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People often wonder where they have it wrong with promoting a brand. The truth is they miss out on one simple, basic rule – it all starts with the brand colours. Numerous researches indicate that we all tend to have a well-developed colour memory. If a brand has appealing colours and logo design, we are much more likely to remember it, recognise it and most importantly become its customers.

If you are wondering how to choose the right brand colours, you should keep in mind one basic rule – moderation is the key to success. Never mind Google's colourful logo – it shouldn't be your benchmark. Statistic indicate that brands with one or two signature colours are able to get the biggest recognition.

Do you need a few more examples?

• Coca Cola – colours red and white with emphasis on the red;
• Pepsi – red white and blue, the accent falls on blue;
• Fantastic Cleaners Mitcham – white and blue, blue is highlighted;
• Shell – red and yellow, yellow is the lead;
• Orange – no need to say what is the main colour here;

While the logo designs of these brands have evolved over the years, rarely has any of them switched to a different colour scheme. For a good reason at that – once you have picked up your signature colours, you have conducted a fabulous marketing campaign and managed to get people's attention, it is extremely hard (needless to say very, very expensive) to create a new memorable image for yourself.

Going back to the topic at hand, I feel obligated to list the basics of picking up the right colour for your brand.

Start with a Research

Like any other good marketing decision, this one also needs to be backed up by solid data and analysis. You should decide on the target audience, research their interests, likes and dislikes, the age group, predominant gender and so on. The good news is that with social media and moderate Internet skills, you don't need to pay for a consultation with a fancy marketeer.

Depending on the industry and the country you are operating in, you might simply take advantage of some obvious colour associations:

• Cleaning companies like Fantastic Cleaners Mitcham use blues – dark, mid-tones or light to create allusions with cleanliness.
• Cosmetic companies like Bourjois rely on pink, magenta or red
• Organic manufacturers like The Eco Village or Eco Buy emphasise on various shades of green to evoke nature.

Choose no More than Two Colours

Too many colours might confuse the customer or distract the eye from the main logo design. The more shades and hues you include in your colour palette, the harder it will be for the wide audience to remember your brand and recognise it. Just think about your favourite sports team – how many colours do they have on the uniforms?

Additionally, having only two colours will make your job easier as well. Bare in mind that you will have to apply the brand colours literally everywhere form your business cards, letterhead, branded vehicles, company uniforms to your website, every social media profile and so on.

Apply Colour Sparingly

Once you choose your colour palette, you need to remember that the best way to incorporate them is to use them with moderation.