Imagine that a number line lives on a 2D plane. "Positive" on the number line is in the 0° direction, and "Negative" on the number line is in the 180° direction.
"1" is a vector of length 1, pointing in the direction 0°.
"-3" is a vector of length 3, pointing in the direction 180°.
Multiplication of these vectors can be understood as multiplying the lengths and adding the angle of each vector.
"1 * -3" is a vector of length (1*3 = 3), pointing in the direction (0° + 180° = 180°). In other words, "1 * -3" is a vector of length 3, pointing in the negative direction.