Valentine's Day at iF DESIGN: Love the color red in design
What other color matches the feeling of love the best, than red? On Valentine's Day we want to express our love for design by looking for the most iconic red designs in the iF DESIGN AWARD 2022. A tense color: either you love red or not - it is a bold design decision.
Seems like red is everywhere these days - not just since Rihanna flashed her baby bump in an all red outfit at the Super Bowl or since Pantone chose "Viva Magenta" (not really the red we are talking about) as color of the year or since the art collective MSCH launched their "Big Red Boots" that are currently breaking the internet. It is Valentine's Day and everything is covered in shades of red.
In the middle ages, red was the color of the powerful and rich, while the poor were not allowed to wear red. At the same time it was the color of life and death (and much later adultery and then love). German poet Goethe even warned people to stare at red too long. It could damage their psyche, he believed. There is no other color with so many meanings and mysteries about it – yet somehow it seems to vanish from today’s perception of what is believed to be stylish and what not – namely primary colors against non-colors.
And as such, a primary color, no colors can be mixed to create red, but red can be used to create other colors on the spectrum. This exponential position causes strong feelings: Many designers hate red, others embrace it - and some iconic designs are forever linked to the color - like Ferrari.