Going with the widely accepted fact about the color red, it is the warmest of all colors. Studies have shown that red is usually chosen by extroverts, and it is one of the top picks of females. Red is elegant. Red is sensuous! Know about the various shades of red, and get drowned in it here.
Men and women see red differently!
While women see crimson and cardinal, men generally just see red. No shades or varying tones―just the typical fire engine red. Since the peculiar “red-seeing gene” sits on the X chromosome (women have 2, while men have 1), women have a better understanding of the red spectrum over men!
What comes to your mind when we say RED? Passionate love, danger, anger, blood, or may be apple (giggles!)? Red is religious, and is considered as the color of good luck in Asia. Red is magical! The red that strawberry has is different from the one that cherry is enriched with, or the plum’s red. Though the difference is minute, there are approximately 285 shades of red. Out of these, around 50 hues of red are most popular, and visible in natural light. Besides being amongst the top two favorite colors of people, it is also the most common color included in flags.
We take you for a trip around these 50 fascinating reds!
ALIZARIN CRIMSON
It is named after the organic dye alizarin, found in the madder plant, and the related synthetic lake pigment Alizarin Crimson. This shade of red is biased slightly more towards purple than towards orange on the color wheel.
★ Interesting Fact: It is one of the colors listed by Donovan in his song, Wear Your Love Like Heaven.
AMARANTH
It is the color of the flower of the amaranth plant, which is of reddish-rose tinge.
★ Interesting Fact: The name amaranth conveys immortality and has Greek roots: a meaning ‘not’ and marainean meaning ‘to waste away’. It is believed that this flower grew on Mount Olympus that never faded or withered.
AUBURN
A reddish-brown color, which is a variety of red hair.
★ Interesting Fact: The word “auburn” comes from the Old French word alborne meaning blond, which derived from the Latin word alburnus meaning off-white.
BURGUNDY
It is a dark red hue that is linked with the Burgundy wine, which in turn is named after the Burgundy region of France.
★ Interesting Fact: In the 1990s and early 2000s, this was the most popular lipstick shade amongst women. Recently, it has made a comeback as a popular lip color in the high fashion industry.
CANDY APPLE RED
It is a shade of red similar to the red sugar coating on candied apples.
★ Interesting Fact: It has been observed that “candy apple red”-colored automobiles sell quickly, so this color has become the color for car companies.
CARDINAL
It is a bright shade, which has got its name from the bird of the same name.
★ Interesting Fact: It is the official color of the Stanford University.
CARMINE
It is a pigment of bright red color obtained from the aluminum salt of carminic acid that is produced by scale insects. It has various names like crimson lake, cochineal, and natural red 4.
★ Interesting Fact: It is used in the production of paints, faux flowers, crimson ink, rouge, and other cosmetics.
CARMINE RED
It’s a slightly purplish shade of red. There are many variations to carmine red, which include radical red, ultra red, Spanish carmine, paradise pink, etc.
★ Interesting Fact: It is often applied for describing blood, because its darker shade is the color of dried blood.
CARNELIAN
It is a rich reddish-brown shade.
★ Interesting Fact: This color is also called Cornell red, as it is the color of the Cornell University.
CERISE
It is a deep reddish-pink color. Variations of Cerise include Hollywood cerise, Deep cerise, and Irresistible.
★ Interesting Fact: Cerise has been used in the “Sherlock” series one episode―a color that drains the fairness of Mrs. Hudson.
CHESTNUT
It is a medium-reddish shade of brown. It is named after the nut of chestnut of the chestnut tree.
★ Interesting Fact: Chestnut is very famous in the animal kingdom category: the chestnut-colored woodpecker, the chestnut-backed chickadee, the coat of bongo, the coat of horses, etc.
COQUELICOT
It is a bright-red color with an orange tint.
★ Interesting Fact: It is originally a French vernacular name for the wild corn poppy, Papaver rhoeas, which is distinguished by its distinct reddish-orange color.
CORAL
A pinkish-orange color.
