Seeing Red - How Red Is Used To Evoke Emotions
Red is one of the most influential colors in the spectrum
. While all colors conjure up emotions and feelings, very few colors can generate the wide range of emotions that red can. Red represents emotions from anger to love, and feelings from love to fire and heat. All designers should be mindful of the emotions they conjure as they may be creating feelings that counter the product they are trying to sell.
The color red in the world of advertising and entertainment very often has a purpose whenever it is being used. Understanding that purpose and more importantly, learning to exploit it, can be the difference in the level of success for your next ad campaign.
Red in Movies, Literature and American Culture:
Movie directors often use the color red to represent a dangerous character, prop or situation. Red is very often used in cinema to represent danger. One of the aspects of red that separates itself from the other colors in the spectrum, at least as far as psychology and evoking emotions are concerned, is that while the color red often signifies danger, it can also be used for love and sex appeal. From a red rose, to sexy, satin lingerie to our leading man driving a red sports car, red and sex go hand in hand.
The Danger Aspect
In the movie The Sixth Sense by writer and director M. Night Shyamalan, the color red was used throughout the movie in props and wardrobe to signify any dangerous, intense situation. Dangerous characters in red include Darth Maul from Star Wars Episode 1, Darkness from Legend (Tim Currys Devil character) and the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. Dangerous props in movie history include the red apple that Snow White eats, Little Red Riding Hoods cloak, and the Code Red beating of a soldier ordered by Lieutenant Kendrick in A Few Good Men, to name a few.
The Sex Aspect: The Lady in Red
Because this topic is so obvious, I am only going to address one single point in the red represents sex in modern culture argument, which Im calling, The Lady In Red. I am doing this because the lady in red can represent the sexual lead or the dangerous vixen, and in many cases, both.
When a leading woman is sexy, it is quite common at some point of the movie, she will be wearing a long, flowing red dress or gown, wearing red lipstick and red nails. If they want to pull all the punches and swim in the pool of clich, there may also be a red carpet, red curtain or red satin sheets. It is sometimes a red cherry and a perfect pair of red lips, it is sometimes a red strawberry in the Champaign glass, very simply, red equals sexy.
Now when that leading woman is in something red for the entire movie, where the red is her main outfit, her hair color, the car she drives, she is often cast as the bad girl, femme fatale, vamp, or vixen. This is where sexy meets danger. She is often the second most dangerous villain in the movie, and the right hand to the primary villain. One of my favorite movie examples is Basic Instinct. The leading villain was Catherine Tramell, plaid by Sharon Stone. Her right hand in this case was her girlfriend Roxy. Roxy was a redhead who was a bad girl and drove the red sports car, while the main villain, played by Stone, drove a black sports car.
The color red can evoke emotions like sin, guilt, pain, passion, blood, anger, love, sex, courage, warning and frustration. These emotions can be counterproductive to each other, meaning when you want sexy, you rarely want dangerous and vice versa. So be sure to be careful in how you use red when you design your next project. Carefully choose which hue and be mindful of the colors you use around it.
by: Matthew Necroto
The Digital Tv Switchover Is Coming To Your Area Popular Reasons For Wanting To Lose Weight Viewsonic Va2702w Opinions Find The Perfect Outfit For A Night Out On The Town How To Go About Booking An Event Managerial Expert For Your Event Requirements Get The Essentials For Your Winter Wardrobe A Gift To Make Your Pet Perfectly Happy This Christmas Cheap Car Rental Deals Driving Lessons Corby - Things Learner Drivers Must Know Driving Lessons Dunstable - About Practical Driving Test Electrician Repairs How You Can Decide On A Wonderful Hunting Rifle Scope Incredible Book Templates