I have long been fascinated with the science, history and psychology of colour. It's something that plays a huge part in all our lives. So I thought it would be nice to share my fascination with you! 

I hope you enjoy reading, and if you like what you see, please give it a share. :-)

red is the colour of...

red: wavelength: 620–740 (nanometres)

Aside from black and white, red was the first colour that our ancestors picked up and added to their natural paintbox. Red paint has been found adorning ancient cave walls from South Africa to Europe, Asia to the US. This early paint was created by grinding up ochre, a clay substance, coloured red by iron oxide, to create a pigment that could then be mixed with water or egg. Aside from interior decoration, it was also used around 170,000 years ago to adorn the bodies of our ancestors, using the colour of blood to signify life and death. It seems red sits somewhere between the veil of this world and the afterlife.

Red is probably the most manipulative colour in the spectrum! It's used to great effect to signify danger or aggression, passion and dominance. Many other mammals are unable to distinguish between red and green, but it seems the human retina, has evolved over many millennia, to be able to pick out the differences between these two colours. This was an important evolutionary step for our ape-like ancestors, as it meant we could pick out the ripe fruits from the green foliage, something many animals struggle to do by sight alone. Once we had evolved this newer perception of red, it allowed apes that were slowly evolving into what would become human, to use the perception of red as a signalling tool for mating and to display dominance. If you think of how baboons and mandrills use red today, they flush their faces and rears with blood to appear bright red to signify their position within their society, as well as when mating, the redder one individual appears the fitter and more suitable a mate they are. Even in humans, we flush our skin when we are angry or aroused, which act as a visual clue about how we should be approached.

In 2004 scientists decided to test the theory that red signifies dominance and aggression. They tracked a group of athletes in taekwondo and boxing, half were made to wear red shorts, tops and gloves, and the other half made to wear blue. They found that those wearing red were about 5% more likely to win their bouts than those wearing blue. The reason for this may be a psychological and physiological one. It seems people who wear red feel confident and dominant, they also have higher testosterone levels and higher heart rates, it also maybe because we as humans are conditioned to see red as a fear signifier, and so make us hesitate at crucial times.

A brief history of red

Since pre-history, red has been the colour of survival. Whether it's showing desire, anger, ripe fruits or sexual arousal, it's been used to help us navigate the world, to survive and thrive. Red has been a colour used for thousands of years to colour our world and wardrobe. Red haematite powder has been found in caves near Beijing that had been used to paint the walls and bodies of people as early as 700,000 years ago! 

For thousands of years, the dye known as madder, from the Rubia plant, had been used to dye the clothes of the wealthy, as well as other natural red dyes, such as kermes. Kermes was made by crushing the bodies of tiny insects that live on specific plants throughout Europe and Asia. A close relative of the Kermes insect, Cochineal, which lives on prickly pear cacti, found in America, was also used as a dye.

There's mention in the bible of this dye of crushed insects, in the book of Exodus, God tells Moses to " bring him an offering of cloth of "blue and purple and scarlet" In the 4th century, the term used for scarlet was "coccumque bis tinctum" which means " coloured twice with coccus". Cochineal is still used today within the food industry, especially in fizzy drinks and sweets, but known more readily as the food additive E120!

In ancient Egypt, red has an association with life, health, vigour and victory, but it also had an association with destruction and evil. Red ochre was widely used in paintings on tomb walls, especially for the depiction of the skin of men.

In China, it was used to decorate pottery as early as 5000-3000BC, whilst in the ancient tombs of Mayan royalty, skeletons have been found covered head to toe in a vivid red pigment powder derived from cinnabar, which is the bright scarlet form of mercury sulphide, the source of the pigment known as vermillion. 

The psychology of REd, and using it in business

Red is highly symbolic in all cultures of the world and to all genders. It's an action colour, a colour that should be taken notice of, and never ignored. Red symbolises passion, energy, excitement, warmth and urgency. It's also symbolic of love and lust. It's a powerf hunger stimulant, which when exposed to physically makes the stomach start producing acids that make you feel hungry, which is why many of the fast food companies use red in their branding! But used too much and it increases feelings of aggression and anger. It raises the heart rate, blood pressure and testosterone and can increase feelings of anxiety, so should be used with caution.

Red encourages us to take risks and is known internationally as the "buying colour" which is possibly why we seem to associate it with sale signs and other offers.

Red is a great colour for a CALL-TO-ACTION button on websites, as in tests, it was found that there was a 21% increase in clicks when using red CTA buttons.

In summary, red is a great colour to use to grab attention, and to get your customers to buy, but should be used with a degree of care as too much can have some quite dramatic effects.

Colour can be used to achieve some amazing results for your business. If you would like us to look at your brand, or see how we can use colour to create powerful branding for you, get in touch.

I hope you enjoyed reading. Please look out for our next post in the "Magic Of Colour" series. If you like what you've read here, please feel free to share on social media.

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog. :-)


Shaun Pritchard - Owntwo Creative

.