Nothing stops a room in its tracks like the color red. It’s a color that commands attention and demands to be noticed. It’s the color of love, power, romance, and strong feeling.
So when you want to send a message with a bit of oomph, it helps to find the right red for the job. Here’s a look at how to choose the right red cardstock for any occasion.
Color Psychology of Red
Red is known as a color that evokes strong emotions–both positive and negative.
On one hand, it’s the color of blood. We flush red when angry and are said to “see red”. Research has shown it to be perceived psychologically as a color of threat and dominance–a person or team wearing red has heightened perceptions of their own dominance, whereas someone looking at another person wearing red is more likely to perceive that person as a threat, particularly if they are in competition with each other.
On the other hand, it’s also the color of roses and fire, a color of beauty and warmth and comfort. It’s the color of heat and passion–think of red lipstick or a red dress.
It helps that red is a warm color on the color wheel, evoking a sense of energy, excitement, and power.
Choosing the Right Shade of Red
The point is: different shades of red have different connotations. So when you’re choosing between shades of red, it’s critical to choose the right one.
Do you want to evoke passion? Power? Or perhaps a sense of playfulness? And most importantly, how do you choose the right shade of red to achieve the right effect?
Here are a few things to thinking about in order to choose the right shade of red.
Think About Your Project and the Occasion
Start by thinking about the project you’re trying to create. What message are you trying to send? Or, put another way, what’s the occasion for bringing red into your life?
Are you celebrating a major holiday? Certain shades of red tend to be associated with certain holidays, as in the case of holly red and Christmas.
Shades of red also have specific connotations that may or may not align with what you want to say. Pinkish reds tend to be softer and more romantic, while bright reds are bold and eye-catching and deep reds like wine red or burgundy evoke drama. Jewel-tone reds like ruby and garnet evoke luxury, while rust red and other brownish reds tend to feel more natural and…well, rustic.
Turn to the Color Wheel
Not sure where to begin or how to pair your reds? When in doubt, turn to the color wheel, a beloved tool of designers and artists.
The color wheel allows you to mix and match colors with varying degrees of contrast. There are four common types of color schemes you can derive from it:
- Monochromatic (tone-on-tone combinations using shades and tints of a single hue)
- Analogous (colors found side-by-side on the color wheel)
- Contrast (hues evenly spaced from each other on the color wheel)
- Complementary (two hues opposite each other on the color wheel, as in the case of red and green)
If you already know other colors you plan to work with, you can work backward to find a red that will work well with those shades.
Red for Every Holiday
In much the same way there’s a red for every occasion, red is associated with quite a few holidays. Choosing your shade of red may depend on the holiday in question and what you plan to do with it.
Here’s a closer look at some of the major holidays associated with the color red and a few ideas for how to use the color in a festive way.
Valentine’s Day
The holiday of hearts and romantic gifts demands nothing less than the color of love and romance.
We all remember making homemade Valentine cards in school, but they still remain one of the most thoughtful ways to show your sweetheart how you feel about them. For a sweeter red, try our Rocket Red cardstock, which tends more toward salmon-red on the pinkish end of the spectrum.
If you’re looking for craft ideas for kids to spread the love, why not do paper crafts with red hearts? After all, red isn’t just the color of romantic love.
Patriotic Holidays
For any of the patriotic holidays (Independence Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day) red is a necessity. After all, these are the holidays of the red, white, and blue, and any craft project for those holidays would be incomplete without red.
For a classic 4th of July craft, have kids make flags using red, white, and blue cardstock. Or, you can pair red, white, or blue with a bit of glitter and glue and voila: a flag and a firework, our favorite way to mark the holiday in the United States (and the highlight of the holiday for many kids).
Christmas
It’s hard to imagine a world where Christmas wasn’t synonymous with red and green, but we actually owe those associations to two things: holly and Coca-Cola.
With its vibrant red berries and deep green leaves, holly has been part of winter solstice celebrations since Roman times. Even so, red and green weren’t always the showstoppers of Christmas. Victorian Christmas cards often featured Santa Claus in red, green, or blue robes. Saint Nick also looked quite different then–he was often shown as thin and elf-like.
All that changed in 1931. That was when Coca-Cola hired an artist, Haddon Sundblom, who created the Santa Claus we recognize today: fat, jolly, and wearing red robes (not coincidentally in a shade of red that matched the red in the Coca-Cola logo). Sundblom’s ads were so popular that the company kept working with him for decades, solidifying our image of Santa–and red as a Christmas color.
If you’re looking to send Christmas greetings and spread the good cheer (or find festive activities for kids to stay busy) there’s no better way to do it than Xmas cards. Crafts of the holiday season often feature Christmas trees, holly berries, and presents (wrapped in red, of course). So break out the red paper and some scissors and reach for a bright red, like our Re-Entry Red.
Chinese New Year
Red envelopes play a huge role in Chinese culture, but especially Chinese New Year, when money is put in red envelopes and handed out to children by their parents, grandparents, relatives, and even neighbors.
That’s because red is believed to be a lucky color in China. One New Year’s legend holds that a ferocious beast called Nian, a half-bull with a lion head, terrorized villagers every New Year until they realized that the beast feared three things: fire, noise, and the color red.
If you’re creating a Chinese New Years card, make sure that red is the focal point. Traditional cards are adorned with gold Chinese characters for happiness and wealth, but nontraditional cards can also feature cartoon characters.
Looking for Beautiful Red Cardstock?
Looking to send a bold message? If so, beautiful red cardstock is the perfect way to do it. We offer a variety of red cardstock products that can suit any occasion, whether it’s a holiday or just a note to a friend that loves red. Click here to check out our assortment of red cardstock today.
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