This was one of those images that made me stop as I was scrolling through Instagram. Apart from the lovely deep green and the smile that the Hong Kong tram put on my face - I'm a bit of a secret transport fan! The thing that made me notice this image was the contrast between the HK Tram Green, a new Pantone colour, and the white on the lower part of the tram. I just love how the white literally pops against the green of the tram.
When I'm discussing colours with clients for logos and branding one of the things I talk about is creating a contrast between the brand colours so that the logo or text stands out against the background colour. Not enough of a contrast and you find the human eye doesn't pick up the different colours and the result is your brand simply gets scrolled past.
When you are choosing colours one really important consideration is how the colours you want to use work with each other. Are the picked up by the human eye?
In this example the black line contrasts and is relatively easy for the eye to see. As you move from left to right through the greys the contrast between the dark grey and the green doesn't make it easy for the eye to pick up. The further you move along the line to the right the greater the contrast. If I was picking colours for a brand I would certainly be picking either the light grey or the white on the far right.
So as the title of the blog says - the greater the contrast the greater the potential, and in this case the greater potential for your brand to be noticed. After all getting people to notice your brand is a big step in making your brand successful.
Read a little more about the story behind Patone's creation of HG Tram Green at:
Have a look at some of my examples below to see what colours contrast nicely and which the eye glances past.
