Choosing certain flag colors can greatly impact their visibility and attractiveness. Eye-catching colors can draw attention, convey messages effectively, and make a flag stand out in various settings. Consider the emotional impact of the most common flag colors. Bright colors tend to evoke strong emotional responses and grab people’s attention on a subconscious level. For example, red can convey excitement and urgency. Let’s explore some of the most eye-catching flag colors and what they convey.
Color Psychology in Flag Design
Green & Yellow
Green is often used as a flag color to represent nature, growth, and hope. It can be eye-catching, especially when used in combination with other vibrant flag colors such as red, orange, blue, and yellow. Yellow is a bright and attention-grabbing color. It is often associated with sunlight, happiness, and prosperity. Custom flags that prominently feature yellow can be quite vibrant.
Orange, White, & Black
Orange is a bold and vibrant color. It can symbolize energy, enthusiasm, and determination. Orange as a flag color can stand out due to its brightness. While not a color in the traditional sense, white is often used as a background or in combination with other colors in flags. It symbolizes purity, peace, and neutrality. When paired with bold flag colors, white can make a flag stand out. Black is less commonly used as a primary color in flags, but it can be visually appealing when combined with bright colors like orange, yellow, and green. It often represents strength, determination, and sometimes mourning or remembrance.
Red & Blue
Red is a popular flag color and is often associated with courage, sacrifice, and valor. It can be very bold, especially when paired with contrasting flag colors like white or yellow. Red also signals the mind to stop and look. Blue is another one of the most common flag colors and is often associated with peace, stability, and freedom. It can be particularly striking when combined with white or gold. Blue is one of the colors that helps bring a sense of calmness.
Purple & Combinations
Purple is not the most common color in flags, but it is often associated with royalty, nobility, and power. Flags that incorporate purple can stand out due to their uniqueness. Some customizable feather flags use a combination of several eye-catching flag colors, creating a colorful and visually appealing design. Examples include the rainbow flag, which represents LGBTQ+ pride, and the Pan-African flag with its red, black, and green stripes.
Choose Your Flag Colors Wisely: Designing for Your Environment
Consider what colors your competitors are using. While you want your flag to stand out, it’s also important not to clash with nearby signage or flags from other businesses. If your business is surrounded by open green fields, consider using flag colors that complement the natural green of the grass. The most common flag colors in complementary hues, like blue or purple, can create a visually pleasing contrast with the green backdrop. If your shop is in a desert environment, using bright and contrasting colors like red, yellow, and blue can work well.
Request Color Swatches Before You Order
If you need to request some flag color swatches, please click here. RGB and HEX colors are not accepted. Pantones are welcome, but we do not recommend blues that are high in magenta because they will come out purple instead of blue.
Click here to read more about color codes.
Pastel colors are not recommended because they fade quickly. Our double-sided feather flags allow you to use different colors on each side. And you will not be able to see the color of the other side through a double-sided feather flag.
Printing Tips: CMYK Over RGB
When it comes to choosing flag colors for your design, we recommend using CMYK codes. CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (black). It is a color model used in color printing, typically in the printing industry, to create a wide range of the most common flag colors by mixing these four primary ink colors. CMYK is the standard color model for color printing, as opposed to the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color model, which is used for electronic displays such as computer monitors and television screens.
Understanding CMYK
Cyan is a blue-green color. In CMYK, cyan is used as one of the primary ink colors. When cyan ink is applied to paper or other printing surfaces, it subtracts red from white light, making it appear cyan. Magenta is a pinkish-red color. In CMYK, magenta is another primary ink color. When magenta ink is applied, it subtracts green from white light, making it appear magenta.
Yellow is a primary color in the CMYK model. It subtracts blue from white light when applied in printing, resulting in a yellow appearance. The “K” in CMYK stands for “Key,” which originally referred to the black printing plate used in traditional printing. Black is added to the mix because it enhances the depth and darkness of flag colors, provides more detail, and helps produce true blacks in printed images. The “K” is used to avoid confusion with blue (B), which is used in other color models.
Standard FFN Color Codes
Our standard red would be CMYK code 0, 100, 85, 15. We can guarantee that the flag will come out red, not pink or orange. Our blue CMYK code is 100, 60, 0, 60, which is a navy blue. We can make blue darker or lighter by changing the value of K. For our standard black, we use CYMK code 24, 34, 40, 100. We usually need to include at least 10% black in all our darker colors, but for colors such as yellow, orange, and pink, we can print without the 10% K value. For all grays, we do not go lower than 20% in K value because you won’t be able to see the gray anymore.
Create Your Eye-Catching Custom Flags Today With Feather Flag Nation
Ultimately, what makes a flag eye-catching depends on individual preferences and cultural significance. It is also important to take the background colors of the atmosphere into consideration when installing the flag banner. For example, you don’t want to add a blue flag in front of a blue building. Flags often use a combination of the most common flag colors and symbols to express specific meanings and evoke emotions. The choice of flag colors can have different meanings but they can also be used to grab the attention of potential customers.
Start designing your custom feather flag today with Feather Flag Nation—where your visibility is our priority!