The death of corporate blue: why standing out starts with colour

For years, navy blue was the corporate equivalent of a firm handshake. According to a study of more than 15,000 logos by Byander, midnight blue was the leading non-white shade across financial services, energy, healthcare, utilities and basic materials. 

Blue became the safe choice for good reason. Brand personality research links blue to competence, a trait that can help a brand feel trustworthy.

More business is happening on screen, where brands have seconds to be noticed and remembered. Looking credible still matters, but blending in doesn’t help. So data centers, workplace platforms and global banks are reaching beyond the usual corporate blues, using bolder shades to show that serious business doesn’t have to look so serious.

Key takeaways

• Blue can still communicate competence, but it isn’t the only route to trust.
• Bold colours can help brands stand out online, especially when the choice is rooted in the brand.
• Repeating a palette across screens, print and products turns colour into a recognisable brand asset.

Six brands turning up the colour

Meet the companies proving authority comes in more than one shade.

1. Centersquare: server-room brights

When data center operator Centersquare rebuilt its identity, their design agency skipped the usual infrastructure blues and looked inside the server room instead. Colour-coded cables and labels inspired a precise, vibrant palette. Because the colours come from the technology itself, the identity feels vivid without losing credibility. 

2. Slack: work in full colour

Slack’s identity might look playful, but it runs a tight ship. Pentagram reduced the original 11 colours to four, kept its recognisable aubergine, and made the system easier to use across screens. The brighter palette makes workplace software feel friendlier and more collaborative.

3. Klarna: a bolder way to pay

For a digital payments brand, Klarna’s bold pink choice is pretty scroll-stopping. Its now-iconic shade is balanced with black and off-white, then repeated everywhere from checkout buttons to billboards. Offbeat in the very best way. 

4. Mailchimp: yellow with authority

Mailchimp made Cavendish Yellow its hero colour and paired it with black, wobbly type, and offbeat illustration. The black keeps the yellow grounded, while the illustrations make the brand feel creative and approachable. That colour mix helped Mailchimp keep its small-business spirit while speaking with more authority to bigger customers.

5. Wise Platform: finance gets the green light

This brand went all in on vibrant green. It then evolved the system for Wise Platform, its B2B arm for banks and large enterprises. While green already signals money and progress, turning up the brightness makes those familiar associations feel faster and more modern.

6. HSBC: rewriting the rules of red

Red is associated with danger, warning signs and heightened attention, making it a bold choice for a bank. In 2026, that distinctiveness inspired The Only Red, a D&AD New Blood concept imagining HSBC Red as a Pantone shade. HSBC has used red so consistently that it feels less like a warning and more like a signature. The concept shows what happens when a brand gives a colour its own meaning.

Take your colours off-screen

Your brand palette has done enough sitting in a hex code. Put it to work across your Business Cards, packaging, event materials, and office essentials so every part of your brand feels connected.

Just remember: screens and paper don’t always show colour the same way. Test combinations in print, check contrast, and make sure the important bits are still easy to read. 

With Printfinity, you can print up to 50 different designs in one pack of Business Cards at no extra cost. Try every colour in your palette, create different cards for different teams, or turn each one into a tiny piece of your brand story.

Bring on the bright stuff

MOO Business Services can help turn your palette into Notebooks, Branded Merchandise, and a full company-wide print toolkit. The MOO team can help with design, templates, and artwork checks, while the platform makes ordering easier across your business. So you can get on with standing out.