What is wrong with this picture? The answer depends on when you asked. Until the 1950's stop signs were yellow and black. (source)

Yet, before that the answer was different. In 1915, the stop sign was black and white and not octagonal. In the 1920's, studies conducted by government safety commissions (Aikins 442) determined that black and yellow was a particularly strong color combination. {The natural world would seem to confirm this assessment, especially to anyone stung by a bumble bee or yellow jacket.}

As more research was conducted, red became 'the new yellow' at least for the color of the stop sign. Although people who have red/green blindness may be at a disadvantage, the color red remains a symbol of danger and power. The octagonal shape of the stop sign is meant to help alleviate this problem. Also, most electric traffic signals have red on top, then yellow, then green, to help people who are color blind as well.

What would a local road commissioner do if Stop Sign Red were to be co-opted by Coca Cola and the executives said they owned the color. It is difficult, but certainly not impossible, to imagine the legal chaos that would surround that issue. However, there seems to be plenty of litigation to go around. Pepsi has tried to co-opt a specific hue of blue (and so far failed) but D.A.P. (a company that makes caulking materials) has managed to get their red bucket legally branded. Why one and not the other? Well, maybe one company had lawyers that were better at rhetoric or perhaps one judge didn't like Pepsi products. I'm a Coca Cola gal myself. Either way the importance of color to corporate branding is big business.

Where does the 'little' guy fit into this picture? All this business is created to get us to buy into a brand or ideology of some sort. From the movie screen, to the small screen, to the closet rack we are bombarded by color decisions every day. I think about this every morning when I choose what to wear for the day. I used to love florals and patterns that reminded me of nature. Now that I have more responsibilities and less time to contemplate what to wear, I go for solids, usually black and one other color. I do this to streamline my decision making about the 'small' stuff. It makes doing laundry, shopping, and morning chaos go very smoothly so I can focus on the things that matter more to me like color theory. Is that ironic or what?

Work cited: Aikins, H. Austin. "Confusing Traffic Signals." Jstor, ISU Milner Library Download .pdf. April 1925: 442-444. (accessed 2/13/2010)