Pastel Blue

Pastel blue is a pale shade of blue. It is similar to color baby blue, which is why, sometimes, their names are used interchangeably. However, pastel blue is slightly redder and more muted than color baby blue. To achieve a soft shade of pastel blue, you only need to mix colors blue and white. Other colors that relate to pastel blue are powder blue, light blue, misty blue, and blue gray. The hex code for pastel blue is #AEC6CF.

The history of pastel blue

Pastel medium was first manufactured in northern Italy in the 15th century. It is believed that the pastel medium was used by Leonardo da Vinci, who learned it from the French artist Jean Perréal. During the 16th century, it was used for preparatory studies by artists such as Federico Barocci. At that time, there were only three colors in their palette-black, white, and red. Today, there are more than 1,600 hues available on the market.

Pastel colors gained popularity in the 18th century, and were especially fashionable for portrait painting. They became a symbol of what is now known as the Rococo style. Rococo color scheme is characterized by soft and pale tonalities, or pastels. Once favored by the queen of France, Marie Antoinette, pastels became unpopular during and after the French revolution, as soft, creamy tones were identified with the frivolity of the ancien régime.

Two centuries later, there was a pastel revival. During the 50s, pastel was one of three major color trends, and they could be found on everything, from clothes to home decor (at that time, pastel blue was a very popular color for kitchen cabinets). Pastels were taking center stage in almost every house in America. During the 80s, pastel trend resurrected in the US once again. This time, it was thanks to the popular series-Miami Vice, which influenced men’s fashion big time.

The history of color blue shows that blue pigments were originally made from minerals such as cobalt and azurite, while blue natural dyes were made from plants. Natural dyes have been replaced by synthetic dyes since the 18th century. In the last few years, due to its soft, muted hue, pastel blue has become an important color in art, fashion, and design.

The color psychology of pastel blue

According to color psychology, color blue is described as calm, peaceful and serene. The reason for that might be that blue is often found in nature. It stands for everything that is constant and unchanging. On the other hand, blue can sometimes carry some negative color meanings. Because of its cool tone, blue can give out icy and cold vibes. It can even evoke feelings of aloofness or hopelessness. Color blue is sometimes linked to the emotion of sadness, which is represented by the phrase ’’feeling blue’’.

People who favor color blue tend to be good listeners, and are open to new experiences. They are highly empathetic and they possess assertive communication skills. It is found that many people associate color blue with trust, intelligence, confidence, dependability.

Unlike blue, which can sometimes be viewed as a color that has an intense and chilly effect on a person, pastel blue can hardly be seen in this way. Pastel blue is a soothing, warm color that represents neutrality. Like other pastels, it evokes a sense of calmness and balance. Due to its low saturation, it appears mellow and soft. Like most shades of blue, it stands for relaxation and tranquility due to its likeness to the sky and the ocean. People who choose pastel blue have a caring, soft, nurturing personality.

The use of pastel blue

Being one of the soft, creamy and neutral shades, pastel blue can pair well with many colors. Some of them include nude, gray, beige, lilac, dusty rose, rose quartz. Combining it with other pastel hues can lead to creating a vintage look. It is widely used in fashion, home design, web design.

Pastel blue is used in many types of outfits. Wardrobe dipped in pastel blue is usually the most popular choice for spring and summer collection. For a more sophisticated and impactful look, it is sometimes combined with darker and more intense tones.

When it comes to interior design, pastel blue can be used with a variety of decorating styles. It can give a room a very welcoming and peaceful vibes. Being a very subtle and subdued shade, it can give the impression of a very delicate space. Also, like the rest of the pastel color palette, pastel blue is a popular choice for painting nursery rooms, but it is mostly used for baby boys’ bedrooms.

Pastel blue can be often seen as a part of web design’s color schemes. Due to its discreet hue, it can serve as a good background for websites. Not only that its neutrality doesn’t distract from a website’s content, but it can also create an eye-catching effect when combined with contrasting colors.

Information about Pastel Blue / #AEC6CF

In a RGB color space (made from three colored lights for red, green, and blue), hex #aec6cf is made of 68.2% red, 77.6% green and 81.2% blue. In a CMYK color space (also known as process color, or four color, and used in color printing), hex #aec6cf is made of 16% cyan, 4% magenta, 0% yellow and 19% black. Pastel Blue has a hue angle of 196.4 degrees, a saturation of 25.6% and a lightness of 74.7%.

Color conversion

The hexadecimal color #aec6cf has RGB values of R: 68.2, G: 77.6, B: 81.2 and CMYK values of C: 0.16, M: 0.04, Y: 0, K:0.19.