Color plays a major role in brand identity and smart companies use color wisely to stand out in their market.

For many years dark blue dominated the financial services markets because of its associations with expertise and stability but with many companies using a similar color it was easy for the brands to become blurred.

In 2001 when H&R Block planned a new strategy to expand their services to include financial planning, investing and mortgages they needed an identity that would expand their already strong brand in the mind of their customers to include more than just tax preparation.  They also wanted their brand to stand out in the financial services market.

With the roll out of their new brand identity which included a bright green block next to the company name H&R Block was making a bold statement.  The clean symbol that represents their name along with the fresh color of green communicated a forward thinking brand to their worldwide market.

While dark green is often associated with money the brighter green might not have seemed the obvious choice because it is often more closely associated with the environment and health however it served to set H&R Block apart from the traditional blue and put the focus on their fresh approach to their customer's financial health.