The power of color red

1. Red is the color of sun, warmth, life. It calls for action and it has a provable effect on metabolism: it increases blood pressure and speeds up the pulse. Red has the longest wavelength in spectra which can be seen with human eye. If the wavelength is even longer, it can be sensed as a heat. In this case, it is called infrared.

2. The color red is the color of passion, seduction, and lust. Ever heard about red light districts?

Redheads were considered very special through all known human history. Women with red heads are considered more passionate, have more intimate partners and are in general more popular among men. Many ladies who colored their hair red reported after that simple act their life really changed and became more similar to this stereotype!

There was even a research in Germany made in 2006 which proved redheads have more sex than brunettes or blondes, but this stands only for ladies. Men with red hair were never popular...

One possible explanation is the rarity of the gene for red hair. Only one percent of the world population carries this gene. Men with this gene can look too risky to be considered as possible partners to women, but women with this gene can look like a trophy to men!

Do you know that many painters loved to paint redheads to the level of obsession?

Here are a few examples:

http://color-red.yolasite.com/red-hair-paintings.php

4. Red is extremely noticeable and thus very popular for logotypes. It is not a coincidence to find it as dominating color in so competitive and powerful brands as Coca-Cola or Marlboro.

Now think about their main competitors! A lot of red, right?

Color red doesn't only make you excited. It triggers hunger as well and it is very hard to find a food-oriented brand (to be honest Coca-Cola and Marlboro are power players in this industry too) without red in its logotype. Red is widely used as a food additive and it is almost a must in restaurants.

And talking about competition, we should not forget sports teams. You can find a lot of red here too!

5. Want to make a statement? Red is the most popular color on flags. 148 of 192 independent countries have red in their flag (white only 140). If we mix all flags together, red will again occupy the broadest area: more than 30 percent (blue being second in this category with only 21 percent).

Source of this statistics: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/xf-csts.html

6. When we see the color red, we know we have to be prepared for action. This is the color or war and all sorts of danger. On traffic signs, red is used for stop or prohibition. Beware!

There is a very simple reason why is red used on semaphores: because of its wavelength red light is seen from the longest distance and this can be very important if weather conditions (e.g. fog) are not ideal.

7. The color red is used to emphasize something. If we want to send an important message, we can surround the most crucial points with red color to draw special attention of the reader to them.

Making closing balance of certain business is also a very important task. Operating loss is usually colored red. For the situation when expenses exceed the income is usually said to be in red numbers.

This is not the only example of the symbolic meaning of red color. Red shoes, less known fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, is also telling about (our) responsibility and price which has to be payed to earn a position in society.

And not forget about the poisoned apple for another immature girl: Snow White. The fatal half was not red by coincidence.

The red color of fruit tells us (well, it really screams): I am ripe, I am ready to spread my genes, eat me!

This is the reason for the red color of cardinals' hats in the Catholic Church: they are the most mature men in the organization, so they and nobody else can elect a new Pope!

10. Red is associated with anger, hatred, revenge, and aggression. It is a color of revolution and changes. Changes are not always for better but we all live in the world where we can't escape them.

This is only one of many reasons red is and will be the most complex and controversial color of all!