox Marketing team would be happy to help. We also assist in logo refresh and creating brand guidelines, branded materials, and more.