in the 
Friend and colleague Debbie Josendale of 3C Marketing Group LLC sent me a wonderFULL gift:
a self-described “Magazine for Paper Lovers“…
Offering Great Advice in a whimsical format…
Humor…(Groucho Marx)
Inspiration…(Henry David Thoreau)
Reassurance! (Lewis Carroll)
A Celebration of Books…
and paper…
What a treat!!!!!
Once again…Encouragement…(Erich Fromm)
NOW….
What To Do With Blue?
Recently my friend and colleague Debbie Josendale, President of Denver-based 3C Marketing Group LLC , asked me for my color opinion on their new logo. She wanted a very quick reaction to what I saw from a color perspective. Having consulted her, and Victor Brown, V. P. Web Technologies, I was intrigued, and eager to peruse the choices.
Blue and green, she wondered, in line with the firm’s previous logo color design, 
except no gray, a different hue of blue and green, and greater emphasis on the blue, with just a touch of green for the accent?
Or…the complimentary duo of blue and orange (with a little gradation pzzaz added into the “3C” itself).
Here is my reply, that I would like to share with You:
“I definitely think you should go with the blue and green, hands down.
Blue and orange, while compliments, and able to set each other off well in an interior design or painting, should, in my opinion, be used with caution in graphics/branding/graphical/visual identity.
Just as the other complimentary pairs can reference holidays: red and green- Christmas, purple and yellow, Easter, Blue and orange can reverb to Halloween…even though it is not orange and black! NOT your message.
I love the blue and green for 3C, for all the reasons we have discussed. I think you can even use a bit more of that green- it looks like a teal, which has plenty of blue in it, and thus is not hyper distinct from the blue..very different than the orange! (Don’t get me wrong…I can really love blue and orange, but I do not think it is right for this context.)”
Deb replied,
“I prefer the blue and green versus the other…and feel reassured with your input. Yes we are changing the logo to better reflect our business. Our current logo was designed with the idea of positioning to “professional service” businesses. But as we move forward, I find that a lot of what I do ends up being more in the “branding and messaging” arena with some creative added to it. So I wanted a new look that is a little more edgy and also has a bit more “creative” touch. “
I think she got it! Color palettes do not need to have the extreme contrast of a set of compliments, more than two colors, or a lot of bells and whistles to be effective. Blue and green, a combination of one primary (blue), and one secondary (green) color, is an “analogous” (based on a six color wheel) color combo. They can work very well together, depending on their hue, value, and level of saturation, as blue is a “parent” color of green, and thus they are intrinsically related from the get-go.
Here’s wishing 3C Marketing Group LLC much“creative” touch with that little bit of edge that sets it apart. The revamped 3C is on its way!
Brand of Colors: 3C Marketing Group LLC
Having worked with colleague Debbie Josendale as “expert columnist” in decorative painting for her Bay Area Women’s Journal, I was thrilled to provide color consultation for her and Victor Brown‘s company: 3C Marketing Group LLC.
Deb knew that the green in the initial color scheme of the 3C logo needed to be changed..but, to what?
3C is a wonderful marketing company that works with wonderful clients, and I was honored to “chime in” on the look of their site, as it were!
I started with an email communication with Deb, who I knew back in the days when we belonged to the same BNI (Business Network International) Chapter in San Francisco.
I wrote, “I kept thinking about our discussion the other day, and how I kept trying to find words to describe the unique and special quality that you have which encompasses wisdom, compassion, empathy, strength and maybe above all, powerful perceptiveness!
I came up with “meeting people where they are“…as we discussed. I feel this phrase goes a bit farther than “Taking people for who they are.”. I feel you truly “meet” people, and their businesses on the ground upon which they stand. As regards to your business, of course, this means meeting businesses where they are, where they stand, (you know how we ask sometimes, “Where do you stand on …whatever subject or issue?”) at the exact moment that they engage your services.
Any business starts with a person, doesn’t it? A person and their vision. needs, drives, and desires. So…to me, the resonant descriptor/phrase is still meeting people where they are, with dignity, grace, warmth, and an ever-ready sense of humor!!
You are truly one who has learned, grown and evolved through your own life experience, and is able to bring it to bear in your work and business.
I understand that all of this needs to be reflected in your branding, and visual identity, and I hope you find the following, and the whole of this consultation reflective of the important words you used to describe what you want your colors, and total visual identity to communicate: strength, creditability, dependability, growth,…. longevity, confidence, creativity, and fun!”
Having identified essence, I felt (some might even call it the “brand“) of 3C, I was ready to delve into their “color”brand…a component of their visual identity. In essence, I needed to “see” 3C the way they (Deb and Vic / the principals of the company) saw themselves, and needed to be seen by existing and potential clients. It was not just a matter of appearances, or even perception. It was and is a matter of who they are and what their company is.
