Creative Names for Every Color
As a graphic designer, I spend a lot of time in the world of color. Sometimes I joke that my job is just picking out colors all day. But I think we know, there’s a LOT more to it than that. Color can be used in very strategic ways to communicate a brand’s ideals, style, and mood.
Color is also one of the primary ways your brand can establish recognition.
I include a custom color palette with every branding client I work with. One of the ways I tailor this to the specific client is to give each color a custom name. This might just seem like a fun detail, but it also has practical applications.
01. It can reinforce your brand tone.
Say you have a natural, organic product. You could choose the colors:
Golden yellow
Muted green
Muted Orange
Dark Green
OR you could choose the colors:
Honeycomb
Sage
Fawn
Moss
Which one is more descriptive? Which feels like it belongs with an organic product? When you’re developing the building blocks for your brand, take every opportunity to reinforce your brand tone and ideals.
02. it makes communication easier among your team & vendors.
This is especially helpful when you have two or more colors in a similar color palette. In the example above, you have a “muted” green and a “dark” green. But say you also have a “medium” green. When someone on your team is referencing one of your colors there’s no reason not to make this as clear as possible.
Being about to say you want to use Moss as the background and Fawn for the font on a social post eliminates the potential for mistakes.
Similarly, say you are getting branded shirts printed and hats embroidered. Telling your printer you want white shirts with your Honeycomb logo and hats embroidered with Sage thread will make instructions 100% clear.
When you are putting the finishing touches on a project and your creative juices are starting to run dry, thinking of creative names can feel like an extra step you don’t want to take the time for - but the attention to detail is worth it. It shows that you take pride in the work you are delivering and it makes it more user-friendly in the long run.
I’m taking some of the guesswork out and leaving a library of creative color names for you here!
22 Names for White
Alabaster
Biscuit
Buff
Cloud
Coconut
Cotton
Cream
Dove
Fog
Iridescent
Ivory
Lace
Milky
Mist
Off-white
Opaline
Parchment
Linen
Pearl
Rice
Taupe
Vanilla
20 Names for Black
Ash
Cement
Charcoal
Chrome
Ebony
Graphite
Gunmetal
Ink
Iron
Jet
Nickel
Obsidian
Onyx
Pewter
Raven
Slate
Smoke
Steel
Stone
Storm
20 Names for Beige
Almond
Biscuit
Bone
Buff
Camel
Caramel
Champagne
Cream
Fawn
Khaki
Lace
Latte
Mist
Oatmeal
Oyster
Sand
Satin
Tan
Taupe
Wheat
24 Names for Red
Barn
Blood
Blush
Brick
Candy apple
Cardinal
Cherry
Chili pepper
Coral
Cranberry
Crimson
Fire engine
Flame
Garnet
Glowing
Mahogany
Maroon
Merlot
Poppy
Rose
Ruby
Rust
Sangria
Scarlet
16 Names for Orange
Amber
Apricot
Burnt orange
Cantelope
Carrot
Chrysanthemum
Goldfish
Mango
Marmalade
Peach
Persimmon
Princeton
Pumpkin
Safety
Sweet potato
Tangerine
20 Names for Yellow
Banana
Blonde
Bumblebee
Butter
Buttercup
Canary
Citrine
Daffodil
Dijon
Egg yolk
Golden
Honey
Honeysuckle
Lemon
Mustard
Pineapple
Saffron
Straw
Sunflower
Taxi
30 Names for Green
Army
Artichoke
Basil
Emerald
Evergreen
Fern
Forest
Grass
Green apple
Hunter
Jade
Jungle
Kale
Kelly
Lime
Matcha
Mint
Moss
Olive
Parakeet
Pear
Pickle
Pine
Pistachio
Sage
Seaweed
Shamrock
Slime
Sussex
Tropical
22 Names for Blue
Admiral
Arctic
Azure
Blueberry
Cerulean
Cobalt
Cornflower
Electric Blue
Denim
Glacial
Indigo
Lapis
Navy
Ocean
Peacock
Pool blue
Powder blue
Sapphire
Sky
Slate
Stone
Teal
18 Names for the Color Purple
Amethyst
Boysenberry
Eggplant
Grape
Iris
Jam
Lavender
Lilac
Magenta
Mardi Gras
Mauve
Mulberry
Orchid
Pansy
Plum
Thistle
Tyrian
Ube
Violet
Wisteria