Generally, colors are used in sports branding to create an emotional connection with the audience. Color is undoubtedly an important part of the branding process. It can be used to represent a company’s identity, which in turn is used to create a certain mood.
Sports colors are often associated with power, energy, and speed. These colors are also associated with the physicality of the sports themselves. Sportswear brands use these colors to create a sense of excitement and vitality in their branding and marketing for their customers.
Color palettes are also used to create a sense of belonging for customers. This is why it’s important for sportswear brands to have their own unique color palettes that set them apart from other brands in the industry, while still staying true to their values and beliefs.
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Popular Sports Colors And Their Meanings
The colors used in athletic branding have a deep meaning and symbolism. They often represent the team’s identity, heritage, and values. Let’s explore some of the most popular colors in sportswear branding and their meanings.
There are many different colors that are used in sports branding. Some of the most popular ones include blue, gray, green, yellow, red, and orange.
BLUE
Blue is a soothing color that promotes calmness and inner peace. It represents honesty, truthfulness, and protectiveness. Sportswear brands like Fila, Reebok, Columbia, and Mizuno use blue as a symbol of reliability and stability. Blue also gives a feeling of security.
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GREEN
The green color is linked with nature. It evokes growth, prosperity, and stability. It is a cool hue just like blue and together they go well. Green comes in all shades and the one that stands out the most in sports branding is neon green. Professional American soccer club, The Sounders FC revealed their new kit in Legacy Green for vibrancy and boldness.
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YELLOW
Tones of yellow evoke optimism, youthfulness, and happiness. A brighter shade of yellow is an attention grabber and stands out as a highlight color. It is associated with enthusiasm, cheerfulness, and excitement – all the emotions that are common in the sports industry. In sportswear branding, yellow can either be seen as a full color or combined with blue, green or black.
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RED
The color red is known to increase energy levels in both men and women. Brands like New Balance and Lululemon Athletica have used red color for their logo to represent stamina and vitality. Athletes in red uniforms look more powerful, aggressive, and dominating than the ones in blue or gray.
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ORANGE
The color orange represents enthusiasm, optimism, motivation, and positivity. When combined with red, it can be used to paint a flame or an energy ball in a sports logo. Orange also stands for friendliness and playfulness.
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Color Palette Inspirations For Sportswear Branding
The color palette of a sportswear brand is one of the most important aspects of the design process. Know that sportswear is a type of clothing that is designed to be worn during athletic activities. It can be made from a variety of materials, including cotton, polyester, nylon, and spandex. The colors chosen for sportswear are often bright and vibrant to promote the wearer’s energy and vitality.
A color palette is a set of colors with which one may create a design. These colors are chosen because they work well together and create an aesthetically pleasing effect when used in combination with one another.
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- For brands that are more focused on performance, they are going for bright, bold colors that are attention-grabbing. These colors will stand out and be seen in a sea of other brands on the rack.
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- For brands that want to look more fashionable, they will go for softer pastel colors or muted earth tones with hints of bright color here and there as accents.
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- Puma brand marketing photography plus typography in mysterious colors: green, black, and gold/mustard.
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- Designed by sportswear brand Adidas in collaboration with Parley for the Ocean, British athletes will wear a uniform in blue, red and white. These garments feature the flag of Union Jack and color block design.
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- Reebok’s logo has changed over seven times since 1958. The logo design went through modifications in the icon, the typography style, and the colors. Currently, the brand’s official palette is black, red, blue and grey.
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- The previous logo of Jack Wills was a serif font but currently it is a sans serif logotype in black. The website design is colored in blue, grey and black. These colors look sophisticated, serious, and professional.
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- Anta Sports, the official partner of the Paralympics Winter Games and Winter Olympic Games (2022) has collaborated with skying influencer Eileen Gu to optimise brand exposure. The marketing colors include hints of red and yellow for vibrancy and action.
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- Lotto is an Italian footwear manufacturing brand that uses striking images and graphics on their homepage slider to attract potential buyers. The color of the call-to-action button is bright red, the same as the logo’s color.
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- Salomon is brand for runners. The colors on their branding and marketing material vary from warm to cool shades: blue and greys to reds and yellows. When one hovers over the buttons on their website, the black color changes to a fiery gradient.
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- Champion is a clothing brand that specializes in sportswear. The logo is a combination of red, white and blue because they wanted to tap on loyalty and trust. Red and blue are widely used in sportswear branding. They’re complimentary colors that balance the look of a design.
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- Columbia is an American sportswear company that manufactures footwear and outerwear. The design of the website is simple with a grey-ish theme that is uplifted with colorful and action-filled photography.
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- Presca is a sustainable sportswear brand that claims to be ethical in their production and distribution. For brands like such, colors that are mostly relevant include yellow, green, blue.
