Why purple might be the perfect colour for your branding
Purple: the pre-eminent colour of power throughout the ages and all from incredibly humble beginnings in the natural world. Business brands have long gravitated to purple in their branding with its strong associations with the rich, powerful and nobility. However, the story of purple and its different hues is littered with rising stars that quickly crashed and burned.
They say your greatest strength can also become your greatest weakness, which is true for the colour purple: we look at why purple has periodically risen in popularity and then declined dramatically,
Read on as we look at how small businesses can harness the power of purple in their branding while simultaneously dodging some of the pitfalls that have beset its adherents across the centuries.
Whatever you do, you can’t ignore purple…
This series on colour psychology for businesses and their branding is adapted from Kassia St Clair’s excellent book, ‘The Secret Lives of Colour’. (The beautiful, sought-after hardback version is well worth getting hold of!). The best places to buy ‘The Secret Lives of Colour’ are direct from the publisher, from your local independent bookseller, from bookshop.org or – as a last resort – from Amazon. Although Amazon is cheaper and more convenient, it is not a force for good in the world of books. Please support writers, publishers and small businesses directly if you can.
“I think it pisses God off, if you walk by the colour purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.”
Where does the colour purple come from?
Like many colours, purple has its roots in the natural world, originally produced from two sources: one marine and one terrestrial.
Firstly, a shellfish found in the Mediterranean Sea (hence the hue Tyrian purple, after the ancient city of Tyre on on the eastern seaboard - now modern Lebanon).
Secondly, a lichen (from which the specific hue orchil is extracted), which can be found growing unobtrusively on surfaces in various locations across the world.
The shellfish and the lichen were manipulated to produce dyes that led to the various hues of purple that we now know.
Later in history, man-made dyes were created, such as magenta, which was mass-produced as a synthetic colorant from coal tar (a treacle-like by-product of gas lamps).
Wildings is a design agency in Devon. Our studio is based in Torquay, South Devon, and we provide branding for creative, hospitality and lifestyle businesses across Devon and the UK (like garden designers, interior designers, architects, floral designers). In this series, we’re looking at the power of colour in branding for small businesses, and this one is all about the colour purple. We want to help you harness the amazing characteristics of colour to maximise your small business brand: catch up on the previous article, ‘The colour blue: is it a safe bet for business branding?’ or explore the rest of our series on Colour Psychology for business brands →
Why is purple the colour of power & powerful brands?
Purple has been associated with wealth, the elite and royalty ever since it was discovered as a dye thousands of years ago.
The reason that it signifies power (and by extension, the divine) is not because of something inherently special in its make up; like many dyes and materials, its value derives from its (former) scarcity and difficulty of manufacture.
It could take up to 250,000 shells to create one ounce of dye, which meant the price of purple skyrocketed and was literally worth its weight (or more) in gold.
Collecting shells in sufficient volume and extracting the raw material was not the only problem; getting the dye to adhere and permeate fabric was equally as hard, if not more so.
The eventual fixing process required a long, arduous process of fermentation: a foul job, but best done by hand.
This scarcity of purple in its raw state and the laborious nature of its manufacture relentlessly drove its exclusivity. It could only be afforded by the rich, hence purple became the symbolic colour of opulence, excess and the ruling classes.
The creation of purple is a great example from which we can understand the principles of scarcity, exclusivity and premium products in modern marketing.
Purple may be accessible and wide-spread now, but its origins in the humble shellfish and lichen that mean its one of the colours that represent powerful, elite brands.
“It [purple] is the badge of noble youth; it distinguishes the senator from the knight; it is called in to appease the gods. It brightens every garment, and shares with gold the glory of the triumph. For these reasons we must pardon the mad desire for purple.”
The rise and fall of the colour purple in branding
As with many things in the natural world that have become special, the purple shellfish was mercilessly over-exploited and its humble crustacean almost driven to extinction.
Even the more modern man-made synthetic alternatives to purple did not fare much better: history is littered with the rise and subsequent decline and fall in fortune of purple and the industries built around it.
As magenta came to the fore, inventors and companies quickly moved to protect their patents and intellectual property. Lawsuits and litigation contributed to its decline as the colour of the moment (although there were other reasons which we’ll explore below).
Although purple can now be enjoyed in its digital form, its former exploitation is an important reminder about the need for sustainability in business.
What is more, it is a stark warning about the danger of jumping on bandwagons, fads and fashions. It’s incredibly important to use elements in your branding (whether colour, design elements or otherwise) for the right reasons, not just because of their popularity at the time.
Popular trends wax and wane, whereas considered branding created with the needs and aspirations of your audience in mind, can much better stand the test of time.
