Beyond Blue and White: A Guide to Choosing Medical Logo Colors
Over 80% of organizations within the healthcare sector use blue and white in their logo. This isn't a mistake. It is a direct influence of "color psychology" in practice branding.
According to 99Designs, over 80% of organizations within the healthcare sector use blue and white in their logo. This isn’t a mistake. It is a direct influence of “color psychology” in practice branding. However, while these two colors are the most dominant in the healthcare sector, organizations should consider the patient population carefully before choosing brand colors because patients react to color differently. The feeling, emotions, and expressions of different colors differ from one patient to another.
Why Are Blue And White Such Popular Colors For Healthcare Logos?
Blue and white are the most common colors in the healthcare sector, and there should be good reasons these two colors are the most preferred.
First, blue is associated with trust, power, professionalism, cleanliness, calmness, credibility, and power. These characteristics are highly suitable for the healthcare sector, where patients want to associate with calm, trustworthy, and credible healthcare facilities.
Blue conveys a serene environment, and people around can be sure that everything is going to be alright. This is how blue became a dominant color within the healthcare sector.
On the other hand, white is a clean color among all the existing colors. It is a universal color suitable for many business establishments. White is a color of faith and hope. It came to show that those in healthcare have a mission to care for patients, families, and communities.
Doctors began wearing white scrubs to demonstrate cleanliness and sterility. Patients do not only feel safe but are also sure of being in a clean environment. White reveals the smallest details, making it easier for doctors to keep the healthcare environment clean.
Blue and white make a color combination that creates a harmonic purpose. The color mix is suitable for many people and can be applied anywhere, such as on walls, because the combination is aesthetically pleasing and calm on the eyes.
Western culture associates white with brides because white is clean, pure, elegant, and peaceful. In Peru, white symbolizes good health, time, and angels. France uses white in cave drawings, chalk, calcite, and painting images. Ancient Greece associated white as sacred. It represented milk and light, while Romans wore white at ceremonies.
Why You Shouldn’t Assume Blue and White Is Always Appropriate
It is not uncommon for many people to think that blue and white are always appropriate and conducive. However, different cultures have different associations with blue and white. For instance, China, Korea, and other Asian countries believe white symbolizes death and mourning. They only use white during funerals. On the other hand, in these areas, yellow represents happiness and wealth.
This is not a concept you’d want to implement where people seek treatment and are hopeful for getting better. Patients would not want to go to a place where they would think about death and mourning. This creates a negative psychological impact on the healthcare environment and could push patients away.
How to Choose Healthcare Practice Logo Colors
The colors you use in your healthcare directly impact how patients feel when they enter your facility. It’d be best to choose colors that work in harmony and communicate a message of hope to the patients.
Color presents the first impressions determining whether a patient likes or dislikes your facility. Here are factors to consider when choosing a color for your healthcare logo.
1. Understand Your Patient Population
When choosing the primary color and secondary palate for your logo, you should consider who will come to the facility as your patients. Different age groups react differently to colors. So, use colors that represent the patient’s emotions based on age. For instance, children would like a facility with playful colors, while adults would go for more appealing and sophisticated colors. Focus only on colors that elicit the right emotions from your patients.
2. Do a Competitive Analysis
If you are starting your practice or have been operating for a while and want to re-design your brand logo, it’d be best to check the colors successful healthcare practices use within your area. If other facilities use different colors that dominate the environment, consider similar or better combinations to make your facility stand out or blend in.
3. Apply Culturally-Relevant Color Psychology
Color is cultural. This is why you should be careful if you decide to go by the rules of color evolution because people from different cultures perceive color differently. Consider applying the principles of color psychology while considering your targeted population and age group and focusing on colors that will invoke positive emotions.
4. Choose a Secondary Color Pallet
A secondary color pallet is a color combination of an equal mixture of two primary colors. It highlights and compliments a primary color and is updated frequently. A secondary color is created by mixing cool and warm colors to make the perfect combination.
It is supportive, intuitive, and sophisticated, and it is easy to make your logo appear fresh and different. You can update a secondary pallet yearly, depending on your targeted population and the current trends within your environment.
5. Apply the MAYA Principle
The Most Advanced, Yet Acceptable” (MAYA Principle) is a practice of giving users the most advanced design with new and easily adaptable features. The primary reason to implement the MAYA principle is to design for the future and balance the present design.
Customers in the healthcare sector look forward to new things and gradual evolution. The MAYA principle is good for design within this sector because it strikes the right balance. Over time, you can advance your healthcare design to keep your patients comfortable and improve the patient experience.
How to Get a Demographic Breakdown of Your Local Market
It’d be best to acquire more information about your local patient population before choosing your brand color. Consider going beyond just knowing the demographics, like ethnicity, and find out the kind of demand for your services within your locality.
The hard way to figure this out is to go to the Census Bureau’s website (Census.gov) and pull demographic information for your zip code and the surrounding zip codes. Then, extrapolate local demand by comparing your demographics to national search volume trends in Google.
Now it’s Your Turn!
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