ABOUT COLOUR: RED

About Red

Red is one of the three primary colours. It is located on the warm half of the colour wheel. It’s one of the colours that we see when we look at a flame. A fire truck is red. What a coincidence! Red excites the emotions which motivates us to take action. It is stimulating and lively. Red is associated with passion, seduction and lust. Is it any coincidence that the retail fashion stores fill their shops with red lingerie prior to Valentines Day or that Cupid is red?   Red is also associated with blood, danger, anger, aggression and war. When a person is angry their face appears reddish when it flushes with blood. Red is also associated with evil. The devil is usually represented with red skin. Red is the universal colour for stop and danger. Red triggers alertness and captures our attention. This is why we have red traffic lights, stop signs and red brake lights. Red also symbolizes strength, speed, determination, courage and socialism.  Red and pink (red plus white) is associated with “causes” like the awareness of breast cancer, AIDS and heart disease.

Red in Different Cultures

• In Eastern culture such as China red corresponds to good fortune and joy.   Red is found everywhere during Chinese New Year.
• In Indian culture it symbolizes purity, fertility, love, beauty, wealth, opulence and power.
• In Japan children visually represent the sun as a big red circle.
• If we research the meaning of colours and their importance to Native American Indians we would find that each colour holds a special sacred meaning and symbolism. This is according to the beliefs of the tribe and their purpose. The colour red used for face paint would mean something different than that used for war paint.
• In South Africa red is the colour of mourning.

The Theory of Red

• SCARLET: contains yellow making it a red-orange.   It is considered a warm red as opposed to a cool red which has blue in it. On the colour wheel it is considered an intermediate colour or tertiary color.   It is one of six of the tertiaries located on the colour wheel sandwiched between Orange and Red.
• CRIMSON: contains blue making it a bluish red. It is also referred to as a cool red. Even through reds are warm there colour temperature is relative to each other.

There are many variations of red depending on how warm or how cool the red is and what pigments were used to create the colour. There are few true reds meaning neither leaning towards warm or cool. Having said this don’t get confused because red is located on the warm side of the colour wheel.

Things Red

• Fruit: Cherries, strawberries, red delicious apples, cranberries, red pears, red grapes, pomegranates, rhubarb
• Vegetables: Red peppers, tomatoes, chili peppers, ketchup, beets, red potatoes, radishes
• Candy: Red smarties candy, candy canes, jelly beans
• Gems: Ruby, garnet, topaz, fire opal
• Flowers: Roses, tulips, geraniums, petunias, impatiens, poppies
• Animals: Red fox, red tabby cat, Irish Setter, Scottish deerhound, red crested cardinal, red panda, red squirrel, red kangaroo
• Other: fire, flame, nail polish, lipstick, lips, flags, cars, London telephone booth, London buses, Rudolph’s red nose, Santa Claus, red hair, red crayon, paint, hearts, valentine cards, cupid, Valentine’s Day, lingerie, ladybugs, tongue, ribbon, fire extinguisher, traffic lights, ambulance, leaves, wine, stop signs, fire trucks, fire hydrants, the Boston Red Sox, red sea stars, red moon, red velvet, and a red brick house

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