business branding colours… what are you saying when you wear yellow

Karen Haller 01
Karen Haller

Business branding colours - yellow - Heathrow express staff. This opens a new browser window.

The bonus of branded uniforms means every interaction a member of staff has with customers, and the general public is an opportunity to gain additional brand exposure. For some businesses, there are additional considerations which lead to the introduction of additional colours.

high visibility
Heathrow Express went through a re-brand earlier this year. A part of creating their new identity was the uniforms. One of the key elements was high visibility – in a busy station, it is important the staff are instantly visible.

Given bright yellow is the most visible colour in daylight, this was used in the design for the top part of the uniform. The design incorporated a touch of their primary brand colour purple through the scarf.

Lego staff wear yellow in keeping with the happy, friendly personality of the brand.

negative psychological effect
What is surprising to see is how Lego have teamed yellow with black. Black is not a colour you would associate with children, with joy, fun or happiness. It’s in complete contrast with the message they are sending out using the yellow.

Business branding colours - yellow - Lego staff. This opens a new browser window.

Branding colours in uniforms - be aware of the combination of colours used as you could be unconsciously sending out a negative message as the Lego staff are, wearing black with their branding colour yellow.

Combining black with yellow, instinctively in our unconscious, it signals a warning like when we see a wasp or bee.

Do you wear a yellow uniform or perhaps yellow is part of your uniform? How does it make you feel?

If you enjoyed reading this post you may also be interested in Colour Psychology – the meaning of yellow and other Personal Branding posts.

Images: blog.field-grey.com and mattsbrickgallery.com

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1 Comment

  1. Arthur on April 9, 2013 at 9:23 am

    I Don’t understand why Heathrow Express use yellow uniforms – a colour associated with low brow rep brands such Lego, Butlins and MacDonalds – for their rebranding. What a horrible colour!

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