· by James Archer  · 15 min read

The 50 Most Popular Brand Colors

While working on a branding project a few weeks ago, I happened to wonder what colors were most frequently used in brand identities. I started poking around online, feeling sure someone had already done this research and neatly organized the results. However, I wasn’t really satisfied with what I fo…

While working on a branding project a few weeks ago, I happened to wonder what colors were most frequently used in brand identities.

I started poking around online, feeling sure someone had already done this research and neatly organized the results. However, I wasn’t really satisfied with what I found. I saw a number of eye-catching but generally meaningless infographics that look great on Pinterest but don’t really contain any practical information.

Since I couldn’t find the quantitative information I’d been hoping for, I took matters into my own hands and started doing some research. (It’s not not scientific-grade research, mind you, but at least good enough to help answer my original question.)

I started with BrandColors, which provides the color schemes of 456 different brands. From there, I was able to export a CSS file, which I then stripped down to 1,239 hexadecimal color codes, which I then converted to a decimal RGB format.

I was curious to try tallying them along basic color palettes, just to see which specific colors were most popular. I did this by writing a script that cycled through various palettes, comparing them with each of the 1,239 brand colors to measure the distance between them, and then sorting them by smallest distance to largest to find the nearest color matches.

Just for fun, I decided to use the 163 standard Crayola crayon colors. Here are the top 50 matches, based on frequency:

CountName
 79Outer Space (#2d383a)
 60Midnight Blue (#00468c)
 56Maximum Red (#d92121)
 48Black (#000000)
 47Mango Tango (#e77200)
 43Middle Yellow (#ffeb00)
 40Cerulean (#02a4d3)
 32Yellow-Orange (#ffae42)
 31Eggplant (#614051)
 28Red-Orange (#ff681f)
 26White (#ffffff)
 24Manatee (#8d90a1)
 23Geranium Lake (#e12c2c)
 23Charcoal Gray (#736a62)
 22Blue (I) (#4997d0)
 22Maximum Green (#5e8c31)
 22Green (#3aa655)
 17Inchworm (#afe313)
 17Denim (#1560bd)
 17Green-Blue (#2887c8)
 17Navy Blue (#0066cc)
 16Razzmatazz (#e30b5c)
 15Asparagus (#7ba05b)
 14Maximum Blue (#47abcc)
 14Dark Venetian Red (#b33b24)
 14Orange-Red (#ff5349)
 14Gray (#8b8680)
 13Blue-Green (#0095b7)
 13Cadet Blue (#a9b2c3)
 13Burnt Orange (#ff7f49)
 13Tropical Rain Forest (#00755e)
 12Mountain Meadow (#1ab385)
 12Pig Pink (#fdd7e4)
 11Scarlet (#fd0e35)
 11Sunset Orange (#fe4c40)
 11Venetian Red (#cc553d)
 11Fern (#63b76c)
 11Cerulean Blue (#339acc)
 10Timberwolf (#d9d6cf)
 10Red (#ed0a3f)
 9Blue (II) (#4570e6)
 9Blue-Violet (#6456b7)
 9Shamrock (#33cc99)
 9Pacific Blue (#009dc4)
 9Middle Green Yellow (#acbf60)
 8Robin’s Egg Blue (#00cccc)
 7Blue-Gray (#c8c8cd)
 7Indigo (#4f69c6)
 7Turquoise Blue (#6cdae7)
 7Periwinkle (#c3cde6)

A particular brand color being common or not common doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s good or bad in itself. However, this can be useful information to keep in mind when developing color schemes for a new brand. While there’s a certain advantage to having a distinctive color scheme, there may also be social, psychological, or cultural reasons why certain colors are seldom used.

There’s no disputing that color selection is one of the more complicated areas of design, but hopefully this information helps you with working out the right solution for your situation.

At the very least, it satisfied my curiosity, and sometimes that’s enough!

    I'm James Archer.This is Why Firms Hire Me.

    3 Decades in Marketing 20+ Years in the C-Suite Hundreds of Firms Advised

    For nearly three decades, I’ve focused on marketing strategy and business growth. My journey was forged in the real world:

    • I’ve held C-level positions for 20+ years, so I understand the pressures you’re facing.
    • I ran a successful marketing agency for 12 years, so I know the service business grind intimately.
    • I’ve helped hundreds of businesses achieve strategic clarity, from startups to Fortune 500s, so I have deep experience doing exactly this work.
    • My work has been featured in major media outlets, including NPR, The New York Times, Inc. Magazine, Fast Company, and Entrepreneur.
    • I’ve delivered over 100 speaking engagements and written countless articles on what actually drives business success.
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