A few weeks ago I was in Cancun for a weekend trip to celebrate my sister's bachelorette party. On the sidewalks outside of the resort hotels, there sat Mexican ladies and their cute daughters, offering handmade bracelets and trinkets to tourists as they walk by. "Bracelet, 1 dollar?" they asked with their big brown eyes. I gave in and stopped to look. I picked one from the first bunch she offered - this lovely bracelet you see here. The black, cream, and brown combination stood out to me from the rest, a combination that I like but also felt familiar. I realized why - it's an OFB-colored bracelet. This stylish, vintage color combination is one I've seen in everything from our client presentations and business cards to our website and Ben's outfits. (Yes, he has outfits.) The OFB colors are so iconic that I recognized them even in Mexico.
Don't underestimate the importance and strength of iconic colors. If you use colors in a consistent and meaningful way, they can become as strong a symbol of your brand as your logo itself.
Check out a few other examples of iconic colors:
- Red and blue: Such an iconic symbol of All-American power that the teenaged Superman is constantly clothed in non-superhero-suit red and blue clothes in the television show "Smallville."
- Burnt orange: Consistently used as a symbol of UT pride. The university uses the official color beyond just football... even on nailpolish and earrings.
- Pink: An iconic color full of meaning, tied to feminine strength in the fight against breast cancer.
- Purple, green, gold: A very unique and dynamic combination that can mean only one thing - Mardi Gras.