Brand colours · Hardware and IoT
Brand colours for hardware and IoT startups
A ready-to-use palette for a hardware and IoT brand, tested for contrast and shown on a real app screen, pitch deck and business card. Copy the hex codes, or use it to see what good looks like before you choose your own.
Meet the sample brand
To show the palette working, we built it for a fictional hardware and IoT company.
How it should feel
Hardware brands go grey and blue. On a retail shelf, every box looks the same. So Volta Labs goes a different way, using signal red as its signature and steel blue for the moments that matter.
Fonts: Archivo for headings, Inter for body text.
The palette
Four colours, each with one job. Click any swatch to copy its hex code.
Signal Red
#E5432D · RGB 229, 67, 45A sharp signal colour that works on a device LED and a box.
Steel Blue
#4A6A86 · RGB 74, 106, 134An industrial blue for the app and specs.
Gunmetal
#1E2226 · RGB 30, 34, 38Device-dark grey for product renders.
Aluminium
#EEF0F1 · RGB 238, 240, 241A brushed-metal light for spec sheets.
A good split: mostly light, dark for text, primary for key moments, accent sparingly.
The palette in use
Colours only prove themselves on real things. Here it is on the three places a hardware and IoT startup shows up first.
App screen
Pitch deck slide
Business card, front and back
Contrast check
Text must stay readable. We checked each pairing against the WCAG standard, where 4.5 to 1 passes for body text.
| Use | Sample | Ratio | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body text | Aa Volta Labs | 14.0 : 1 | Pass AA |
| Text on primary | Aa Volta Labs | 4.7 : 1 | Pass AA |
| Accent on dark | Aa Volta Labs | 2.8 : 1 | Avoid for text |
| Primary on light | Aa Volta Labs | 3.6 : 1 | Large text only |
| Light on dark | Aa Volta Labs | 14.0 : 1 | Pass AA |
What to know about colour in hardware and IoT
The palette is only a start. These are the traps we see most in this industry.
What the category already owns
Hardware brands go grey and blue. On a retail shelf, every box looks the same.
Avoid
- Colours that look different on the device, the box and the app.
- Using red for errors on the device and as the brand colour without a rule.
Check the palette on three surfaces at once: the device, the box and the app. Physical colour shifts a lot from screen.
Choose your own in four steps
Use the sample as a reference, then make it yours.
Write your positioning
Colour follows strategy. Know who you serve and how you want them to feel first.
Map the competition
Screenshot five hardware and IoT competitors and note the colours they own. Pick a lane nobody holds.
Build four colours
A primary, an accent, a dark and a light. Check contrast before anything else.
Test it on real things
Your app, a deck slide and the place customers meet you offline. Fix what fails.
Questions
What are good brand colours for a hardware and IoT startup?
Start from a primary that the category does not already own. Hardware brands go grey and blue. On a retail shelf, every box looks the same. The sample palette here uses Signal Red (#E5432D) as the primary with Steel Blue (#4A6A86) as the accent.
How many colours should a startup brand have?
Four is enough: a primary, an accent, a dark for text and a light for backgrounds. Use them roughly 60, 30 and 10 percent, with the accent the smallest share.
Can I use this palette for my own brand?
Yes, it is free to use as a starting point. Change at least the primary so it fits your positioning and stands apart from your competitors.
How does Astitva choose brand colours?
Astitva writes your brand strategy from a short brief, suggests a palette that fits it, checks the text contrast and then uses the same colours across your logo, brand book and pitch deck.
More for hardware and IoT founders
Every guide for this industry, in one place.
Get a palette made for your startup
Astitva writes your brand strategy from a short brief, picks colours that fit it, checks contrast, and uses them across your logo, brand book and pitch deck.
Start free with 50 credits