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Red: Colour of the Month
 February
3, everyone is encouraged to wear red to raise awareness for
women�s heart disease
February is a month all about red, heart health or not. In large
part, this is due to the fact that
Valentine�s Day is February 14th. This year, instead of
sending a traditional valentine to your dearest friends, why not
send a red card with a lot more meaning?
Meanwhile look into the relevance of the colour : Red
Positive: Physical courage, strength, warmth, energy, basic
survival, 'fight or flight', stimulation, masculinity,
excitement.
Negative: Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain.
Holding the longest wavelength, red is a powerful colour. It has the property
of appearing to be nearer than it is and therefore it grabs our attention
first. Its effect is physical; it stimulates us and raises the
pulse
rate, giving the impression that time is passing faster than it is. Red
is strong, and very basic. Pure red is the simplest colour, with no
subtlety. It is stimulating and lively, very friendly. At the same time, it
can be perceived as demanding and aggressive.
According to a new
study, the color red can make people�s work more accurate. Red groups did
better on tests of recall and attention to detail, like remembering words or
checking spelling and punctuation.
�If you�re talking about wanting enhanced
memory for
something like proofreading skills, then a red color should be used,� said
Juliet Zhu, an assistant professor of marketing at the business school at the
University of British Columbia, who conducted the study with Ravi Mehta, a
doctoral student.
In
a study on Olympic uniforms, anthropologists at Durham University in England
found that evenly matched athletes in the 2004 Games who wore red in boxing, tae
kwon do, Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling defeated those wearing
blue 60 percent of the time. The researchers suggested that red, for athletes as
for animals, subconsciously symbolizes dominance.
Then there was
the cocktail party study, in which a group of interior designers, architects
and corporate color scientists built model rooms decorated as bars in red, blue
or yellow. They found that more people chose the yellow and red rooms, but that
partygoers in the blue room stayed longer. Red and yellow guests were more
social and active. And while red guests reported feeling hungrier and thirstier
than others, yellow guests ate twice as much.
The study also tested responses to advertising, finding that advertisements
listing product details or emphasizing �avoidance� actions like cavity
prevention held greater appeal on red backgrounds, while ones using creative
designs or emphasizing positive actions like �tooth whitening� held more appeal
on blue.
 For what it�s worth, many newsroom walls at The New York Times are bright
tomato-soup red. The newspaper�s facilities department says there are no blue
rooms in the place.
A new study in the journal Emotion suggests that people react faster
and more forcefully when they see the color red. According to Andrew Elliot, a
professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, red helps enhance
physical reactions because it is seen as a cue for danger.
Rich red is opulent and substantial, imposing and seductive. Use it with
confidence on a grand scale or as obvious highlight for
glamour
and gloss.
It�s also the official color of the Heart Truth campaign, by the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and its partners to raise awareness about
women�s risk for
heart disease.
The Red Dress is the centerpiece of the campaign and was created as a
national symbol in 2002. Its presence is meant to remind women that they need to
protect their heart health and inspires them to take action. This Friday,
February 3, everyone is encouraged to wear red to raise awareness for women�s
heart disease. You can wear a red shirt, dress, jogging suit, or simply
stick with the
red dress pin available on the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute�s website.
Get ready to support the Heart Awareness Campaign this month by
wearing red, to remind you and those around you the
significance of a healthy heart. Gift red, dress or ornament
this valentine to your loved ones to keep them focused towards a
healthy heart.
Dated 01 February 2012
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