The Symbolism Of The Colour Red
Why Do Colours Have So Much Power?
When considering colours that hold a lot of power within society, red is a prominent character.
A discussion on the colour red will always lead to debate, as it provokes the most emotion in people.
What do you feel when you see red?
Love? Lust? Anger?
All of these feelings can be categorised as being quite sexual. Therefore, it is the perfect colour to open a discussion around sexuality and gender neutrality.
Red is a primary colour, which allows it to work as a good middle ground, and enable us to move forward from the stereotypical, gender assigned colours, pink and blue.
The colour red also upholds a lot of historical and cultural factors. It is quite significantly a symbol of luck and happiness within Chinese culture, and is often seen around Chinese New Year. Additionally, it is worn by brides, to reflect the importance and celebratory nature of the colour.
It is important for companies to take different cultures' viewpoints on colour into consideration, as every culture is different, the same way every gender is.
Whilst PiPPiCA is forward-thinking with their discussion on the colour red, society may not be. We quite commonly see what's referred to as the “red dress effect” being used as a clever form of advertisement, when really it's just another way to sexualise women.
But why the colour red ? Is it because it provokes strong emotions like lust? or is it placed in correlation with women as a way of referencing fertility?
This is why I feel we need brands like PiPPiCA, to change the narrative with these associations to the colour. To flip the conversation from sexualisation to sexuality.
A potential rebrand of the red dress effect, the red bag from PiPPiCA, could enable people to see the colour in relation to people promoting more important and accepting ideas.