A few days ago, Paul wrote about the importance of color in the design of a logo. (You can read his thoughts, here.) Color affects everything in a design from how you see an image to how you feel about what you see. Color also adds meaning to a design, so it’s a good idea to keep in mind what colors represent when you use them in a logo.

Take the color red for example. Like most colors, red is associated with both positive and negative ideas. Some of the positive: courage, leadership, vigor, power, energy, heat, strength, passion, romance, and love. Some of the negative: danger, war, malice, rage, anger, sex (the illicit kind), communism, and blood.

Red is very effective at calling attention to itself, which is why it is used on stop signs and traffic signals. It is also used in neon signs and “click here” web buttons for the same reason—it is easily noticed and gets your attention. As Paul mentioned in his post, red brings text and imagery into the foreground of a design.

Because it is so emotionally intense, red has an impact on metabolism. It can raise blood pressure and quicken respiration (hence the term, seeing red). Scientists have actually demonstrated that red can increase appetite (so many restaurants use red in their decor and menus).

Because of it’s instant visibility, red is used effectively by dozens of brands, including Coca-cola, Marriott, Virgin, Johnson & Johnson, Marlboro, Target, Marvel, and Avis. Many fast food brands use the color red, either as the main color or in support: Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Five Guys, Burger King, Jack in the Box, KFC, Denny’s, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, In ‘N Out, and on and on. Other easily recognizable brands that use red: Hanes, DHL, Nestle, ESPN, STP, Lego, Toro, Honda (small engines), Colgate, KitKat, and Firestone. No doubt you could add dozens more.

Should you use red in your logo? The answer really depends on the feelings and thoughts you want to invoke when customers see your product or service. Can you describe your product as energetic, powerful, strong, passionate, or hot? Is your product sexy? Is it a medical or food product? Is your competition using colors other than red? If the answer is yes, than red is probably a good place to start.

Here’s one of my favorite red logos from our logo design gallery:

This entry was posted on Monday, May 3rd, 2010 at 4:43 pm and is filed under Color Theory, Logo Design 101. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.