In Love with Red

Coastline Ventura | Ventura, CA

Valentine’s Day is fast-approaching, and we can expect to see an influx of flowers, roses, and the color red. February 14^th has long been a day to celebrate those whom you love in life, but why are shades of red so commonly viewed as the colors of love, romance, and affection? Due to its vibrancy, it has held various meanings and significances in different cultures throughout history.

In some civilizations, vivid reds were historically related to wealth, power, and war, while in others, particularly in Asian cultures, red denoted fortune, honor, and heroism. As a strong color, it appears in the vast majority of country flags today, making it by far the most popular color chosen to represent a nation. Similarly, it often stands out immediately in artwork, frequently used to draw the observer’s eye to a specific aspect of a painting, photo, or scene.

Verve at University Park | Palm Desert, CA

Comparably in architecture, we often see reds used sparingly, or as an accent rather than the main color. For all the above associations, red is rarely, if ever, seen as neutral. It is powerful, bright, loud, and passionate. It is for these very reasons we here at WHA chose it to represent our firm during our rebranding. Along with many aspects of life, however, we strive to find balance. Offset a fiery red with a softer blue or employ it on a stand-out element in an otherwise muted scheme. Along those lines, we chose to pair our red with a more neutral, dependable shade of grey. Alternatively, use white to dilute a bright red into a softer hue and reduce some of its impact.

Las Ventanas | Long Beach, CA

When it comes to red’s association with love, one of the most famous works of literature to make the connection is the 13^th century French poem The Romance of the Rose by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun. The prose describes the philosophy of love while also detailing the author’s search for a red rose, which symbolizes the woman he loves. This well-read poem may be where the connection between roses, red, and love was first made mainstream. Today, we often associate the color red with a rose, perhaps the flower most commonly given as a gift to a beloved one. After all, we may recall another famous line of poetry frequently coupled with this holiday: “roses are red…”