Work Uniform: Picking The Right Colour

When choosing uniforms an important factor to consider is what colour to go for. Colour can play a major role in the look of your uniforms and your overall company image. Below are our top 5 considerations when choosing your work uniform.

Work Uniform Colour: Some Pointers

1. What are your corporate colours? This is the first point to consider when deciding uniform colour. Remember, there are different ways to use colour – if you can’t source suits or shirts in your company colour, you can use custom ties or company scarves as a low cost way to get your brand across. Below are some less obvious but equally important considerations.
2.  Approachability vs. Authority.  Colour can play a big role on how approachable your staff appear. For example a pastel shade uniform can come across as more approachable to potential customers. Customer service staff need to regularly interact with the public and need to be approachable at all times. By using lighter shades this can appear more friendly and break down barriers. A direct comparison would be darker shades such as black and navy which can create a more of an “arms length” or authority look. This can be an advantage for the police and similar roles which benefit from  demonstrating an authoritative presence.
3. Do your staff’s job roles involve possible confrontation? If this is the case then darker shades as mentioned above are ideal to create an impression of authority. A study in Copenhagen reflects just this – by changing their uniforms from green to dark navy, attacks on parking attendants went down by 75%!
4. Casual vs. Professional. Colours can also differentiate work uniforms to appear either casual or professional. Warmer, lighter or more fashionable colours can appear more casual and even give a “cooler” corporate image; however smart casual is a tricky thing to pull off.  Alternatively darker shades such as navy, charcoal and pinstripes can create a more efficient, smart, professional image. This is something to consider as you will want your uniforms to reflect your company image.
5. Consider how your staff will feel in the new uniform colour – The choice of fluorescent pink shirts might have looked good on the drawing board, but are your male staff going to be comfortable in this new look?

Find Out More

I hope this has been useful and something to bear in mind when looking for a work uniform. For further information on this subject leave a comment! If you’d like to speak to one of our staff directly about your uniform, we’d be delighted to help you out. Just call 08450 666699.