Just opened at Gatwick, Jamie Oliver’s new restaurant and food concept combines Jamie’s Italian, bakery and a Union Jacks bar with a new food-to-go brand inspired by ‘the joy of flying.’ (The brands’ red and blue colours also neatly associate with what could be described as Britain’s national airline – British Airways!).

Now of course this is THE year for ‘Brit branding’, and so many products from food to clothing and home wares seem to be wrapped in the red, white and blue of the national flag but what do these colours really represent to us? Are they the most appropriate colours to communicate how special and different any product is and appeal to its target market?

The use of colour is an opportunity to communicate the values of the brand. Red and blue are not usually the first colours you would think of to associate with food. The ‘male’ properties of red, and conservative but trustworthy elements of blue in this particular palette combine to give a slightly more traditional look to the design.

I like that the brown packaging style and design seems to marry both the rustic look of Jamie’s Italian with the quirkiness of the Union Jacks restaurant themes. ‘Rustic’ and ‘quirky’ are qualities we more often associate with a palette of muted, off-beat, yellow based colours which being more ‘earthy’ tend to link more in our minds with food. A slightly more orange/red (uncoated) colour such as Pantone 173 would put a little more emphasis on ‘enjoyment’ and our feelings of feeling comfortable or satiated. Adding a little more warmth to the blue with the addition of a little yellow takes it to something like Pantone 7470 which will also sit a little more comfortably with this palette, moving it a little closer to the product proposition (food) and maintaining integrity of both the product and the brand. The colours still retain close enough links to traditional Brit branding and look great with the rustic look of the brown packaging material too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other articles you may also like:

3 quick tips for using colour in branding

Going green – McDonald’s?

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I had a request from Nick to take a look at his website www.purepaint.co.uk as he feels the green page background is a bit ‘dull’ and taking a look around the site there is a bright, fresh feel about the other images. There’s still a good case for keeping the green as this colour accurately reflects the environment -friendly credentials of Nick’s business, the paints he uses are non toxic and natural. The Purepaint logo colours are from the autumnal palette which express the qualities of ‘integrity’ and ‘passion’ that Nick wishes to convey about Purepaint.

So – how to brighten it up? I’ve suggested that Nick look at some more yellow versions of green but of course keeping them within the same colour family, perhaps something like Pantone 367, 368, 376. There is a similar green in the Purepaint logo.

The addition of a yellow element adds some optimism and confidence to the green nicely reflecting Nick’s personality and values I think!

Have a look at our colour and communication design page to see how colour can affect the way you communicate.