Pidgins scrapping around for food is no different to business people scrapping around for work. Some are smarter than others.
Seeing red?
Red is the colour of extremities. It’s the colour of love/seduction on one hand, and danger/anger on the other hand. Our prehistoric ancestors saw red as the colour of fire and blood. In the Middle Ages the Pope and Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church wore red to symbolize the blood of Christ and the Christian martyrs. Today red is associated with revolutions – it was the colour supporters of the French Revolution in 1789 wore to show their allegiance (wearing red caps called liberty caps). The Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 and the Chinese Revolution of 1949 also adopted the colour red to symbolise their struggle – which accounts for why today red is the colour of Communist Parties from Eastern Europe to Cuba to Vietnam.
Red was almost as rare and as expensive as purple in ancient days. Many of today’s intense red dyes come from crushed insects (the lac beetle and the cochineal). Red is one of the most visible colours, second only to yellow, which is why it is used on fire engines and stop signs to trigger alertness. Eight percent of the male population has a red/green colour vision deficiency and cannot see red at all. In 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots, accused of treason against Queen Elizabeth I, wore a red shirt at her execution to proclaim that she was an innocent martyr.
Mars is called the red planet because of the reddish colour imparted to its surface by the abundant presence of iron oxide. Jupiter’s surface has a great red spot caused by a mega storm. Red giants are stars that have exhausted the supply of hydrogen. A red dwarf is the most common type of star in the Galaxy – it’s also a comedy TV show starring Craig Charles.
Red hair occurs naturally in approximately 1-2% of the human population – it is caused by high levels of a pigment called pheomelanin (which also accounts for the red colour of the lips). Red is the most popular colour used on flags in the world (approx 77%). Red is the international colour for Stop! A red light district is an area of a town or city that sells sex and pornography. In Russia, the word for red means beautiful. Red October was a submarine in a film starring Sean Connery and not a particularly bad month of the year.
To see red is to be angry or aggressive. To have a red face is to be embarrassed. To paint the town red is to have an great night out, usually with a lots of eating, drinking and dancing. To raise a red flag is to signal that something is problematic. Like a red rag to a bull is to cause someone to be enraged. Bulls, like dogs, have dichromacy, which means they cannot distinguish the colour red – they charge the matador’s cape because of its motion, and not its colour. To be in the red is to be losing money, which comes from the accounting habit of writing deficits and losses in red ink.
Red Red Wine was a hit for UB40 whose lyrics are sung from the perspective of someone who trying to forget their woes. Red Rum was a champion racehorse who achieved an unmatched historic treble when he won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977. A red letter day is a special or important event, from the medieval custom of printing the dates of saints’ days and holy days in red ink. To lay out the red carpet or give red-carpet treatment is to treat someone royally as a very special person. To catch someone red-handed is catching someone in the act of doing something wrong. To be tied up in red tape is excessive bureaucratic regulation – in England red tape was used by lawyers and government officials to identify important documents. A red herring is a false clue that leads investigators off the track – referring to the practice of using a fragrant smoked fish to distract hunting or tracking dogs from the track they are meant to follow.
International companies who use red as their dominant brand colour include Coca-Cola, Ferrari, Virgin, Levis, Vodaphone, Adecco, Marlboro, McDonalds, KFC, Canon, Peroni, Red Stripe, Budweiser, illy, Santander, Vans, HSBC, Life (magazine), Lego, CNN, Kelloggs and YouTube to name but a few.
In US Politics red is the colour of the Republicans. In UK Politics red is the colour of Labour. In Western countries red is a symbol of martyrs and sacrifice, particularly because of its association with blood. Red is the colour of good luck in Asia and the most popular colour in China where it is traditionally worn on Chinese New Year to bring luck and prosperity. In East Asian stock markets red is used to denote a ‘rise’ in stock prices whereas in North American stock markets red is used to denote a ‘drop’ in stock prices. Red is an auspicious colour for marriage – brides in India and Nepal wear red saris; brides in Japan wear a red kimono for happiness and good luck. In South Africa red is the colour of mourning. In Thailand red is the colour for Sunday. In India red is a sign of a married woman. In Liverpool red is the only colour as any fan of Liverpool Football Club will tell you.
Still seeing red?
Mix up the colours – random colour psychology.
By petermccabe.co.uk
Feeling blue?
Blue stands for love, which is why a bride wears or carries something blue on her wedding day. In ancient Rome, public servants wore blue. Today, police and other public servants wear blue. In the dark ages blue was used as protection against witches, who supposedly dislike the colour. The pharaohs of ancient Egypt wore blue for protection against evil. If you are true blue you are said to be loyal and faithful. A room painted blue is said to be relaxing. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (father of modern colour psychology) painted his spare bedroom blue in an attempt to rid his home of unwanted visitors sooner.
Feeling blue is feeling sad. Blue devils are feelings of depression. Something out of the blue is something from an unknown source at an unexpected time. A blue book is a list of socially prominent people. A person with blue blood is someone of noble descent. Into the blue means into the unknown. A rare event is referred to as once in a blue moon owing to rare cycles of the moon. A blue nose is a strict, puritanical person – or an Everton football fan from Liverpool. Blue is the colour of United Nations peacekeepers known as Blue Helmets. Blue street lighting was used in Glasgow to reduce crime rates.
A blue stocking used to be a scholarly or highly knowledgeable woman. Blue jeans were patented by Levi Strauss in 1873. The blues is a style of music derived from southern African-American secular songs. Elvis Presley asked you to lay off his blue suede shoes. The biggest-selling 12″ single of all time is Blue Monday by New Order. A musical blue note is sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than the major scale giving it a slightly melancholy sound. Picasso had his blue period (Período Azul) from 1901 to 1904 to signify the melancholy in his life at that time.
