Oct 1, 2024
3 minute read
When you think of the color orange, what comes to mind? The fruit? A basketball? Nickelodeon? Psychologically, orange represents enthusiasm, energy, safety, and friendliness. This is likely due to its historical associations with the warmth of the sun, both physically and visually. But orange is also quite prevalent in nature (think flowers, fish, or fruit,) but all of that is well understood. Are there any less obvious associations we can depict from this peculiar shade that sits between red and yellow?
On September 7, 2022, Apple released its highly anticipated premium watch product, the Apple Watch Ultra. So you might be asking, Carson, what in the world does this watch have to do with the topic of orange? Well, Apple carries a lot of influence with each product release, and with each product release comes some very carefully branded words. Contrary to their usual color palette variety, the Apple Watch Ultra, surprisingly, released only one colorway: titanium with accents of “International Orange.”
This decision to describe orange as international was no mistake. Maybe Apple’s marketing team simply thought it sounded cool. But maybe, and for the sake of this article, there is thoughtful and calculated meaning behind this name. As we’ve established earlier, orange can represent and communicate a wide variety of things and feelings. But what is it that makes orange so international?
Surely, it isn’t because the color is simply present around the world. All colors can be depicted in nature globally, more or less. We can, however, attempt to derive meaning through the power of deduction.
Let’s look beyond what naturally occurs in nature for a second. Every country carries a flag, right? Well, have you ever noticed how uncommon the color orange is? Most flags proudly carry red, yellow, green, or blue, but besides Bhutan, Cote d’Ivoire, India, Ireland, or Niger, orange hardly makes an appearance. Considering there are 195 countries, that isn’t very many. This makes orange a stronger candidate for global representation, as it doesn’t conflict with the vast majority of countries.
Now this isn’t to say other colors lack patriotic representation. You won’t find any pink or purple, for example. But unlike Barbie’s dream flag, orange has some additional interesting symbols to explore.
Historically, natural water sources like rivers, lakes, and oceans have helped establish territorial borders. But what exists between oceans becomes less clear.
Because of this, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 helped define territorial waters and exclusive economic zones, setting a comprehensive framework for maritime law. An important aspect of this law is ocean safety, and two objects in particular, the buoy and the lifesafer, are most commonly depicted as orange. Although this may be due to its vibrant nature and chromatic contrast with water, that doesn’t take away from its universal adaption across seas.
Circling back to the Apple Watch Ultra, let’s consider why they decided to name the color “International Orange” and why they chose orange as a color to begin with. After all, orange isn’t generally a color most people choose to wear in their everyday lives.
To start, this particular watch was their most utilitarian product yet, marketed and intended for the most extreme athletes around the world. The word international implies travel and adventure, fitting descriptions for a robust and mobile gadget. Apple knows better than anyone the power of marketing, even when it comes to naming unique colorways. Take starlight, midnight, or space gray, for example. “Orange” in itself would be a little boring for an otherwise innovative product, but adding “International” as an adjective gives a premium sound to it.
So if it sounds cool, Apple fanboys might think it looks cool too. And if they think it sounds and looks cool, they might pay the premium price for Apple’s newest toy. So that every time they check their wrist, they can fantasize about backpacking Europe, scaling Mount Everest, or maybe, just a walk in the park.
Apples to oranges
You know what else is a walk in the park? The ability to search for International Orange with our patented color search technology. Simply select any color, and we'll show you products that perfectly match. We call it the Infinite Color Search, and it's no-code plugin is available for Shopify stores to integrate within minutes.
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