The Power of Color and Design

I’m sure by now you have seen the 3D image of the coronavirus, with the red protruding clumps – the face of the virus. This 3D image has probably been used thousands of times as the background of newscasts across the world.

After doing some research, I stumbled upon a well written article by Colette Gaiter from Fast Company. As a visual communicator, she shares examples of how companies are illustrating the virus – some designs show a more relaxed depiction of the virus while others are more alarming. And she makes a great point – with the seriousness of this virus, shouldn’t the designs be more alarming?

Communicating about the pandemic, red is being used to instill fear; the color red is everywhere. Have you noticed how much the color red is being used lately? Emotionally, red translates to fear, aggression, powerful, etc. Red demands a call to action. Would using purple or yellow have the same effect? Probably not.