Our brains are hard wired to respond to red. Evolutionary psychologists explain this by pointing out that in the time before writing, when our brains were developing, if you saw that color, something was happening that was worth your attention. You could be leaking blood, something might be trying to eat you with its mouth open, delicious meat was that color, your loincloth might be on fire, those brightly colored berries might kill you, etc. It became a signal for us to live longer, stronger and healthier lives. We relied on it to tell us what we needed to know and over time began to depend on it. Because your reptile brain learned these things, we still fixate on the color today.
At Danger Press, after black and white, red is far and away the most requested ink color by our clients. It's so common, it's cliche. For fun, ask a graphic designer to make something redder and bigger, sit back and watch them regret being born.
There are many screen prints around that are just red and black. Constructivist prints are almost all this color. There are many modern artists/designers that copy these guys in an attempt to ride their coattails through pop culture, but with their own twist because they're rebels. Except for the using red part, nothing is more rebellious than a red screen print.
Think about all the most popular brands in America for example. Most of them use it in their packaging, advertising and commercials. It's an easy way for companies to flip the switch they know is in your brain to make you pay attention to their product as if your life depended on it, like it did when we lived in caves and ate anything that moved, which was probably a better nutrition choice that what seeing red will lead you to today.
When your brain sees something close to that color it responds like that dog in the Beggin' strips commercial. "Is that red? It is! Red!" It's not. Your brain wants its fix and lies to you to get it. For example:
* Red onions: Not red. That color is called purple.
* Redheads: Their hair is orange or brown. Your brain thinks rhymes are fun.
* Red foxes/pandas/squirrels/kangaroos/lemurs: Again, orange or brown.
* Red rooster: Brown rooster makes brain sad-no alliteration.
* Red robin: See above.
* Red wolf: Gray. Much like the gray wolf, you might say.
* Red clover/redbud tree: Purple flowers. Say it with me. Purple.
* Red fescue: Grass is green. Five year olds know this.
* Rednecks: Sunburns are pink.
* Red-eye gravy: Both disgusting and brown.
* Red clay (Georgia): It's dirt. Dirt is brown. Might have an argument for orange, but not red.
* Red Indian: Your brain is a racist.
Nancy Spungen said it best: "Never trust a junkie." Especially not one with reverse red-green color blindness.
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Author: J.Gilman, Creative Director at Danger Press, a screen printing company in Atlanta, GA.
