Red is one of the most conflicting emotional colours as it represents both passion and danger. But with such contrasting elements, how do you know whether you Should use Red as your Branding Colour?

We have developed a three-part system that, takes a deep dive into Red’s meaning, varieties and how to use this information in your branding.

Are you ready for Red? Let’s go.

Before we start – missed a part of our Branding Colour Series? Catch up below.

• 1. Should you use Blue as your Branding Colour?
• 2. Should you use Red as your Branding Colour? (this is the blog you’re reading)
• 3. Should you use Yellow as your Branding Colour?
• 4. Should you use Green as your Branding Colour?
• 5. Should you use Pink as your Branding Colour?
• 6. Should you use Orange as your Branding Colour?
• 7. Should you use Purple as your Branding Colour?
• 8. Should you use Grey as your Branding Colour?
• 9. Should you use White as your Branding Colour?
• 10. Should you use Black as your Branding Colour?
• 11. Should you use Beige as your Branding Colour?
• 12. Should you use Brown as your Branding Colour?

Want to start using Red as your Branding Colour now?
Download our FREE Guide

Here’s What We’ll Cover

MEANING OF RED
The Psychological Meaning of Red
Meaning of Red to you
Red in Business

VARIETIES OF RED
Candy Apple Red to Rosewood, we share our favourite Reds
Red & The Colour Wheel
Colours that go with Red

RED IN BRANDING
Matching to the Tone of your Business
Picking the Perfect Palette with Red
When not to use Red in your Branding

Should you use Red as your Branding Colour?
1. Meaning of Red

The Psychological Meaning

Red, according to a survey conducted by YouGov is considered the second most popular colour in the world. (Sorry Red, Blue won number 1!).

The reason behind this could be that you would be hard-pressed not to encounter seeing red every day. It’s in some of our favourite foods, from pizza to strawberries. Then to the brake light on your car as you come to a halt at the red traffic light.

But when it comes to discovering the psychological meaning of Red, it varies from feelings of danger, love, anger, passion, desire and power.

All of this may seem a little contradictory. But we believe it is based more on the shade of Red, rather than the colour itself.

To make it a little easier, we’ve created an icon guide below and broken it into Light, Bright and Dark Red.

Original unedited icons from the Noun Project

Light Red Meaning

Bright Red Meaning

Dark Red Meaning

Want a Red Branded Website?

Meaning of Red to You

If I asked you “Do you like Red?” how would you answer? Is it one of your favourite colours or is too bold and daring for you?

Any experiences or memories you’ve had with Red will help determine how you feel about it.

Maybe it reminds you of the joy of Christmas or love, or that your favourite sporting team wears it. In this case, you’re probably a fan.

We work with a lot of personal brands and, if you’re one too, you need to find the balance between the colours you like and the ones that will attract your ideal audience.

Look at the icons above and pick which words sum up the way you feel about Red or the way you want your business to be perceived. This will be a great indication of the shade of Red that’s right for you.

Colour Clues

Every colour makes us feel a certain way. Colour Clues will help you discover new ideas about colours you may have never thought about using in your branding.

Maybe you have a perfect shade of red lipstick that you love or have introduced a pop of red in your decoration these are, all Colour Clues to determine how you feel about colour.

Would your ideal client like Red, how would it make them feel?

In Part 1 of our Colour Guide series “How (& where) to pick the perfect colours for your brand.” we explain everything about Colour Clues. Click here to download it – it will be super helpful.

Red in Business

In the corporate world, red is everywhere. From sale signs to online buy now buttons, from walking the red carpet to drinking your favourite soft drink.

Red is also often used in corporate branding to create excitement, grab our attention and (possibly) make us feel hungry! Considering all this, that’s why travel, media, and food and beverage industries favour red in their branding.

All photos used in this section are from Unsplash.

Airline Travel
According to APEX – The Airline Passenger Experience Association, in airline travel, Red ties as a favourite with Australia/Oceania. In travel, red branding represents adventure, boldness and strength.

Below are a few red branding examples.
Qantas
Air Tahiti
Virgin Australia
And across the world, Red comes in a close second at 28.2% to Blue at 31.6% as the most popular colour. (Sorry Red, Blue did it again!)

Media
Favoured by various media outlets, using red in their branding grabs our attention, and creates energy, excitement and urgency.
Youtube’s red logo even represents the action to press play now!

Below are a few red branding examples.
CNN
ESPN
YouTube
Netflix

Food and Beverage
Why food and beverages favour red in their branding varies from:

• Making us stop and pay attention to them
• To create excitement
• Nostalgia emotional feelings
• The belief that Red makes us feel hungry

However, Business Insider challenges the hungry theory – It’s more likely that the colour has just become synonymous with fast food over time, perpetuating the idea that red makes you hungry.

Below are a few red branding examples.
McDonald’s
KFC
Coca Cola
Pizza Hut

Should you use Red as your Branding Colour?
2. Varieties of Red

Candy Apple Red to Rosewood, we share our favourite Reds

Red is both a WARM & Primary colour. Along with the other two primary colours, (Blue & Yellow), they make up every available colour. Other colours, however, can’t be mixed to make Red.

Many varieties of Red may look similar to each other but have different names. From light to dark Red we’ve compiled a cheat sheet of our favourites below (and included a few you may have never heard of!).

And to make it easy, we added the hex numbers. So you can start using them in your branding today.

Press play on the image below or get all the colour breakdowns in our FREE Guide.

Insider Tips

Tints of Red = Lighter varieties reflect the fun and youthful audience. It feels more approachable and friendly.

