Introduction
Every brand needs a color palette for its logo. Whether it’s black and white or some shades of gray, this is a color palette. Brands use logo color combinations to express themselves. Color operates at a basic level, revealing a specific emotion to the viewer’s brain. Even before someone takes a closer look at your logo or hears your company name, they will be able to infer who you are and what you do base on your logo’s color palette.
In logo color combinations, the individual colors work together to make your brand memorable. The colors you choose when designing your logo are critical to the success of your logo and, by extension, your brand.
What colors go well together for a logo?
- Bold combinations (like red and blue, or black and yellow)
- “Look-alike” combinations (like natural green and brown)
- Peaceful combinations (like green, yellow, and orange)
- Natural combinations (like blue, green, and tan)
- Fun combinations (like a rainbow, or pink and turquoise)
- Serious combinations (like black and white with accents)
- Audience-based combinations (like blush pink, grey, and yellow)
12 logo color combinations to inspire your next logo design:
Bold logo color combinations
Highly-saturated hues are the best way to add energy and life to your logo design and build the perfect bold brand.
1. Red, orange, and black
There’s a reason why red is so popular for sports team logos—it’s full of energy! Wanna yell with color? Pair bright orange and boisterous red.
2. Blue and gold
Warm colors aren’t the only bold colors, though. A high-contrast logo is often a bold one, like a logo that pits a bright gold against ice blue.
“Look-alike” logo color combinations
Some brands choose color combinations that look like objects, people, or places. A popular way to use colors like this is to give abstract shapes and specific colors that signal what they represent to the viewer like blue squiggles to represent water or flesh-tone colored dots to symbolize people.
3. Orange, yellow, and red
This vibrant, tri-color gradient of warm colors perfectly evokes sunsets, heat, or fire.
4. Pink/red and white
The colors of candy canes feel sweet and innocent like candy should. That makes pink/red and white a great logo color combination for snack foods or brands targeting young audiences.
Peaceful logo color combinations
Tone down brighter colors by adding white to a pure hue, creating a subdued, pastel variation known as a tint. Greys and blues work great, too.
5. Navy blue and light pink
This combination emphasizes the calm light of dawn. Both warm and cool colors can be part of a peaceful color palette, where the key is to use colors that blend, rather than high contrast.
6. Light purple and beige
Purples are the perfect picture of serenity. If you’re searching for the perfect main color to build a peaceful palette around, you can’t go wrong with purple.
Natural logo color combinations
Capture the magic of nature with color schemes that evoke the beauty of Earth. Forest- and garden-inspired earth tones work great, but don’t be afraid to explore beyond! For example, a combination of burnt sienna and yellow can create a hot desert-inspired nature palette, and dark blue with shades of silver and white can feel like a trek across the Arctic Circle. If you want your logo to feel like a specific natural setting, grab a photo of that setting and choose its most prominent colors.
7. Traditional earth tones
Fun logo color combinations
Whimsical + colorful = fun. If you’re not sure if your color scheme screams “fun,” ask yourself if you’d find those colors in a candy shop. Bright, warm, contrasting colors are loads of fun, as are neon and “unnatural” colors like pink and purple, and lime green.
8. Green, pink, and yellow
For a fun logo, green, pink, and yellow go great together. Make the color combination your own by choosing interesting shades, like a minty shade of green or a corally shade of pink.
9. Pink and turquoise
Pink and turquoise make the ultimate fun logo color combination. Choose this pairing if you’re aiming for bold, bright, and fun.
Serious logo color combinations
If you’re in finance, law, medicine—anything where serious is a selling point—your ideal color scheme uses neutrals and deep shades that communicate how seriously viewers should take your brand.
10. Black and white with accents
And when in doubt, black is always seriously in style. Add dark accents for a splash of color. Think crimson instead of cherry, navy instead of turquoise.
11. Brown and gold/yellow
The brown-and-gold or -yellow logo color combination can be considered the “antiquity” color scheme. With brown associated with durability and gold associated with historical luxury, this combination conjures up a feeling of a “golden age.”
Audience-based color combinations
Sometimes, a color palette’s job is to communicate that a brand is meant for a specific audience. Using colors tailored to that population can make the brand stand out from its competitors.
12. Pink and blue
Soft pastels are typically a go-to color scheme for baby products. But they can be used for a more light-hearted, elegant, and fun logo too.
Now get scheming!
Choosing logo color combinations is work, but it’s fun work. Play with colors and combinations to find the ideal palette and don’t be afraid to look for inspiration from other brands in your industry or to ask for feedback. One effective way to figure out which colors should be in your palette is to use our logo color generator to match your brand identity to a logo color scheme.
