If the color red is a person then he was probably viewed as a delinquent youth and the black sheep of his family. OK, that might be an over-stereotyping even in the realm of colors but why we dislike such a bold color and prefer subdued colors instead?

The answer lies in a century-old color association, a thousand years ago people recognize red as a nuclear threat. We tend to associate the color red with negative concepts such as danger and evil. It is like throwing accusations to an innocent person based on the judgment of appearance. Here are some of the stereotypes of concepts often being attached to the poor color red.

Red is the color of danger

You probably had an instant thought about a flashing red danger sign with sirens alarm in your mind while reading the phrase above. Why the hell we always associate red with danger? Why not give it to the color black instead? After all, black is the color of the unknown, unforeseen dangers, and foreboding. Ok, you probably tell me that it is because of the brightness of the color red but isn’t the colors orange and yellow bright too? Why not give this association to them? Probably because we also associate red with the element of fire but fire is neutral, so is money and death; we only see the destructive effects of fire than the true dangers of human error and carelessness.

Red is the color of the Devil

Ok, this is another association to the color red that is not fair. I mean, no one has seen an actual devil so why associate the color to the concept of evil? Besides, who invented the thought that a devil is red-skinned anyway? In fairness, the association to the devil is shared also with the color green. Again, who has seen an actual devil, let alone the color of its skin? In ancient times, the concepts in the Bible are also intertwined with the local folklore but I don’t think the association of the color red to evil isn’t one of them. I think evil doesn’t have a specific color, taste, sound, or feeling, evil is incorporeal. The tendency of human nature to act on wrong choices is the true evil. I think there is no devil, only abused substances that influences a person to act on evil tendencies.

Red is the color of violence and war

I think the reason we associate red with violence is that the color of the human blood is red. But if we associate red with blood then we should also point out that blood is also the liquid that gives us life, which makes the color red the symbol of life, but of course, that spot is already taken by the color green because of the nature stuff. If I propose an association of the color red to the human blood then it would be the color red as a color of humanity and vitality.

That and among other things that are too political and too deep to talk about here. The color red has its hands full of negative connotations, why not distribute them to other colors. Why not give danger to yellow since it is also a color that is too easy to recognize and besides, there are many poisonous and dangerous plants and animals that are color yellow. Also, why not give the sole credit of correlating the color of the Devil to the color green since it has too many positive connotations already. If there was a court hearing for the accusations of the color red I will probably testify on the stand as a witness of the color red’s innocence.

I think one of the reasons is that red is one of the primary colors and it is too easy to distinguish in nature because of its boldness and aggressiveness to the eye. According to the color physics, among the warm colors such as red, orange, and yellow, red is the one color that creates a visual arrest. But that physical effect renders its uniqueness.

Colors are as unique as people; they have qualities that set them apart from others. If only we can understand their characteristics only then we can fully recognize their purpose and uniqueness and instead of associating them with concepts that are in itself too vague. I think the color red is the color of energy and vitality and that makes it a truly remarkable color.