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Porch Light Colors: What Do Red, Purple, and Other Colors Mean?
Henry Parker is a home improvement enthusiast who loves to share his passion and expertise with others. He writes on a variety of topics, such as painting, flooring, windows, and lawn care, to help homeowners make informed decisions and achieve their desired results. Henry strives to write high quality guides and reviews that are easy to understand and practical to follow. Whether you are looking for the best electric riding lawn mower, the easiest way to remove paint from flooring, or the signs of a bad tile job, Henry has you covered with his insightful and honest articles. Henry lives in Florida with his wife and two kids, and enjoys spending his free time on DIY projects around the house. You can find some of his work on Today’s Homeowner, where he is a regular contributor.
September 28, 2023
September 28, 2023 July 31, 2021 by Henry Parker
Colors are often used to raise awareness for social causes, and porch lights, thanks to their visibility, give supporters the perfect way to show those colors. If you notice your neighbor has changed their porch light color to something other than the usual white, there might be a good reason behind it.
Red Porch Lights
February is American Heart Month, when the American Heart Association (AHA) runs the Go Red for Women campaign to raise awareness of women’s heart disease issues. Although cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in both women and men, many are unaware that symptoms differ between the two.
As part of the campaign, the AHA established the first Friday in February as national Wear Red Day. The day involves not just wearing red, but also decorating with red. Red porch lights, along with red lights on trees and around windows, are part of this. You might also see red streamers, ribbons, and window film on businesses.
For others, red lights on February 14th are part of celebrating Saint Valentine’s Day. Red light also promotes plant growth, so some use a red porch light to help out their front porch plants.
Purple Porch Lights
In October, these porch lights are often part of a campaign to raise awareness of domestic violence issues. Since Congress designated October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), purple has become associated with these issues. It’s uncertain exactly why this color was chosen, but one theory is that it’s drawn from the purple, white, and gold flag of the suffragist National Women’s Party of the early 1900s.
In 2007, the Domestic Violence Task Force launched the Purple Lights Nights campaign with the goal of supporting survivors, honoring those who lost their lives to domestic violence, and promoting healthy relationships. The original lights used weren’t just purple, but specifically UV-A or “black lights” of 60 or 75 watts, which glow a soft, deep purple.
Now, many supporters use any type of purple light, not just in porch lights, but also by stringing purple lights in trees or around their windows. In some cities, you’ll see purple lights on landmarks, bridges, and trees, as well as purple spot lights on important buildings.
Purple is also commonly used in Halloween decorations, so that’s another reason you might see these porch lights in late October.
Colour
By using colours consistently and appropriately, we build awareness, recognition and trust with our audiences. This page explains how to properly apply the University and faculty colour palettes.
The full Waterloo colour palette contains a total of ten colours with associated hues and shades, selected to follow best practices in design, readability and accessibility. The primary colours are the most frequently used, while the various shades provide more flexibility across applications.
The colour palette includes:
- The main University colours , which consist of multiple shades of yellow, shades of black, and white. (gold/yellow, black/grey, white)
- The sixfaculty colours of the six faculties (orange, pink, purple, blue, teal, green).
- The school and satellite campus colour (red).
Colour levels
Within the palette, there are four levels of each colour. These levels offer various shades and hues for flexibility across applications.
Each colour in the palette has four levels.
Accessibility
The primary colour is typically level 3 for print and level 4 for digital. Using these levels wherever appropriate ensures we meet colour contrast requirements mandated by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
University palette
Updated November 2023.
Where appropriate, you can combine the main University colours with faculty colours.
For generic University communications, you can incorporate faculty colours in addition to the University colours, as long as you use two or more faculty palettes in the layout.
If the University communication is specific to a single faculty, you can use the University palette in conjunction with a single faculty palette.
Sample application
This sample shows the University colour palette and colour bar used in conjunction with the Faculty of Engineering palette. In this case, the content in purple is from the Faculty of Engineering.
Gold/Yellow
Level 3 (primary)
Black/Grey
Level 4 (primary colour)