What does purple mean for branding?
Purple is a colour that has long been associated with feelings of luxury, royalty and sophistication.
Historically, the rarity and cost of purple dye meant that it was reserved for the elite, which has partially carried over into contemporary branding, although colour choice is entirely egalitarian these days.
When a brand uses the colour purple, it intrinsically conveys a message of quality, exclusivity and creativity. For businesses aiming to position themselves as high-end or premium, purple can be the perfect choice to attract a more discerning customer who values uniqueness and elegance.
In addition to luxury, purple also evokes a sense of mystery and imagination. This makes it a fantastic colour for brands in creative industries such as design, technology and entertainment.
Businesses looking to stand out with innovative products or services can benefit from this particular psychological aspect of purple. Purple can be used to encourage a sense of curiosity and wonder in your audience. Overall, the colour purple can help brands appear visionary and ahead of their time - handy if you want to appeal in a market for cutting-edge solutions and experiences.
Lastly, purple is often linked with spirituality and mindfulness, making it an ideal colour for wellness and brands that want a holistic feeling at their core.
Purple has simultaneously calming and uplifting qualities which have the potential to set a soothing air, resonating with consumers who value peace and balance. If you go for purple in your branding you can use it to connect with clients who values both mental and physical well-being. For example, brands in the health industry or offering lifestyle products can use purple to communicate holistic, harmony or self-care.
Purple branding: what's its meaning?
When you see purple branding it’s important to remember it’s more than just a colour: it has a specific meaning.
Purple can be used as a powerful branding tool that carries deep emotional and psychological significance, so there will normally be a good reason a business has used it in its branding. A good brand will have chosen purple to do a job and get across a particular message to potential customers.
As we’ve seen above, purpose is historically the colour of royalty, wealth and luxury. As such, when you see it in branding, its meaning is probably intended to indicate sophistication or exclusivity. Purple branding is there to signal that a brand or business is high-end or premium, appealing to customers who value quality and elegance.
Aside from the luxury associations, purple also overlaps with creativity and imagination. You may find businesses with purple branding in industries like technology, design or entertainment. If so, the meaning of their purple branding is probably symbolising innovation or. originality. Purple is multi-faceted (liek many of the colours in this series) so can evoke mystery and curiosity. These meanings make it handy for brands that want to be seen as visionary or cutting-edge. Purple branding allows businesses to control the narrative of their meaning: to stand out, show that they’re pushing boundaries; and appeal to customers who value unique, forward-thinking brands.
Other meanings linked with purple branding are spirituality, mindfulness and balance. As such, you’ll often see businesses in the wellness space using it. They’re probably trying to demonstrate the holistic or lifestyle meaning of what they offer.
Why is purple branding suited to powerful, niche brands?
The next challenge purple faced was that as its popularity soared, so did demand, which led to its democratisation as it eventually made it to the mass market.
The trouble with accessibility is that familiarity breeds contempt, and the history of different purple hues introduced to the masses is littered with dramatic splashes and then brutal crashes.
If we turn again to magenta, which came to prominence in the mid-19th century, as it became commonplace in the marketplace, its desirability crashed, much like the shellfish population of the Mediterranean.
Consumers of purple in its magenta hue simply had too much choice. When a product or service is one among many thousands of lookalikes, it loses its uniqueness and desirability.
If a product or service can demonstrate its unique benefits, only then can it survive competition in a market.
The same principle applies directly to branding for small businesses.
If you rely on purple solely for its traditional associations with royalty, for example, but have done nothing to distinguish your business in your branding, it will struggle to stand out as a premium brand.
Another good example of the dangers of over-consumption and lack of differentiation is the hue mauve.
Mauve entered the limelight around the same time as magenta (interestingly as an accidental by-product in the quest for an artificial alternative to quinine when malaria was rife across Europe), and at one time was the world’s most fashionable colour!
Over-consumption sent it into the same decline as magenta, and although the older generations continued to favour it, this loyalty led mauve to become negatively associated with unfashionable old ladies. (A modern-day parallel might be Facebook derision by Generation Z.)
Again, a very good reason to pay special attention to the feelings and associations that colours evoke in your branding. Choose the wrong ones and you could inadvertently be labelled as an ‘old lady’ brand as a small business.
Why is purple the best colour?
It’s true that everyone has their favourite colour, often from a very early age, and businesses often approach us, holding dear to a particular colour in their branding.
The truth is that there is no ‘best colour’, in the same way that being on ‘Page 1 of Google’ will be different for every business. In short, purple may be the ‘best colour’, but it could also be the worst colour for your small business branding.
