“Red is Good”…for mHealth Apps in Chinese populations? A Hypothesis to be Tested
Key Take-aways:
-Red is a Lucky Color in Chinese
-That doesn’t mean red has to be used in everything!
-When building a culturally specific health app for Chinese population, try using a blue / green hue as a default
I’m a medical student on gap year with a research focus in mobile health. One of the projects I’m working on is a multi-language mobile health (mHealth) app in English, Chinese, and Spanish for patients with chronic ailments e.g. Hypertension, Diabetes, etc. Sustainable intervention is crucial to control these diseases so patients can live normal lives, mHealth is one strategy. But the issue with using mHealth or any strategy (e.g. diet and exercise) is that patients may quit halfway.
So my goal is to make the app as culturally relevant as possible with the hope that culturally specific design may help with adherence to the app or at least look presentable to a particular culture. I presented the design wireframes to some testers, the color scheme is a light blue hue.
One suggestion that came from other Chinese members on our team was “Should we make the app red?”.
This isn’t a farfetched thought, I’m Chinese, I love Chinese history, lived in Chinatown for half my life, watched way too much TVB dramas, and red is just considered very lucky. When I think red 紅 hong in Chinese, I’m thinking Chinese New Year, Weddings, Luck, Money God 財神.
So I lived it. I get it. Red is a very lucky color in my culture. But when it comes to apps though this may get a bit tricky.
- Target population will include a lot of Chinese seniors and red can be very harsh on the eyes.
- Some seniors may need higher contrast in their app’s color schemes to help visualize.
- Red is universally used online and on traffic lights (including in China), for stops and warnings.
Now if someone insist on really being adamant on using red, this can be resolved with using different shades of red and awesome hues. For example:
As this image is a lighter shade, it help resolve the problem with being easy on the eyes and allowing for “red” notification. E.g. using a deep red color eg #ff000
The larger cultural context is important! In Chinese culture the color most associated with health isn’t red. Health is associated with blue and green https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_in_Chinese_culture.
In Chinese, when I think blue and green 藍 青 綠 lan qing lu. I think of nature and ecology. Nature has historically been associated with health in both Western and Eastern contexts.
So while we can have red hues as one of the options that a user can set for their apps. I don’t think we should jump immediately to red when associating colors and Chinese culture. We should consider the complete cultural context.
As a researcher, this is still an assumption and has to be tested out e.g.
Hypothesis 1: Chinese users will prefer a light blue / green hue over red hue for their mHealth app design
Hypothesis 2: Favorable mHealth app designs will improve adherence to app augmented clinical care
These will either be supported or refuted with evidence. I’ll be testing out color schemes with users in the coming month and will update with new insights as this project goes along.
Shout Outs
Major thanks to my cousin Annie Zeng, a professional and experienced graphic designer with deep cultural knowledge (portfolio https://anniezeng.com/) who spent a good deal of time talking to me on East Asian vs. American app design and on the use color and hues.
References
Elder Tech: Color in designing for elders
Wikipedia: Colors in Chinese Culture
Red Hue Design: Pokemon is Everywhere
My current project mPROVE
