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The logo colors of entertainment

Harness the psychology of color to build your brand.

Barry the bulldog agent is fired up to get you a job!

by BATHI

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The entertainment industry makes its money convincing us that fantasy is reality. In order to get consumers to watch their movie, subscribe to their station, or play their video game, entertainment industry professionals must convince us that they’re engaging and relevant. Sometimes this backfires, however, and they fall into the fake and over-the-top stereotypes that plague Hollywood.

So how do you choose a color for your entertainment logo that will help consumers escape reality but also speak to your credibility as a storyteller? We’ve analyzed the color palettes of over 500 entertainment industry logos, evaluated the brand personality traits that business owners want, and consulted color psychology experts in order to help you decide.

Shooting in technicolor: the breakdown of entertainment industry colors

All data visualizations designed by MH Designs.

Early cinema started out in black and white, and these two colors still conjure up the glamour of classic Hollywood. It’s not surprising, therefore, that black and white are the two most popular entertainment industry logo colors requested in 99designs contests. But not everyone in entertainment—which also encompases video games, music and live theater—is interested in associating themselves with the glory of a bygone era. When they want to experiment with color, entertainment industry professionals request blue and red.

Who doesn’t get cast? Pink and brown. The soft and earthy associations of these two colors apparently don’t play well with the glamour and excitement of the industry.

The colors preferred in 99designs contests, however, were not on trend with industry leaders. The top entertainment companies favored blue in 63% of their logos, and overall had very colorful marks, with six colors—blue, black, white, brown, red and yellow—all appearing in at least 25% of company logos.

The top four entertainment industry logos are fairly emblematic of what we see across the top brands:

Three have blue. Two black. And one features the whole rainbow. The Comcast logo is particularly interesting as most people would identify the multi-colored mark as the NBC peacock. Comcast acquired NBC Universal in 2009. By taking the peacock logo as their own, is Comcast attempting to distance itself from its reputation for poor customer service, and instead take on the more favorable brand personality associated with the National Broadcasting Company, the home of beloved programs like the Olympics, The Today Show, and Modern Family?

Reputation and brand personality go hand in hand. And once you know what you want your brand personality to be, it’s easy to translate those traits into colors.

Listening to the music: colors of brand personality in entertainment

Start determining your brand personality by asking yourself these six questions:

Gender: Is my brand traditionally masculine or feminine?
Tone: Is my brand playful or serious?
Value: Is my brand luxurious or affordable?
Time: Is my brand modern or classic?
Age: Is my brand youthful or mature?
Energy: Is my brand loud or subdued?

We'll use your answers to see what logo color works best for you.

Your primary logo color is red, the universal sign of excitement, passion, anger and stimulated appetites. Think stop signs, agitated bulls and fast food joints. Looking for loud, playful, youthful or modern? Red’s your go-to.

If you’re going the red route, Pantone recommends using Cherry Tomato to stay on-trend with this year’s palette. Cherry Tomato is a powerful shade of red that packs an energetic punch sure to leave a lasting impact on your audience.

Your primary logo color is orange. Orange is an invigorating, playful color, the love child of red (warmth) and yellow (joy). Go orange to stand out from the crowd. It’s used less often than red, but still packs an energetic punch.

Pantone recommends Flame Orange in this year’s palette. If you decide to make Flame Orange the focal color of your designs, make sure to balance it out with plenty of neutrals to avoid making the end design visually overwhelming.

Your primary logo color is yellow, which is all about accessible, sunshiney friendliness. Yellow exudes cheer (think sunflowers and smiley faces). Choose yellow and your brand will radiate an affordable, youthful energy.

This year, Blazing Yellow made the cut in Pantone’s palette of the year. Use this hue in your design to stay ahead of trend and evoke warmth in your audience.

Your primary logo color is green, the ultimate in versatility. Green isn’t linked with specific personality traits, but it has strong cultural associations. It’s connected to nature, growth, rebirth and in the US … money and prosperity. So, whether you’re in finance or gardening, green may be for you.

This year’s Pantone shade of Lime Green is a little bit different. The vibrant lime hue is a little bolder, a little brighter, and a little more vibrant than more traditional shades of green—which adds a fun, youthful spin you won’t find in more subdued variations.

Your primary logo color is blue, the king of colors. Blue appears in over half of all logos because it represents intelligence, trustworthiness and maturity. Technology companies and large corporations lean towards blue’s steadfastness and security. True blue will make sure you’re taken seriously.

