Recently, the signboard of a number of Mixue Bingcheng stores in Sanhe City, Langfang City, Hebei Province has experienced a "color change turmoil", the cause of the incident is that the local urban management department on the grounds of "urban planning", requiring the plaque on the front of the merchant to prohibit red, blue and black three colors, Michel Ice City's iconic red background and white signboard was forced to replace it with green, gray and black and other non-prohibited colors, which aroused widespread concern in the society, and quietly restored red in public opinion.

Merchant signboards are never simply "visual color blocks", but vivid symbols of commercial civilization. Michelle's red signboard, after more than 20 years of deep cultivation, has long become the "visual code" for consumers to identify the brand.

According to a survey, 80% of consumers regard color as the primary factor in their purchase decisions, and color can enhance the recognition of a brand by 0%. Red stimulates appetite, blue conveys trust, and green symbolizes health, and the emotional associations of these colors directly affect consumer behavior. McDonald's red and yellow color scheme, Starbucks' blue logo, and Zoo Coffee's personalized color strategy all strengthen brand recognition and market competitiveness through color.

This kind of color logo integrated into the brand gene carries the market reputation of the enterprise and the emotional connection of consumers, and is essentially an intangible asset protected by law. However, with only a verbal notice, Sanhe Chengguan demanded that red, blue and black be banned, and alienated the guiding principle of "light color and light elegance" into a mandatory order of "either red and green", which not only ignored the laws of business, but also was suspected of infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises.

The absurdity of policy implementation stems from the inversion of governance logic. Sanhe City's "Guidelines for Urban Planning and Construction Management" clearly stipulates that "except for explicit prohibitions, they are all guiding opinions", but the urban management department regards "suggestions" as "bans" and implements "one-size-fits-all" for common commercial colors.

Moreover, the banned red, blue, and black are precisely the most recognizable main colors in the commercial scene - red symbolizes festivity, blue represents technology, and black highlights quality, and banning these colors is tantamount to forcibly stripping the visual soul of the brand. This kind of "official-style aesthetics" that is divorced from the reality of the market will reduce the street to a "palette" of administrative power, and will eventually only give rise to an "aesthetic desert" with thousands of stores, which deviates from the original intention of "people-oriented" urban governance.

The highest level of urban governance is to make "city appearance" and "city benefit" coexist and co-prosper. The merchant signboard is not only the "face" of the city's image, but also the "scholarship" of commercial vitality. Grassroots departments should adhere to the boundaries of the rule of law when regulating the city's appearance: before the policy is introduced, it needs to be scientifically demonstrated, public opinion should be widely heard, the basis for implementation should be clear, and "sports-style governance" should be avoided, and oral notices should not be used to replace legal procedures. When the "Snow King Red" is lit up again in the night, it is not only the signboard of the store, but also a deep reflection on urban governance - more important than the uniform color is to return the governance thinking to rationality: respect the laws of the market, revere business creativity, and protect the spirit of the rule of law. Only in this way can the city accommodate a myriad of colors, rather than allowing the "monochromatic" of power to drown out the vitality and vitality of the streets.

(Cartoon Zhang Ye commented Jing Jie, Wang Yanan, planner Yin Xiaoping)

Proofread by Hu Yanlu