Choosing the colors of your gym brand is as important as picking your location and equipment. It’s not as simple as, ‘I like orange and blue.’ The color(s) you choose will send a message. Make sure you’re sending the right one!
Your branding should be intentionally designed to elicit a certain emotion. The color(s) will be used for everything from marketing to the paint on your walls. Colors and fonts should make sense with your gym name, mission and vision statement. If it doesn’t seem to match, customers will feel like there’s a missing puzzle piece.
Example: If a gym called ROCK SOLID FITNESS chooses yellow as its dominant brand color and pairs it with a cursive font, do you feel like something’s not adding up?
That’s the power of color theory: You can elicit emotions using nothing but colors. It’s a not-so-subtle way to help people identify your brand with a certain emotion. This can come in handy when they don’t know what your gym is all about.
Do People Know Colors Affect Their Emotions?
Generally, people are unaware of the concept of color theory. However, the emotion is subconscious. So even if customers aren’t actively thinking, ‘This color makes me feel X,’ the emotion is still happening.
Colors can also affect people differently based on geographic location and culture. Note that the color theory below is specific to the United States and most of North America. However these colors may have a different impact in other parts of the world.
Building Your Gym Brand: What Each Color Means
Whether you’re building your brand or rebranding your gym, start with three things: Your vision statement, mission statement and the emotion you aim to elicit. From there, use the list below to find the correlating colors. This will ensure that your gym brand feels aligned.
Blue
Studies suggest that an even-toned, deep blue can produce the most emotional reaction. Here are the three emotions most often tied to the color blue:
- Trust - Firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of someone or something.
- Loyalty - A strong feeling of support or allegiance.
- Logic - Reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.
Yellow
When positioned properly, yellow shows deep emotional connections to energy, happiness and an overall pleasant experience. Here are the three emotions most often tied to the color yellow:
- Optimism - Hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something.
- Joy - A feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
- Energy - The strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity.
Purple
Planning on charging premium prices? Purple is often associated with high society, affluence and a regal feeling. Here are the three emotions most often tied to the color purple:
- Wisdom - The quality of having experience, knowledge and good judgement; the quality of being wise.
- Luxury - The state of great comfort and extravagant living.
- Wealth - An abundance of valuable possessions or money.
Gray
Gray is calm, neutral and doesn’t necessarily excite. So why would someone choose gray for their gym brand? Sometimes neutral colors make it easier to connect with people who see fitness as a necessity. If your potential members vibe more without a less-chipper atmosphere, gray might be their jam. Here are the three emotions most often tied to the color gray:
- Balance - A condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions.
- Neutrality - The absence of decided views, expression or strong feeling.
- Reliability - The quality of being trustworthy or of performing consistently well.
Orange
Generally, the emotions correlated to the color orange can work really well in a gym setting. It’s an energetic color that pairs well with others to match the emotions you aim to give your members. Here are the three emotions most often tied to the color orange:
- Courage - The ability to do something that frightens one.
- Warmth - Vehemence or intensity of emotion.
- Innovativeness - Marked by innovation or given to making innovations.
Black
Black can bring forth both feelings of exclusivity and exquisiteness, as well as power and authority. Because black is a neutral color, you can mix it with almost any other color and come up with a great branding kit that speaks volumes to your clients. Here are the three emotions most often tied to the color black:
- Sophistication - Having, revealing or proceeding from a great deal of worldly experience, and knowledge of fashion and culture.
- Power - The ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality.
- Authority - The power or right to give orders, make decisions and enforce obedience.
Green
Brighter green shades generally evoke feelings of optimism, hope and joy. Dark green tends to be more calming. Much like orange, green doesn’t work with every color, so choose its counterpart in your gym brand wisely. Here are the three emotions most often tied to the color green:
- Hopefulness - Being full of hope. It’s that simple.
- Optimism - Hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something.
- Happiness - The state of being happy. Yep, it’s also that simple.
In Summary: Color Is A Gym Brand Game-Changer
Different colors trigger different feelings. Help people identify your gym brand with a certain emotion. You’re putting in the effort to create an incredible gym and an extraordinary member experience. Don’t neglect the branding.
First, decide what message you want to convey your gym members. This is where your mission and vision statements converge. Then be intentional with aligning the colors in your branding. When everything comes together, you’ll build member loyalty and create raving fans of your brand!
