Color is a way to differentiate and identify your company and products in a crowded marketplace. From the black-and-orange combination of the Amazon logo to the green of the Starbucks emblem or Tiffany's distinctive blue, the shade you choose is a vital element in brand recognition.
Given how color so radically increases brand identification (which, in turn, can boost sales and engagement), it's crucial that color remain consistent across all expressions of the brand, whether online or in print. Quality use of color is likewise vital: Imagine spending a sizable portion of your budget only to find the color is poorly rendered and unrecognizable as yours.
How Do You Keep Color Consistent?
This is the biggest problem in the design industry, because:
- Every monitor is different.
- Every color copier is different.
- Every mobile screen is different.
- Every type of paper takes ink differently, depending on its weight and surface, such as coated or uncoated paper.
- Engraving ink is different from offset ink.
- Short-run digital inks are different; some are toner-based, while some are liquid ink.
The designer who is creating your brand has to deal with all of these factors to create acceptable consistency in a less-than-perfect world.
It Takes the Human Eye; You Can't Go By Numbers Alone
First, you must take the time to establish clear guidelines for the use of color in all of your online and print materials. Regularity in color goes a long way to promoting brand consistency, which is key to making the brand memorable and enduring.
After establishing guidelines, the next step (if you're printing physical materials) is to evaluate the printing process and vendor. Questions to ask include:
- Is it offset or engraving? (They both use different formulations of ink. The colors are a bit different.)
- What type of paper are you thinking of? All papers have different surfaces and shades of white, which will affect the color.
If you rely on multiple vendors, the quest for consistency necessarily becomes more complex; but under no circumstances should they print anything before a review, including a sample drawdown where they test their ink mixing. Color-management software (available from a variety of vendors) can keep color somewhat consistent throughout the printing process, and even help determine how to print the same colors across different types of paper stocks and materials.
When it comes to coated and uncoated paper (and digital papers), the designer should establish different formulas for matching color across different substrates.