Based upon my communication with Deb, my knowledge and understanding of the company, and my own color research combined with “gut feel” or “intuition, I knew the colors should be in the blue and green hue range.
Blue: A resonant, clear, clean but not overpowering blue, slightly grayed down, but with a touch of green in it, was recommended. Not a royal, indigo or purple blue, nor a teal sea, or green-blue, but a dignified and “solid” but not stolid (connoting reliability and dependability) blue that nevertheless has a bit of punch, personality and possibility to it- as it leans ever so slightly towards the green undertone. The addition of yellow into blue to create green adds that subliminal touch of lightness, luminosity, and relief from seriousness desired. A slight ‘gunmetal” quality in the blue reassures that whatever the storm, relief lies ahead, with the guidance, expertise and MAP Marketing solutions of 3C Marketing Group LLC!
Green; The current green is too light, and “lime-like”. Recommended is a green lighter than the recommended blues, but deeper than the current, with greater depth, strength and resonance, but still fun, fresh, and bright, to add a certain relief to the sobriety and seriousness of the blue (which has a slight grayness /gravitas to it). The recommended green hues have a slight earthiness (relating to growth, spring, plants, the earth rather than connotations of eatables such as limes and avocados). Although the green relieves, and plays “against’ the seriousness of the blue, it also works in tandem with it communicate the message of longevity, credibility, dependability, positivity, growth and creativity! Related also to money: (“Greenbacks”), another, and necessary form of growth!
After reviewing these recommendations, Deb and Vic tried a number of reiterations / combinations of the suggested hues,
before settling on one that accented the teal green, framed and supported by the deep, clear blue. They wanted in Vic’s words, as I understood it, a bit “edgier” choice.
The 3C logo today
It is so gratifying to work with clients you truly admire and respect. Thank you Deb, Vic, and 3C Marketing Group LLC, for such a creatively colorFULL experience, and for trusting my skills with your colorfully creative endeavor!
Brand of Colors: The Power of Meaning
When my colleague Debbie Josendale, of 3C Marketing Group, asked me to consult on colors for one of her client’s visual identity, which encompasses its brand / branding, I was intrigued. I had a deep purple color in front of me as a starting point, but knew that it was too dark and somber to represent what I understood her client’s message to be.
I read up on the client, I played with colors, I visualized, and knew that purple would be one of the colors involved. And the obvious choice of a secondary “partnering” color would be its compliment, gold.
The symbolism, and associations of the chosen colors are also important in determining their meaning, resonance, and appropriateness for the brand and its story. In a future post, we will look at the color choices from the vantage points of:
The Energetic, The Associative, and the Sensory. Hint: What does purple “taste” like? How heavy does gold “feel”?
Read on to find out!
ENERGETIC: Relates to the “chakras“, or energy centers that some believe exist within the “aura“, but outside the body.
Vertex Chakra corresponds to Violet, standing for Wisdom, and Spiritual Energy, and influencing the Pituitary Gland.
Solar Plexus Chakra corresponds to Yellow, standing for Knowledge and Intellect. It is the seat of tension and influences the solar plexus and adrenal body
ASSOCIATIONS: According to studies, color-mood associations are strikingly similar across individuals, groups and cultures. Does this imply a degree of universality as regards to our color-mood associations?
Purple/Violet tends to associate with: Dignity, Exclusivity, Royalty, Dignity, Exclusivity, Depth of Feeling, Wealth, Magic, Mysticism, Strictness ( if very dark, as in the original purple color i was shown at the beginning of this project).
Yellow/Gold: tends to associate with: Reflectivity, Luminosity, Happiness, Cheerfulness, High Spirits, the Sun, the a Bright Future, Hope, Wisdom, Expansiveness, not being Earthbound, Activity, Communication, Air, Gold can associate with wealth. richness, money (gold coins!)
SENSORY: The association of colors with other sense perceptions is related to “Synesthesia“, or “The Unity the Senses”. Here is what Purple/Violet, and Yellow/Gold tend to “sound”, “feel”, “taste” and “smell” like:
Purple/Violet: Deep, Minor Key (Sound), Velvety (Touch), Heavy, Sweet (Taste, Smell), Heavy (Weight), Cool (Temperature).
Yellow/Gold: Fanfare, Major Key (Sound), Smooth, Silky (Touch), Sour (Taste, Smell), Light (Weight), Warm (Temperature).
Does any of this jive with your experience? Does it incline you to dive more deeply into the multifaceted and dimensional world of color?
After all, it would seem that color can affect your body, health, mood, feelings, and senses. All of this effect from a phenomena of light waves! Color is an effect of light, indeed, one could say it isn’t actually “there”.
And yet, there certainly is a “there” there, as regards to color, and color phenomena. Perhaps a subject for another post!
Brand of Colors: The Power of Compliments
When my colleague Debbie Josendale, of 3C Marketing Group, asked me to consult on colors for one of her client’s visual identity, which encompasses its brand / branding, I was intrigued. I had a deep purple color in front of me as a starting point, but knew that it was too dark and somber to represent what I understood her client’s message to be.