Shades of Red = Darker varieties attract a more mature audience. If your business is more traditional, a deeper red such as Burgundy or Cherry is a safer option.

Red & The Colour Wheel

Have you ever wondered how designers “just seem to know” what colours go together? Here’s their secret, they use the Colour Wheel.
There are 12 hues (colours) on the wheel and consist of the:
1. Primary
2. Secondary
3. Tertiary
In this post, we’re focussing on Red which, which is a Primary Colour.

Want Your Own Colour Wheel? Get it now in our FREE Guide

Red & Monochromatic

Red & Complimentary Colours

Insider Tip

Use the complimentary colour green in small amounts so it becomes more of a pop of added colour or an accent.

To avoid them overpowering each other (or looking “too Christmasy”), mix in tints, tones and shades. If you made the Green a lighter shade, it would fade back allowing, the Red to come forward.

Red & Analogous Colours

Red & Split Complimentary Colours

Insider Tip

This time, we’re going to do the opposite of what we did with the complementary colour palette and the MAIN colour Red would be used as the Accent.

Colours that go with Red

Red always stands out and needs to be heard. From a flashing red siren on a red fire truck to a red stop sign and traffic light that demands you halt.

You would think mixing it with other colours would be too hard to control, but that’s not the case. Let’s see who Red can work well with.

Blending Reds

As discussed earlier, a monochromatic palette refers to using one colour.
We love combining Red with Red because not only does it elevate the look, but the multiple shades of Red create harmony together.

Try adding Light and Dark variations together.
The lighter shade will soften, while the darker one will be the highlight.

For an unexpected Neutral, Red + Camel rather than Red + White or Black can help elevate the look and make it feel expensive.

Red Colour Combinations

Want more Red colour combination ideas? Click the image below.

Should you use Red as your Branding Colour?
3. Red in Branding

Matching to the Tone of Your Business

Whether your business is traditional or modern Red can work for you.

If you’re leaning towards traditional, avoid bright reds and go for darker tones such as Burgundy, Rosewood or Wine.

A modern style business can make a statement using bright Fire-Engine Red mixed with light tones such as Pink or Magenta.

If using red this way feels too much, try using it as an accent colour.
A red CTA button on your website will demand attention and, your customers will know exactly what they need to do.

As discussed earlier, we break Red into three options, light, bright and dark. Use this as a guide to help you pick the right shade of red for your branding.

For a visual reference of the list below, Click Here.

Light Red
Calming, compassion, creativity, enthusiasm, excitement, femininity, friendship, fun, joy, kindness, love, nurturing, playful, romantic, and sweet.

Bright Red
Adventurous, alert, brave, cheerful, confident, determined, dramatic, hot, leadership, lively, passionate, rebellious, status, strength, vitals.

Dark Red
Ambition, commitment, courage, energy, expense, individuality, loyalty, luxury, maturity, relaxation, refined, serious, sophisticated, thoughtful, and warmth.

Picking the Perfect Palette with Red

Our 5-step Perfect Palette Process

When choosing a Branding Colour Palette, we always follow this process.
Prefer a download version? Find it in our free guide.

Step 1
Pick the Main Brand Colour

This is the type of Red you have chosen, is it light, bright or dark?

Step 2
Pick a Support Brand Colour

This colour creates harmony with the MAIN. Use the tips from Red & The Colour Wheel and the Colours that go with Red to help you decide.

Step 3
Pick a Light Neutral Brand Colour

This is for balance.
Not sure which one to pick? Download our guide below and go to page 16.

Step 4
Pick a Dark Neutral Brand Colour

Again this helps create balance.
Our guide will explain how to do this, download and head to page 16.

Step 5
Pick an Accent Colour

Used this sparingly to make something on your website pop.
This time head to page 22 of our free guide.

Web and Print Branding

Once you have picked the right Red for your business, add the hex code to your website.

View how it looks on both desktop and mobile. To create consistency only, use the one hex code number to ensure the Red you chose is always the correct shade.

For print, instead of a hex code, you will need the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black) or Pantone, colour breakdown to ensure the Red will print out the way you want.

When not to use Red in your Branding

What’s your industry?

One of the common emotions people associate red with is danger, warning or fear. If your business is a medical speciality, such as a dentist, avoid red in your branding as it could be associated with pain (and blood!) and, that’s the last thing you want your patient feeling.

Red Branding and your website

Using complete blocks of red on your website could be jarring to your viewer’s eyes, and make it hard to read. From this, the viewer may suffer a bad user experience of frustration and aggravation.

Instead, use it as an accent colour and try shades, tints or tones of red to soften the effect and introduce other colours for overall balance. And, using it as a CTA (Call to Action) button always grabs your viewer’s attention.

Red Colour Combinations

Some colour combinations are so iconic, that it’s hard not to think of the original brand or event associated with it.

Red and Green
If not used correctly, this colour combination may appear more Christmasy than you like. You can prevent this by introducing tints, tones and shades to create a balance between the two.

Red and Yellow
This colour combination is very popular with major fast-food outlets. It has become so familiar to us that customers may question why you’re trying to look like McDonald’s!

To avoid this, use different varieties, shades, tints and tones of Red and Yellow.

You Did it!

That’s a wrap on Should you use Red as your Branding Colour?

How do you feel about Red now? Have we changed your mind and you’re ready to join Team Red? Let us know. And in the meantime, follow us on Pinterest for more blog posts like this.

Where to now?

1. Download Where (& how) to pick the perfect colours for your brand
2. Want to try Blue as your Branding Colour? Visit Here.
3. Don’t miss out on our latest addition Year at a Glance Wall Calendar

Don’t forget to download our FREE Colour Guide.

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