As we’ve mentioned in our points above on the colour purple in your branding, how ‘good’ a colour is completely depends on the emotions it evokes and the associations it taps into. For the purple that could be its regal side (luxury, royalty and sophistication) or perhaps its holistic side (spirituality and mindfulness).
If the colour purple resonates with the core values of your business which also matter to your ideal clients, then it’s likely that it will be a good fir for your branding. If you have simply chosen purple because you think it’s trendy or it’s going around social media. but it’s associations completely go against what your business stands for, then it’s probably going to be a bit of a disaster for your branding.
In terms of making a judgement about whether or not purple is the best colour for your small business and your branding, this is an area best explored with a brand strategist and designer. A branding expert will be able to work with you to identify what’s most important in your business, what matters to your ideal customers and how to use purple or other colours to get the results you want.
Get inspired by the colour purple
Before we get into the practicalities of purple, why not enjoy the interactive moodboard below - click and move images around.
The mood board sources and image attribution can be found in our colour purple pinboard on on Pinterest →
How to maximise purple in your small business branding
Despite some of the red flags above, purple is an incredibly powerful, effective colour to use in your branding.
Let’s recap on some of the key things that came out in our review before we look at how you can consider in your small business branding.
Scarcity drives demand, whether its a product, service, raw material or access to something
The time and effort that goes into creating something attractive drives up its value
Things that are scarce and hard to produce become associated with luxury, premium and top-end brands
Conversely, mass-consumption, accessibility and cheap alternatives undermine a brand’s value
Once a brand goes into decline it more easily attracts negative attributes
To this day, the colour purple continues to have strong associations with powerful institutions, wealth and royalty, which are unlikely to diminish or disappear.
If you want to associate your brand with opulence, excess and power, then purple could well be a good choice within your branding, although don’t rely on it exclusively and consider your branding holistically, rather than fixating on one colour.
An example of a brand well suited to incorporating purple into their branding would be a wealth management consultancy that deals with high-net worth individuals and estates. Purple is a good way to mirror clients’ aspirations of power and wealth.
In general, brands that want to pick up on the attributes mentioned above would do well to consider purple. Brands who operate with low-volume products or services; brands that take great care, attention and time in crafting their offerings.
Lavender, mauve, grape and violet are just some of the names for purple
Purple for the subversive, renegade small business brands
It may surprise you to know that purple has a subversive side, despite its long association with monarchs, generals and caesars (granted, many are badly-behaved!).
In the Victorian era and its obsession with nature and horticulture the flower Heliotrope came into vogue. Its purple flowers allegedly followed the sun like a sunflower, which is not true, but what it did do was lend it’s name to its particular purple hue.
In time Heliotrope’s purple flowers became associated with the quality of devotion. The strictures of the time meant that Heliotrope was one of the few colours that women were allowed to wear when in mourning.
Heliotrope had its time in the sun (its name comes from the Greek ‘sun turner’), but as with many of its illustrious fellow hues mentioned above, went into similar decline.
However, in an interesting quirk of fate, it has continued to live on in literature, taking on an unlikely association with rogues and mavericks.
In a fascinating subversion of sub-cultures that go mainstream, Heliotrope reinvented itself as a colour associated with immorality, the anti-hero or -heroine: unusual but antiquated; brash and gaudy.
(For more on Heliotrope in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter, see Why was Mafalda Hopkirk a "pleasant heliotrope?", as a starting point.)
If you’re put off by purple as stuffy and institutional, think again about tapping into its subversive, renegade dark side to get an intriguing edge to your small business brand.
Examples of independent brands using the colour purple
There are lots of brands using purple. But here are three brands using purple quite differently to draw out their various qualities!
Liberty of London
Liberty is a world-renowned department store brand, selling luxury fashion items, homewares and fabrics. Opulent and heritage, it’s best known for its bold and floral prints.
Brora
Brora is a well-known British heritage cashmere brand which prides itself on British-made slow fashion with a timeless feel, incredible colour and beautiful fabrics.
Bowelbabe Fund
Founded by the late Dame Deborah James, BowelBabe is on a mission to raise awareness and money to fund clinical trials and research into bowel cancer.
Other big-name brands using purple in their branding include: Cadbury’s, Milka, The Wimbledon Championships, Hallmark, FedEx, Zoopla and Purple Bricks to name but a few.
If you were undecided about the purple in branding as a small business, we hope this has helped give you a new perspective on it. Watch out for upcoming instalments on colour psychology and how it feeds into your branding or browse previous articles below.
If you’d like to learn more from us on branding or get visual inspiration, follow @wildings.studio on Instagram or read more of our blogs on branding too.
