Mark it up in green

Why has red become the standard colour for marking up changes on a layout, document or other piece of business collateral?  Where did that convention come from?

After all, isn’t red a colour (in the business context at least) – associated with negativity, warning or danger?

At the very least it’s aggressive.  Attention-seeking.  A red business flag means something’s wrong.  Red light?  Something’s behind.  A project is off track.  Something needs to be held back.  The universal signal for red is stop.

When you’re reviewing and subsequently marking up copy, a concept or artwork, aren’t you trying to make a positive change?  Improve the story?

Try green instead.

Green’s universal signal is to go.  It also stands mostly for positivity and creativity, which are the best bed-fellows for change. 

Not to mention that green is strongly associated with calm and happiness so it’ll make you feel better in the long run.  For that reason alone it's worth a try.