When it comes to branding, color is one of the most powerful tools at a company’s disposal. Yet, the indiscriminate use of brand colors in UI design can cause more harm than good. This blog post examines balancing brand colors with accessibility and effective UI design. It also provides a checklist to ensure your brand colors suit your interfaces.

Where do brand colors come from?

Selecting a brand color is a deliberate process that often considers the principles of color psychology. This approach aims to evoke emotions in the audience, helping the brand to connect with its customers. Each color has associations and meanings, influencing how people perceive and engage with the brand.

• Red is used by brands to convey energy, excitement, and action. It is common in industries that want to evoke a sense of urgency, such as food and retail.
• Orange is a color used by brands to convey a fun, youthful, and innovative image. It also signifies affordability and friendliness.
• Yellow is often used by brands to grab attention, convey positivity, and create a sense of cheerfulness. It's often used by companies that want to evoke a sense of happiness and innovation.
• Green is often used by brands that promote eco-friendliness, health, and wellness. It is also used in finance-related industries to signify prosperity and stability.
• Blue is used to communicate reliability, trust, and a strong reputation. It appears often in the tech, finance, and healthcare industries.
• Purple is often used by brands that want to convey a sense of luxury, exclusivity, and creativity. It is a color that sets a brand apart and makes it feel unique. But in recent years, many new brands have started using it, diminishing that sense of uniqueness.

These associations can convey a brand's identity and values. However, they may not align with the needs of digital interfaces, where usability and clarity matter most.

Applying color principles in UI design

In UI design, colors serve specific and functional roles beyond mere aesthetics. We use their intrinsic psychological meaning to convey meaning, guide actions, and improve the user experience.

Neutral colors

80% of most interfaces use neutral colors, such as white, gray, and black. These colors provide a clean, unobtrusive backdrop, ensuring high readability and letting accent colors stand out. This neutral foundation keeps clarity and prevents clutter, allowing other design elements to take prominence when needed.

Semantic colors

Certain colors in UI design hold specific meanings recognized across peoples and cultures. These standardized colors are often called semantic colors. They are invaluable for creating intuitive associations and maintaining consistency in digital experiences.

Red is a standard color for indicating errors, warnings, or critical issues. Yellow and orange suggest caution. They highlight issues that need attention or show temporary states, like processing or pending actions. These warm colors have an inherent ability to attract the eye, aiding users in prioritizing urgent tasks or information. Green signifies success, confirmation, or a positive outcome, reinforcing user confidence. Blue is a calming, neutral color. Designers use it for info messages, links, and process indicators. It conveys clarity and reliability without causing alarm.

Using brand colors instead of these standards can confuse users and reduce the effectiveness of these conventions. For example, a brand’s vibrant yellow might feel out of place or even alarming if used for success messages.

Similarly, using a brand color like red for buttons can convey a dangerous or destructive action. This can cause users to hesitate or mistrust the site.

Accent color

When used effectively, accent colors can guide the user's focus, strengthen the visual hierarchy, and maintain clarity and function. For this reason, UI design usually uses accent colors sparingly to draw attention to key information.

Choosing the brand color as an accent color can be a great idea. However, some brands make the mistake of using their brand color as an accent even when it has already been designated for interactive elements or assigned a specific semantic meaning.

In this case, the accent color should be distinct. To keep balance and avoid redundancy, you can use a complementary, analogous, or triadic color.

Complementary colors are hues opposite each other on the color wheel, such as blue and orange or red and green. They highlight elements by creating high contrast.

Analogous colors are adjacent on the color wheel. They provide a harmonious look that subtly highlights certain elements.

Triadic and tetrad colors consist of three or four hues evenly spaced on the color wheel. They create a vibrant, balanced contrast. This can energize a design without making it feel cluttered.

When choosing an accent color, it must contrast with the primary colors. It should stand out but not clash or create tension. Accent colors enhance the visual hierarchy, guiding the viewer to the key elements and improving interface usability and beauty.

…and then comes the button: the interactive color issue

It's common in UI design to use brand colors for buttons, links, and other interactive elements. Yet, we must consider accessibility and how color affects usability. We are often accustomed to seeing brand colors applied everywhere to maintain visual consistency and brand awareness. Still, it is crucial to understand that adhering to accessibility standards should be the top priority.

Brand colors can present challenges if they do not meet color contrast requirements. Insufficient contrast between the label and the background of an interactive element can make it difficult for people with visual impairments or color blindness to interact with the interface, excluding specific user groups altogether. Accessibility standards, like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), set clear rules. They require a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Read more about color accessibility and new standards in my previous blog post, The Eternal Sunshine of Accessible Colors.

If the brand color does not meet the required standards, it can be slightly adjusted using color variants that fulfill the contrast requirements without changing the company’s visual identity. However, there may be instances where it becomes necessary to abandon the original color completely. This scenario shouldn't worry us, though. Many large brands demonstrate that accessible colors can coexist with a strong brand identity.

Companies like Airbnb, H&M, and Spotify frequently employ black or dark gray for buttons, using their brand color only for the most important or prominent primary actions. This choice enhances readability and provides a professional, sleek appearance, aligning with modern design standards.

Digital blue is a range of shades often used in digital design for its modern and professional appearance. The vibrant hues suit tech contexts. Brands use it to ensure accessibility and contrast on digital devices. Digital blue also represents trust and innovation, so many tech companies, like Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe, use it to boost their brand identity and awareness.

By choosing universally readable colors for interactive elements, these companies balance usability with branding effectively.

Are your brand colors inclusive and memorable?

How can you determine if your brand color is suitable for use in an interface? Use this checklist to choose how to incorporate brand colors into your UI design without compromising usability:

1. Contrast: Does the brand color meet or exceed the WCAG contrast ratio requirements? If not, can I modify it to make it compliant, or must I choose another color? You can use several tools and plugins to help you achieve the correct color contrast.
2. Consistency: Is using brand colors strategic and focused, avoiding overuse across all interface elements? If not, what interface element do I prefer to use it for?
3. Semantics: Is my brand color at risk of conveying a meaning that clashes with UI conventions? If yes, give priority to color semantics over brand meaning.
4. Alternatives: Have alternative brand awareness methods, such as typography, illustrations, and animations, been explored?
5. Testing: Have you tested your interface with color-blind simulators or accessibility tools to ensure inclusivity?

By addressing these points, you can ensure that brand colors enhance, rather than hinder, your UI design.

Conclusion

Sometimes, opting not to use brand colors for interactive elements when they do not meet accessibility standards is essential for creating an inclusive interface for all users. This approach ensures usability for all users and can enhance your brand's reputation for responsible and thoughtful design.

Brand awareness should not compromise good design practices. By combining accessible color choices with alternative branding strategies, you can create digital experiences that are both inclusive and memorable.