Blue light is scattered more than other wavelengths by the gases in the atmosphere, giving the Earth a blue halo when seen from space. A blue whale is the largest known animal to have ever existed. Blue laws are used to enforce moral standards. A blue ribbon panel is a group of especially qualified people, and the first prize gets a blue ribbon. Pornographic films are called blue movies.
In Western cultures blue symbolises trust and authority. In Eastern cultures blue symbolises immortality. In Iran, India, Turkey, Korea and Mexico blue is the colour of mourning. In German, to be blue (blau sein) is to be drunk. In Thailand blue is the colour for Friday. In Belgium light blue was traditionally the color for baby girls – now blue is more commonly used for baby boys. When someone is strained with effort or emotion they are said to be blue in the face.
A blue chip company is one with a reputation for reliability in good times and bad. Blue collar workers refers to those who work with their hands and do not wear business suits (who wear white collars). International companies who use blue as their primary brand colour include Facebook, Intel, HP, Twitter, Ford, Gap, Dell, Pepsi, GE, VISA, American Express, IBM, Nokia, Samsung, 02, Tesco, Zurich, VW and Barclays to name but a few.
In US Politics blue stands for Liberalism. In UK & European Politics blue stands for Conservatism. In Christianity, blue is Christ’s colour. In Judaism, blue is the colour of holiness. In Hinduism, blue is the colour of Krishna. In Catholicism, blue is colour of the Virgin Mary’s robe signifying holiness, virtue and humility.
Still feeling blue?
Mix up the colours – random colour psychology.
By petermccabe.co.uk
Pictures of Walls
My photo of graffiti on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York has been included on the Pictures of Walls website which showcases the best worst graffiti in the world. Great site, check it out…
http://picturesofwalls.com
Here’s some more snappy snaps, and art, from that trip to NYC…
http://www.petermccabe.co.uk/travel/nyc/2007.htm
Drawing the Hong Kong Skyline
This drawing is from a trip to Hong Kong last year. I found it hidden in a concertina Moleskine sketchbook from our Asia travels. I remember it taking about threes hour or so to draw, plus a fair few cocktails and nibbles at the Intercontinental Hotel where we were staying. Glad I found, beats taking a load of photographs that end up hidden in folders on a hard drive.
I’ve since added more sketches to this Moleskine book including our latest travels in Andorra and some Thailand sketches. Here’s the link… http://www.petermccabe.co.uk/art/fuckingenious/cd.htm
Fables: Topman
How mortified was I when I realised that it wasn’t what I wanted when I visited the prison. Once I gave a f*ck when those who shot the idiot who started to shoot the movie which featured Jaws with a red and scarily sharp suit made by Topman.
When I last saw that girl at the shark convention my harpoon penetrated the whale’s vagina even though he was quite small, yet happy.
Once I dreamt the Malaysian Prime minister was in a pink shark outfit made from pine-cones (ohwahh) and smelt sour yet oddly satisfying but also quite the existential experience that is my robot that has four arms to use five fingers and six brain cells that never run dry.
Walked in awkwardly holding a big and challenging large teddy bear whose name was ‘Knife’ who had blood on his tiny little green but exquisitely and perfectly sharpened set of clubs which gave the wrong thoughts about the idea that he made the soft and sparky fireworks which exploded under pressure all over the beautiful group of sensational young things here.
Ryder Cup branding hits the sweet spot
This weekend I was lucky enough to attend the Ryder Cup 2014 in Scotland. For those of you who know very little of the world of golf, the Ryder Cup is the game’s most famous and prestigious team competition, played every two years and contested by the very best players from Europe and the United States.
At the beginning of the year I helped with some brand consultancy for Perth & Kinross Disability Sports, one of three Scottish charities to be awarded a Ryder Cup fundraising inventory. For a wee donation, I was able to get tickets to see Saturday’s play at the famous Gleneagles golf course – which allowed me to see the current US Masters champion Bubba Watson (a true creative golfing genius) and world number one Rory McIlroy in action. Very special stuff for a golf fan.
Having designed a couple of emblems for large scale sports events on the global stage, I have to say how impressed I was with the overall Ryder Cup event branding, and especially the event logo, which was created by the branding agency Interbrand. Being an ex-Interbrander – and one to give credit where credit is due – I think an excellent job has been done on the rebranding.
From a creative point of view the simplification of the design elements, crisp typography and the addition of a shield, has really helped modernise the emblem. Swapping the order of the flags is the major change which I suspect reflects the traditional world map view whereby America is seen on the left hand side. The famous Ryder Cup trophy is clearly the focus of the emblem, which thanks to some beautiful artistry and craftsmanship has really helped to elevate the status of the tournament and added gravitas to the brand. I was going to buy the T-shirt but I bought the cap instead, which is my way of saying ‘I was proud to be there’.
It’s not often you get to go to a major sports event and just focus on the game and experience the tournament as a whole – be that the amazing wizardry of the golfers, the stadium dressing, great crowd control, courteous security, top class hospitality, TV coverage and even an event-specific radio channel – it was all spot on. So big thumbs up from me for a great tournament, a great spectator-sport experience and, from an artististic point of view, a great event emblem.
Congratulations to captain Paul McGinlay, the European team, and also to Interbrand.
Every once in a while something comes along which completely changes the way we live… a bookbook!
Mickey taking advertising. I love it.
http://youtu.be/MOXQo7nURs0
Social Media Explained
Inky Sporran™ 