Allure of the shiny, red button

Image credit: Adobe Firefly

Why is a shiny, red button so tempting to press?

The color red can be associated with danger, excitement, urgency and action, making it visually stimulating and psychologically intriguing.

How light reflects from an object can affect how we perceive it. It's possible that shiny resources like water or gems are deeply engrained in humans to signal attraction. The same argument could be made for stimulating visual receptors through intense interactions with light. Familiarity and intensity play a role in how we feel about something.

You've pressed a button at some point in your life, so you know that pressing one often comes with a satisfying click. Large, convex buttons form well in your palm, small, concave buttons form well with your finger. Buttons simply sound and feel good to press.

Pressing a red button contains a sense of control and action. Perhaps culturally biased, red buttons are commonly seen in serious scenarios. Emergency and safety systems use red buttons to initiate shutdown procedures, military weapon launches and the stopping of industrial machinery. Significant consequences can hide behind a red button. Contrast this with game shows using them and they teeter between powerful and playful.

Desire to press a shiny, red button appears to be most influenced by 7 high-level touchpoints: color, material, finish, form, habitual conditioning, social conditioning and context. Exploring how touchpoints like these can influence people's behavior will empower designers to design for more impactful interactions.