Bullfighters use it in the ring, stop signs use it to say stop, and Taylor Swift even named a whole frickin’ album for it because, as she put it, “red is a really bold, intense color, and these are all really bold, intense emotions that I've written about." However you slice it, there is no color quite like red, that signature shade of passion, vigor, strength, and power. In fact, red is the color with the longest wavelength on the entire spectrum (around 700 nm), which makes it easily one of the most visible colors out there. Which is to say: red is not a color to be messed with. When you go red, you go big and bold.
But even if you’re not a matador facing down a toro in Spain, that doesn’t mean red can’t be a primo color in your casa. Though red has something of a spine-tingling reputation, there’s plenty of ways to use it in interior design — and, because nothing pops in neon quite like red, if you’re looking for an LED neon sign with gusto, a red neon sign just might be the shade for you.
Don’t just take it from us! Legendary VOGUE fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who famously covered much of her New York apartment with floor-to-ceiling red, was the color’s biggest cheerleader. "Red,” she once exclaimed, “is the great clarifier -- bright, cleansing, revealing. It makes all colors beautiful. I can't imagine being bored with it. It would be like becoming tired of the person you love.”
Red goes where?
The first and absolute best place to hang a red neon sign is, undoubtedly, the kitchen. Seeing red is said to speed up the blood flow, which stimulates the metabolism, which causes you to have more of an appetite, all of which is why fast food companies ranging from McDonald’s to KFC rely on red for their logos. And if it works for McDonald’s, it works for us. I mean, c’mon — everything we love best in the kitchen is, well, red: red wine, red T-bone steaks, and red ketchup for our french fries and burgers. A buzzing red neon sign near the fridge is bound to get your mouth watering. Hello!
And speaking of mouthwatering: red, of course, is also the color of passion. Maybe this is TMI, but red in the boudoir or bedroom is an absolute freaky-deaky and flattering gamechanger, and any red neon sign is bound to get the heart racing strategically placed above the bed.
But, if we’re keeping it all the way professional, for any of you small business people out there, Yellowpop offers special custom services whether for window displays, showrooms, events, meeting rooms, or coffee corners. Red just might be the showstopper you need to bring attention to your brand.
Paint the town red
What LED neon sign works best in red? There are some signs that absolutely scream out to be done in red: the classic Big Big Heart, of course, and anything that conveys love, like the “Amour” sign. Red can work just as well on anything meant to beam with power and fire, like Boxing Gloves, Matches, and a big ole sign that says “POW.”
But you can go red in so many different ways, particularly when it comes to making a custom sign that will emit a sense of passion and pride.
To start, why not do a custom sign featuring your favorite romantic quote or song lyric? “I wish I knew how to quit you,” “Swoon,” “Kiss me,” “The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return,” “My love is your love” or even just “<3”— whatever your go-to line is, we think seeing it in red will just add to its resonance. “STOP in the name of love,” both arresting and romantic, might just be the best of what red can do.
Finally, red is a great holiday color, and it will make any Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or Fourth of July signs look ideal.
How to mix and match
Once you’ve gone red, what’s the best way to set it off? By pairing it with colors in your interior that will make it pop. An easy layup is lining red up next to yellow, which will always convey a burgers-and-fries mall-food-court nostalgia to us. But red and blue next to each other are quite evocative — America’s founding fathers seemed to think so when they were designing the flag. And, of course, adding a little green to the equation will always, always remind us of cozy Christmas.
So sure, red isn’t for the faint of heart. Red’s never going to be a color for wallflowers or wimps. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a fabulous way to fortify any home interior. Go red — or go home.