Pantone chose not one but two shades of blue for this year’s palette. Dazzling Blue is a classic dark blue that you can work into any design in any industry. Meanwhile, its sibling hue, Hawaiian Ocean, is a brilliant turquoise that evokes images of the ocean and is thus best for brands that want to be associated with calm, peace and tranquility.

Your primary logo color is purple, a warm and cool combination that blends the passion of red with the serenity of blue. Go with purple to appear luxurious, cutting-edge or wise. There’s just a hint of femininity in there, too.

Pantone lists Fuschia Purple in their palette of the year. It’s more of a pink than a purple, but because this shade is so vibrant, it can inspire feelings of excitement and passion like its parent color, red. Use Fuschia Purple in your design to blend the boundaries of purple, pink and red.

Your primary logo color is pink, which represents romance and femininity, but is also incredibly versatile. From millennial pink to neon magenta, pick pink for a modern, youthful, luxurious look.

Pantone lists Fuschia Purple in their palette of the year, though the hue is more like a reddish pink. Because this pink is so bright and close to red, the bold color choice would be just as effective for any kind of retail design. Use Fuschia Purple in your design to blend the boundaries of purple, pink and red.

Make your brand appear rugged, masculine or serious. Brown is very underutilized, so you’ll stand out from the competition.

Black is the new black. Want to look slick, modern and luxurious? Time to go black. Rather be economical and affordable? Stay away from the dark side.

The absence of color. White is youthful and economical, but can work for almost any brand. As a neutral color, consider white as a secondary accent.

Not quite dark, not quite light. Gray is the middleground of mature, classic and serious. Go darker to add mystery. Go lighter to be more accessible.

Here's how entertainment and arts businesses on 99designs define their brand personalities:

We analyzed the preferences of all industries and assumed normal distribution. Preference strength was figured on number of standard deviations from the mean.

From this we know that entertainment industry professionals want to be seen as playful, loud and youthful. These traits align with the following colors:

In 99designs contests, there’s a sharp discrepancy between what we actually see—black and white—and the bright rainbow of warm colors we’d expect to see given the desired brand personality traits.

Both red and orange are seen as playful, loud and youthful. We do see red requested in 34% of contests, but orange only appears in 13%. The youthfulness of purple and pink should make them popular, as well, but in reality they are among the least popular entertainment colors requested or appearing in industry leading logos.

Gray, which is known for its maturity and composure, shows up in a surprising 20% of both contests and industry leading logos. This is likely because it is a neutral color; even if it has low associations it will appear in a high number of logos.

Taking artistic license: what colors should showbiz professionals consider?

Some entertainment industry professionals are caught up in the old Hollywood black and white glamour. But what if you’re ready to make the jump to color? There are a few underutilized colors that can make your brand stand out.

While it’s not surprising that blue, the world’s favorite color, is quite popular, it has fairly neutral associations with all of the traits that those in the entertainment industry are looking for. However, its cultural associations of knowledge and trust could provide helpful to an entertainment company looking to develop their credibility (I’m looking at you, Comcast).

Purple, pink and orange are all youthful, yet they appear in fewer than 15% of both 99designs contests and industry leading logos. If you want to stand out, consider the authority which purple brings to your brand. If exuding energy is more your thing, think about orange. Or if you really want to shake things up, take ownership of your friendly side and think pink.

Here’s how some industry leaders are using or bucking trends to their advantage:

The Jim Henson Company, a family entertainment business known for the Muppets, channels the youth and playfulness of red to bring whimsy to their brand.
American Zoetrope, a studio founded by Francis Ford Coppola & George Lucas, intelligently uses black and white. Their brand, known for classics like Apocalypse Now, uses the time-honored Hollywood duochrome to equate their brand with quality storytelling.
Tivo reinvented the way we watch television. Their multi-colored logo pairs classic black and white with playful, exciting red and orange. This combination mirrors what they do: bring a classic medium up to date by changing the way we consume it.

As you conceptualize your entertainment industry logo, you’ll want to think about what, specifically, your brand’s place is in the marketplace. Entertainment companies create products that are meant to appeal to a wide variety of markets; while a vast majority target young people (and therefore want exciting, youthful logo colors), some have a very specific audience in mind.

Color is a personal choice, but understanding color psychology in marketing can help you make an informed decision for your small business. So are you sticking with the classic Hollywood black and white? Or are you going to break the mold and use a youthful purple to set yourself apart from your competitors? No matter what you decide, your logo design is sure to entertain!

Blue collar, white collar, purple collar: what are the colors of other industries?

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