How to Pick a Color That Isn't Blue

Open ten SaaS landing pages. Count how many are blue.

Blue is the default. The safe choice. The "I didn't really decide" decision.

If you want to look like every other product, pick blue. If you want to be remembered, keep reading.

Why Blue Is Everywhere

Blue tests well in focus groups. It signals trust, reliability, stability. These are generic virtues. Every product wants them.

Joe Hallock's color preference research at the University of Washington found that blue is the most-preferred color across genders and cultures. This made it the "safe" choice for corporations.

But when everyone signals the same thing, no one stands out. Blue becomes invisible. Another gradient in the feed.

"The goal isn't to pick a color that tests well. The goal is to pick a color that tests true."

Notion chose warm, muted colors when every productivity tool was cold blue. That choice felt like a statement. Figma chose saturated purple when developer tools were grayscale and blue. That choice created a category signal.

The safe choice is the invisible choice.

Fit Over Preference

Your brand color should match your brand personality, not your personal taste.

This requires knowing your archetype. Different archetypes have natural color affinities:

Sage (wisdom, expertise): Deep greens, muted golds, navy. Colors that feel considered and authoritative.

Creator (craft, originality): Warm terracotta, burnt sienna, rich browns. Colors that feel handmade.

Hero (courage, achievement): Bold reds, strong oranges, powerful blacks. Colors that command attention.

Explorer (freedom, discovery): Earth tones, forest greens, desert yellows. Colors that feel adventurous.

"Color isn't arbitrary. It's an extension of personality. The right color amplifies who you are. The wrong color contradicts it."

Linear chose dark themes with subtle accents because their brand is about focus, precision, and professionalism. A bright, playful palette would contradict their personality.

Stripe chose subtle blues and clean whites because their brand is about trust and clarity. A bold, aggressive palette would feel wrong.

The Exclusion Test

Here's a practical filter: a good brand color passes the exclusion test.

Can you imagine brands that would never use this color?

If your color could work for any product, it's not distinctive enough.

Burnt sienna excludes crypto apps (too warm), B2B enterprise software (too creative), and social media platforms (too serious). That exclusion creates identity.

Blue excludes nothing. Which is why it signals nothing.

Mailchimp's yellow is a perfect example. When they committed to Cavendish Yellow in their 2018 rebrand, they knew it would feel strange for an email marketing platform. That strangeness was the point. Yellow excluded "boring email software" from their identity.

Practical Selection Process

1. Identify your archetype: If you don't know it yet, use Vox Animus to discover it.

2. Research color associations: Look at brands with similar archetypes. What palettes do they use?

3. Pick three candidates: Not one. Three options to test.

4. Apply the exclusion test: For each candidate, list what kinds of products would never use it. The one with the most exclusion wins.

5. Test in context: Apply your top choice to buttons, links, and focus states. See if it holds up.

Commit and Apply

Once you pick, commit. The color goes everywhere.

- Primary buttons - Text links - Focus states - Icon accents - Hover states - Selection highlights

Consistency compounds. The more places your accent appears, the more recognizable it becomes.

"Don't hedge. Don't use three different accents for variety. Pick one and let it define you."

Vercel's black-and-white palette with red accents works because they use it absolutely everywhere. Every page, every state, every interaction reinforces the same visual language.

Superhuman's purple works because it appears consistently across their app, emails, and marketing. One color, everywhere.

The Vox Animus Example

Vox Animus uses burnt sienna (#C24516 in dark mode, #A03814 in light mode).

Not blue. Not purple. Not neon.

The color says: warm, considered, grounded. It excludes crypto glow, SaaS gradients, and template aesthetics.

That exclusion is the point. Every color choice should exclude something.

---

Ready to pick your color? Try the Vox Animus demo to discover your brand's visual direction.