★ Interesting Fact: Coral (orange) is one of the Miami Dolphins’ colors.
CRIMSON
It is a strong, deep red. Some variations of crimson are pink, Baker-Miller pink, radical red, razzmatazz, red devil, etc.
★ Interesting Fact: The Crimson Sunbird, obviously crimson-colored, is the national bird of Singapore.
DESIRE
It is pinkish-red in color.
★ Interesting Fact: Desire is included in the Resene Color List which is one of the most popular color lists in Australia and New Zealand.
FALU RED
It is a brick red shade.
★ Interesting Fact: It is a popular Swedish deep red paint, which is usually observed on wooden cottages
and barns. The paint was developed from the copper mine at Falun in Sweden, and hence the name ‘Falu Red.’
FIRE ENGINE RED
It is an informal name for an intense bright red, commonly used for emergency vehicles.
★ Interesting Fact: As the name says, most of the traditional fire departments in the US use this color. (fire engine red = the color of danger).
FUCHSIA
It is a vivid purplish-red hue, basically a pink color.
★ Interesting Fact: A pretty and attractive woman is addressed as a fuchsia queen, in gay slang.
FULVOUS
It is a dull, reddish-yellow, brownish-yellow tint.
★ Interesting Fact: It is used as an adjective for describing various birds and mammals.
IMPERIAL RED
It is a deep red shade.
★ Interesting Fact: It is a representation of the red color of the Imperial Standard of Napoleon I.
INDIAN RED
It is the color obtained naturally from iron oxides, which is largely used in India.
★ Interesting Fact: A scorpion in the hues of Indian red has got its name from this color, viz., the Indian red scorpion, which has a venom that is more toxic than that of any other scorpion.
JELLY BEAN
It is an orange-red color.
★ Interesting Fact: The most common color of jelly beans is this jelly bean orange.
LAVA
It is a deep red shade.
★ Interesting Fact: A variation called Dark Lava is also very popular, which is the color of lava that has cooled and begun to set into igneous rock.
MAGENTA
Violet-red or purplish-red color, it is one of the primary colors of the subtractive CMYK color model. The combination shown here is of Process Magenta.
★ Interesting Fact: Magenta is not found in the visible spectrum of light. It is physiologically and psychologically perceived as a blend of red and violet/blue light, with the absence of green.
MAHOGANY
It is reddish-brown in color. It is almost the shade of mahogany wood.
★ Interesting Fact: Like most woods, this color is also not uniform. It was recorded as a color name in English in 1737.
MAROON
It is a dark, reddish-brown color, which got its name from the French word marron.
★ Interesting Fact: Maroon is frequently related to Ron Weasley, a character in J.K. Rowling’s renowned series Harry Potter.
MORDANT RED 19
A shade of red that is 100% saturated.
★ Interesting Fact: It is a mordant used in textile dyeing.
OXBLOOD
It is a dark shade of red, resembling burgundy.
★ Interesting Fact: Besides clothing and accessories, oxblood lipstick is very much in vogue. It depicts passion, fashion, and power.
PERSIAN RED
It is a deep reddish-orange color.
★ Interesting Fact: It was invented from the hue of Persian gulf, which is composed of a silicate of iron and alumina with magnesia, giving an earthly red color.
PUCE
A dark shade of red which can be called brownish-red or purplish-brown.
★ Interesting Fact: Its nomenclature is from the French word “flea.” It is said to be the color of the bloodstains remaining on linen or bed sheets, even after being laundered, from a flea’s droppings or after a flea has been squeezed.
RASPBERRY
Reddish-brown in color, it almost resembles the shade of mahogany wood.
★ Interesting Fact: This color is mentioned by Prince in his song, Raspberry Beret.
RED VIOLET
It is a hue that ranges between red and magenta, in fact more closer to magenta. Some variations of red violet include Kobi, Smitten, Blush, Fandango, Eggplant, Wine, etc.
