Fading Colors Are Slowly Becoming 'Sign' of Times in Raleigh

National chains spend money in developing their look. Pizza Hut is known for its red and white colors while Subway is known for its bright yellow color. But in the Triangle, those images are slowly fading.

Haddon Clark, general manager of Creedmoor Crossings Exxon Car Care Center, frowns on a Raleigh rule that left his business logo with barely any color at all.

"All the marketing money that goes in the imaging that Exxon does, they spend a lot to image the red, white and blue," Clark says. "For us not to use it, you lose out a little bit."

Kentucky Fried Chicken's logo is one of the best recognized symbols in the world with its red and white colors. However, the KFC restaurant on Capital Boulevard is blue and white. Fred Fryman, KFC marketing director, says the unique colors are driving his business away.

"If we had to spend $20,000 to redo the color scheme of the restaurant, it would pay that no problem multifold, probably within a year," Fryman says.

George Chapman, Raleigh planning director, says the color rules improve the overall appearance of the city and helps maintain property values. Shopping plazas can use a maximum of four colors

"I have yet to see business going out of business in Raleigh because of these regulations," Chapman says. "What we are trying to do here is not to redo the ability to have creativity or individual expression, but to have it within some kind of framework that provides some unity to the development."

The color rules are becoming more popular in cities and towns across North Carolina and the entire country. Small towns like Cary and Apex have color ordinaces as well as larger cities like Raleigh and Charlotte.