The psychology of color in modern branding

The claims that do not hold

• "Blue means trust" describes a category convention, not a property of the wavelength.
• Meaning is learned, local and category-specific: white is weddings in one market and funerals in another.
• The same red is urgency on a sale badge and error on a form, on the same page.

What does hold

Distinctiveness within the category beats correctness in the abstract: the brand that is the only green one in a shelf of blue gets remembered. Contrast beats taste, because a palette nobody can read is not a palette. And restraint beats range -- one accent used consistently does more work than six used occasionally.

Build the palette backwards

Start from the pairings you need -- body on background, accent on background, text on accent -- and check every one for contrast before you fall in love with any of them. A palette that fails at that stage will fail in public later.

Distinctive beats correct. Being the only green one is worth more than being the right blue.

Brandora

Conclusion

Choose colour for difference and for legibility, then use it the same way for long enough that it becomes yours. That is the whole of the psychology that survives contact with a real audience.