Colour Theory And How Artists Use It To Their Advantage

Oftentimes, colour theory can be found in some pretty “odd” places. For example, the music industry. Color theory and music overlap all the time, especially with branding and designs. Many artists try to associate themselves with a distinct color to ensure their spot in pop culture history. Let's dive in and look at some examples of colors in fashion and music!

In 2024, Ashton Irwin released his second studio album Blood On The Drums. This album, as well as its photoshoots and promo, all followed along one specific color. Red. The album is Irwin's most successful at the moment, and often the album people think of first when they think of him. With how much red is involved in the album, it’s no shock that people associate the color with him and the work. Ashton Irwin was able to make red his signature color, all through just one album.

During the entire Ziggy Stardust era, David Bowie basically owned the color orange. The Ziggy Stardust era took place between 1972 to 1973. During this era, Bowie took on the persona of an alien rockstar, one with the name Ziggy Stardust. This entire era of Ziggy Stardust featured mainly various shades of orange. The album itself made Bowie a household name in every country, and broke a multitude of records. The era of David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust helped pave the way for him, and helped him become as monumental as he is today.

Throughout the entire The Secret Of Us era, Gracie Abrams has claimed the color yellow. The color sticks out clearly on her The Secret Of Us album cover, as well as in her merch, promo, and tour setting. Gracie Abrams was able to take a color that isn’t very appreciated in the music industry and make it truly her own just through a font color. Her ability to do that is something that neither fans nor the general public will ever miss.

From July 2019 to January 2021, Billie Eilish had one of her most iconic hairstyles– the green hair. Since then, Eilish has only changed her hair a few times. It was during this green haired era though that she started to get more recognition. She wore a lot of green around this time too– making her often get associated with the color. This hair era is definitely known as one of the most iconic celebrity hairstyles we’ve seen in the past few years.

Luke Hemmings, especially in his most recent music era, has been known for his blue aesthetic. Starting with his most recent album cover, Hemmings has made it abundantly clear that blue is going to be his color. Pairing it with a sad record titled Boy was one of the best color choices for an album in the past few years. Hemmings took the blue and ran with it, using it for every bit of promotion and featuring the color in a majority of his merch. Luke Hemmings has made it known, he’s blue.

Olivia Rodrigo who debuted her first album, Sour, in 2021 immediately came out with a very purple aesthetic. All of her merch featured the color purple at least once, and it really became known as her color following the album's release. Continuing on, Olivia kept this theme up for her second studio album, Guts. The shade may be darker, but it’s still purple, no less. A majority of Rodrigo’s looks feature the color one way or another. Choosing the color purple could’ve been done for many reasons, one being how it’s both youthful, but somber at times. A lot of her music shares similar adjectives. This color helps separate her from everyone else. She definitely has claimed the color for herself. 

During the Thank U, Next era, Ariana Grande solidified her spot as a pink artist. The Thank U, Next era began in November of 2018 with her famous single, the title track, “Thank U, Next”. This album was very clearly pink from the start, and it was abundantly clear as it continued on. Everything that involved Ariana involved pink. This music era was very significant to pop culture. It still is very popular amongst Ariana Grande fans, and often one of the first albums and color that casual listeners think of.

Another artist that follows specific colors is Sabrina Carpenter. Sabrina Carpenter is often associated with soft, pastel colors– primarily pink, blue, and yellow. During her Short N Sweet era, Sabrina made the switch to the full girly, frilly, pastel aesthetic. On the Short N Sweet Tour, she’s worn primarily pastel outfits, keeping it soft and colorful on the eyes. She tends to lean into the lighter blues, but it’s very possible that could change with her upcoming album “Man’s Best Friend”, out August 29th. Right now though, we see Sabrina stunning in her pastels, living the pop princess dream.

Overall, color has always been very influential for artists and branding. When fans can notice these colors, and immediately associate it with a certain artist, it can do wonders. Colours theory can be studied and found anywhere, even in the music industry.