Red grabs your attention. It’s a color that makes you stop, feel something deeply, or crave a bite of your favorite comfort food.
In short, it’s bold, powerful, and impossible to ignore.
But why? Let’s find out by decoding the color psychology of red and how you can cleverly incorporate it into your branding identity.
Let’s dive in.
Red Color Psychology Breakdown
- Red Color Psychology Meaning
- Impact of Red Color Psychology on Human Minds
- How Famous Brands Use Red?
- Best Color Combinations of Red
Red Color Psychology Meaning
Red is one of the first colors people ever used. Historically, it was associated with rituals, war, and great movements. Today, you’ll spot it in popular brands.
Why? Because red grabs attention fast and sticks in your memory.
The color is full of emotions. It can mean love, passion, excitement, or even danger and urgency. Each shade affects the human mind differently. But, in branding, even a small change in shade can affect your brand messaging.
For example, bright red looks bold and confident, and a deeper tone feels more intense and formal. While pure red balances out both the shades. This means you’ve to look at how the particular shade influences your target consumers before using it.
Impact of Red Color Psychology on Human Minds
Like every coin has two sides, the color psychology of red also affects your mind in more than one way. So let’s discuss some of its positive and negative impacts.
Positive Impact
You can spot red from anywhere, all thanks to its highest wavelength. It’s also packed with energy and excitement. Some of its shades, like scarlet, communicate deep emotions like love, romance, and intimacy.
This color also has a psychological link in stimulating an appetite. It can make people hungry, which is why it is often used in food branding, menu design, and restaurant logos.
It evokes strong emotions like power and confidence. You might have seen an ad that shows the moment a woman wears red lipstick, she becomes more self-reliant, ready to take charge.
You can also use it for your brand to create a quick, powerful statement at first glance.
Negative Impact
Sometimes, too much red can become overwhelming. The color can suggest warning, danger, or prohibition. It can also trigger feelings of alarm and discomfort. For example, red used in general office notices can be misinterpreted as a warning. It will result in unnecessary stress and confusion among employees.
Balance is the key to making it look less overwhelming. Try using different shades and colors with it to make your brand visually appealing. Tools like Color Contrast Checker can be useful.
How Famous Brands Use Red?
Let’s look into how some of our favourite brands have painted their branding assets red to turn heads.
1. H&M
The H&M (a fashion brand) uses bold red in the H and M in the logo. These letters highlight the Swedish words for her and him (Hennes & Mauritz). The brand applies it consistently in stores, sale signs, and packaging design. This shows you can go all red with your brands for a minimal yet striking look.
2. Colgate
Colgate (a very popular toothpaste brand) has kept a red background with white text in the logo. This color is used as its signature color to reflect the brand’s values of care, inclusiveness, and courage. The palette works well here. It emphasizes the importance of dental health.
3. Wendy’s
Wendy’s is a well-known restaurant chain that uses red as a central element. Of course, it’s because the color has a psychological connection with appetite. Plus, the shade of the girl’s hair makes the character pop out. It makes her approachable and relatable, especially to families and children. They have also used red accents in interiors to reinforce brand identity.
Image courtesy of The Wendy’s Company
4. Stanford University
You’ll also find the red color in famous educational universities like Stanford. It has made deep cardinal red its official hue. It aligns with the institution’s values, legacy, and academic strength. The hue is paired with grey for a better contrast. This reinforces the university’s identity as a place of clarity, discipline, and innovation.
5. Hilton Garden Inn
The shade used in Hilton Garden Inn’s logo is not just some random pick. It plays a meaningful role in shaping the purpose of the hotel. The logo has a red background with a geometric flower. The design links the brand with warmth and a homely feel, needed in the hospitality industry.
Source: Hilton Garden Inn
Best Color Combinations of Red
Red is an excellent choice for your brand. You can pair it with other colors to achieve a well-balanced design. So, we’ve listed the three common ways to experiment with.
Complementary
These lie opposite to each other in a traditional color wheel. For example,
Red + Green
Red and green strongly contrast with each other. You’ve to balance both of them carefully, just like Heinkein (a Dutch beer company). You can identify it by the green bottle and a prominent, flashy red star. The brand chose green to stand out from competitors (beer companies mostly use brown in their bottles). The company has balanced it by red on the icon. They have used it in their packaging, too.
Source: Heinkein
Retail companies like Lacoste have also similarly used this duo in their iconic crocodile with a gaping mouth.
Analogous
Analogous colors are placed next to each other. Visually, they create a cohesive look. For example,
Red + Orange
Master Card’s interlocked red and orange circles represent their core values. It is an excellent example of color symbolism and storytelling. The brand merges the two spheres to interconnect approachability with action (to purchase their service) and partnership (bond between the customer and the company). It’s suitable for fintechs, education-based organizations, and the fashion industry.
Red + Purple
These colors make a unique combo. One reflects passion and energy, and the other a touch of mystery and luxury. When you use them together, they evoke powerful emotions like royalty, rebellion, and romance. The palette can work well in your gradients and layered visuals. You can also create a transition from red to purple, keeping the contrast low for red and high for purple and vice-versa.
Triadic
They form an equidistant spacing using three colors. If executed correctly, it can create an impactful branding experience. For example,
Red + Blue + Yellow
You can also try out the above trio for branding. All of them are primary colors on the RYB color wheel. So, pick one of them as your base, the other two for supporting and adding accents. For example, blue is a color of trust; you can use it as the dominant color, red for bold elements, and since yellow color psychology is linked to optimism, you can use it for highlights or call-to-action.
If they feel too loud, you can soften it with neutral tones, with white, grey, or black. You can even rely on tools like Khroma or Coolors for that perfect pairing.
Summing Up: Red Color Psychology
The psychology of red shapes a brand’s purpose and adds an extraordinary touch. You can make it more impactful by referring to the above information.
Curious to add red to your branding? We can help! Just sign up for our unlimited graphic design services and let us create a bold, attention-grabbing identity that stands out.