★ Interesting Fact: This color has resemblance to purple on the color wheel, although many people wrongly use purple as an equivalent for violet.
ROSE
It is a tertiary color in the HSV (RGB) color wheel. It lands between red and magenta.
★ Interesting Fact: The name originates from the Latin word rosa, corresponding to the invention of the name for the rose flower.
ROSSO CORSA
It is a reddish-brown color. It is almost the shade of mahogany wood.
★ Interesting Fact: The original Rosso Corsa may appear almost dark brown in older television sets, but the actual hue is a synonym to that of Ferrari.
RUBY
It is the color obtained from the cut, polished ruby gemstone.
★ Interesting Fact: A fairly deeper color of the uncut, unpolished ruby crystal is called Rubelite.
RUDDY
It is a shade of red that is closer to crimson, slightly towards rosy. It is 100% saturated and 100% bright.
★ Interesting Fact: People with pink-colored cheeks are said to possess ruddy cheeks, which denotes healthy skin.
RUFOUS
A shade of red that is closer to crimson, slightly towards rosy. It is 100% saturated and 100% bright.
★ Interesting Fact: It has Latin roots, and is used to represent various birds for their skin, fur, or plumage, that are red in shade.
RUSSET
It is a reddish orange tinge.
★ Interesting Fact: The color got its name from russet, a cloth made of wool and dyed with woad and madder to give it a reddish-brown shade.
RUST
It is the iron oxide color, a reddish-brown hue.
★ Interesting Fact: Rust has its history from the Proto-Germanic word rusta, which means redness.
SCARLET
It is reddish-orange in color.
★ Interesting Fact: In some cultures, this color stands for royalty and nobility, while in some, it is the color that shouts sin and sexual lust.
SINOPIA
It is a natural earth pigment, a reddish-brown color that comes from the dehydrated form of iron oxide.
★ Interesting Fact: It is named after the Turkish city Sinop.
TERRACOTTA
It is a brick red color that defines the hues of the Earth.
★ Interesting Fact: Terracotta color is like a brand for various clay articles, pottery, showpieces and other related designs, that have a reddish-brown color.
TURKEY RED
It is a reddish color used to dye cotton in 18th and 19th century.
★ Interesting Fact: It originally developed in India and Turkey, and was imported into Europe.
TUSCAN RED
Tuscan red is a popular shade of red that was used on the passenger cars of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and that on the PRR TrucTrailers. It is a natural earth pigment, a reddish-brown color that comes from the dehydrated form of iron oxide.
★ Interesting Fact: Apart from being a signature color for Pennsylvania Railroad, this color was also used widely by the New South Wales Government Railways in Australia and by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
TYRIAN PURPLE
It is also known as Tyrian Red, Imperial Purple, Royal Purple, and Imperial dye. It is the hue of reddish-purple dye, which is secreted by sea snails.
★ Interesting Fact: Its true color cannot be displayed on a computer screen due to high chroma pigments.
UPSDELL RED
It is a deep shade of medium red, resembling fire engine red.
★ Interesting Fact: This color was formed in memory of Reverend G. Upsdell of Hong Kong, who was the first headmaster of the King George V School.
VENETIAN RED
It is a darker shade of scarlet.
★ Interesting Fact: Historically speaking, Venetian red was a red earth color used in Italian Renaissance paintings.
VERMILION (Cinnabar)
It is a brilliant red, originated from the mineral cinnabar.
★ Interesting Fact: It is also known as Chinese Red, for it is used in the art and lacquerware of China.
WILD ORCHID
It falls under the shades of pink.
★ Interesting Fact: Wild orchid got its name from the wilder species of orchid flower.
WINE
It is a dark shade of red, an average color of red wine.
★ Interesting Fact: The color wine is often used in fashion for various clothing articles.
In Russia, the word red means beautiful. Everything “actually” looks beautiful when there’s a tint of red involved. Choose a shade of red, and experience its magic. Regardless of how it is used in a design, a little bit of red goes a long way in making any piece stand out.