I read up on the client, I played with colors, I visualized, and knew that purple would be one of the colors involved. And the obvious choice of a secondary “partnering” color would be its compliment, gold. Purple and yellow, violet and gold…these are combinations which are opposite each other on the color wheel. They are sets of compliments, of opposites. They are complimentary colors and being opposites, set each other off in high contrast, much in the way that black and white do. So that the color design wouldn’t be garish, I chose hues that were somewhat toned down, rather than bright, though they are strong and saturated. There is a slight earthiness to these colors, that I felt better communicated the feeling of the brand. Color design for the visual identity of a business can also be tricky in this regard: the colors may look different on different computer screens, and even when printed on different papers or surfaces, and by different companies. The colors are used throughout the client’s site.
The symbolism, and associations of the chosen colors are also important in determining their meaning, resonance, and appropriateness for the brand and its story. In a future post, we will look at the color choices from the vantage points of:
The Energetic (the chakras, and their meanings, associations and influences), The Associations we have with these colors, (What they express, or represent) and their associations with the other senses (Sensory). What does purple “taste” like? How heavy does gold “feel”?
Visit us again to find out….and learn more about the wild, wooly and wonderful world of Color!
Brand of Colors: Color Etiquette for your Graphics
When friend, colleague and client Debbie Josendale founder, creator, and president of 3C Marketing Group LLC contacted me to get my opinion on the colors in the graphic below, I dove in headfirst, and delivered an analysis of not only the colors, but their placement, qualities, and distribution.
It is a process I find fascinating, and I never tire of both studying, and analyzing how, why, and where colors work best for the purpose they are being employed…or not. When the colors are “not working”, sometimes a slight tweak will do the trick; changing the placement, value, chroma, or saturation of a color, or how much of it is being used. Other times, a greater overhaul of the color palette may be requited.
Debbie knew that something was not right in the graphic above…not in balance. She knew the feeling she wanted communicated wasn’t quite there yet.
I saw immediately that the central “bar” of color, surrounding the word “AUTHORITY” was too dark, and needed some brightness and warmth to fully communicate the idea of “AUTHORITY” as a positive, powerful, and in essence, beautiful thing to the viewer. I suggested that instead of the deep, almost blackish green (on my screen, and in this age of individual internet screen and printers, who knows what any given pair of eyes is seeing…), that a a mixture of the top green, and bottom blue, IE, a warmer, clearer, yet still strong, teal be used, to distill the positive message of leadership and problem-solving.
I also suggested that the lighter, brighter green, used at the bottom of the graphic be moved to the top, and the deeper blue at the top be used at the bottom, to “ground” the “page”, as is done in architectural color consulting. Deeper, darker, and stronger color used on the foundation, or lower part of a building can “ground” it, making the building as a whole look more rooted, stable, and solid. By moving the green to the top of the “page” or view, I felt a more expansive, airy, and optimistic feeling could be created.
Finally, I advised that the top blue block, encasing the Map Marketing (TM) Method lettering be altered in some way that again, would make it less heavy, and also differentiate from the blocks of color below. This is challenging, as this lettering/text serves as a logo, and thus changing even its scale could be tricky.
Well, Deb and her team made the majority of the adjustments I advised, to the graphic. Above you can see the beautiful teal color which replaces that dark blackish-green surrounding the word AUTHORITY”, relieving it of that “black hole” feeling. Not only was the green from the original moved from the bottom of the piece to the top, but a cooler hue of green, closer to the central teal, and less yellow is used, bringing the piece as a whole into greater color harmony. The blue at the bottom is also adjusted to be closer to the teal, a greener blue, rather than the original “royal” blue, and is now separated from the “title” color bar/block at the very top.
We are still working on what can be done with that top color block, which I feel still, is too strong and heavy, visually “bearing down” on the rest of the graphic. The left side of the top color “block” overhangs the words in color read sideways, which are surrounded by the white background, giving it the sense of being off-center, and bearing to the left.
Enlarging the white text inside that top blue block would alleviate this to some extent, but my advice would be to lose that top block of color altogether, and make the text itself blue, and maybe a bit larger and heavier, to fill the space.
We will see what 3C decides to do!
In any event, the general consensus is that the graphic as a whole is much improved, and better communicates the feeling its creator wants to project. Voila the power of color, how much of it is used, and where!
You can hear our “Color Muze” discussion on Rebecca E. Parsons‘s blog talk radio program, “Artistically Speaking Talk Show” on this subject, preceded by a wonderful interview with paper artist Helen Hiebert. You can also catch previous “Color Muzes” here, in Cre8tive Compass Magazine.
From all of us to all of You: here’s wishing all of You the right color mix for You and Your color needs…today!
Artissima - Blog of ArtiFactory Studio 