key – best exterior paint colors for commercial buildings
First impressions are everything. Whether it be personal or professional, the first impression someone has of you or your business helps shape how they’ll always feel about it.
Bad first impressions are not only hard to shake – they can potentially lose you money.
Hence why the exterior paint color of your business is important. When people pull up to your building, they make a multitude of conscious and subconscious decisions about your business. A shoddy paint job that doesn’t match the tone or brand of your business will almost certainly have an effect on a customer’s purchasing decisions.
Company logos aren’t random in their color selection. They’re produced to give the customer a sense of professionalism, friendliness, trustworthiness, etc. The same care should be put into how your business – the building itself – physically looks.
Choosing the right exterior color isn’t the most difficult thing to do – but it needs to be done right.
Exterior paint color should be dependent on what your business is and what general aesthetic you’re trying to give off.
The best exterior paint colors for commercial buildings can vary, like for example, what type of business you have.
Different colors elicit different feelings in individuals. Color psychology is the study of how certain colors affect the brain, emotions, and decision-making.
Recently, this has become a hot topic in marketing, advertising, and design. Think about it – by using a certain color, you can elicit subconscious emotions about your business without the customer ever realizing.
Color psychology isn’t an extremely well-studied topic – it’s hard to gather any empirical data using the scientific method. But that doesn’t mean the findings that exist are wrong – they’re just generalized.
Choosing the right color – based on color psychology – can really help your business.
Red is the most dominant color to the human eye. It pulls focus from all of the other colors. It elicits feelings of excitement, strength, and confidence – but there are also some negative connotations. It can be perceived as aggressive or domineering. Red will grab attention, but sometimes too much.
In the marketing world, blue is often seen as professional and trustworthy. Think about banks – how many of them have the color blue in their logo? This is because blue has been found to elicit feelings of trust and dependability. If these are the ideals your business strives for, blue is a great color to choose.
Green is the color of nature and wellness. Very few negative emotions are associated with the color green. It can evoke feelings of growth and serenity. Most often found in nature-based companies, green is a great color for any business trying to promote health, relaxation, and wellness.
Orange is the most exciting color. It’s vibrant and joyous and really catches the eye. It’s linked to motivation and enthusiasm. In marketing, orange is used to represent youth, playfulness, and energy. Think professional sports teams – tons use orange for their logos and uniforms.
Yellow is friendly. It represents happiness and optimism – in small doses. Too much yellow can lead to feelings of anxiety or fear. Still, yellow usually evokes feelings of joy. It also grabs attention well – it’s bright tones catch the eye. If you associate your business with happiness, a hint of yellow is never a bad choice.
Less visually stimulating than the other more vibrant colors, brown is still a great option for exterior paint. Less intense than black, brown represents structure and safety – though it can be a bit boring. Brown isn’t outgoing and some people may think it’s too reserved.
Black is the color most closely associated with seriousness and sophistication. Black is among the most professional of colors – most suits are a shade of it. It’s a very strong color, but too much black can be seen as melancholy and even evil. You don’t want to paint your whole building jet black – that could potentially drive customers away.
White can represent purity, innocence, and cleanliness. White is good for a business that wants to remain professional and seem open to the public. But be careful – too much white can evoke feelings of loneliness or isolation.
Now that you know which colors evoke which feelings, it should be easy to choose, right?
Not exactly.
You can’t just paint your whole building bright yellow and expect everyone to feel joy when they look at it.
You need to consider exactly what your business is, what clientele you hope to attract, and how your paint color will affect that.
Let’s say – for instance – you’re opening a flower and plant shop. A good color option would be green. However, a big green building might not be so appealing, either, so having a mix of colors that complement each other is best.
Most likely, just one color won’t cut it. You need to mix it up a little as too not to look too boring. For the flower shop example: add in some yellows or reds to liven up the place. That way your main color elicits feelings of health and nature – you’re secondary colors elicit strength and happiness.
You can choose your accent colors based on color theory. Essentially a color wheel, using this will help you choose colors that go the best with your primary color.
All in all, you must stay true to your business. If you’re a serious law firm, it really doesn’t make sense to be painting your exterior bright yellow. Conversely, a daycare probably shouldn’t be painted all black.
Refer to the color descriptions above when choosing an exterior paint color for your business – but also trust in yourself. You know your business the best. When it comes to the best exterior paint colors for your commercial building, consider your brand and your tone. Exterior color should be an extension of your brand.
