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Redeem nowInspiration in the color bronze.
Learn the history and meaning of the color bronze, a warm and earthy hue with one of the strongest footholds in history.
Get inspired with bronze design templates.
The color bronze has a refined and timeless quality to it, evoking wisdom, grounding, and strength.
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How to use the color bronze.
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The color bronze versus copper.
Bronze metal’s principal ingredient is copper, so it’s unsurprising that the color bronze is similar to copper color. Copper, however, is warmer than bronze. The color bronze is also earthier.
The color bronze versus brass.
Bronze and brass are both metal alloys mixed with copper. Bronze is copper and tin, and brass is copper and zinc. Bronze color is a richer, redder brown. Brass is more like a muted yellow. Both have matte and metallic versions, and metallic brass approaches a look of gold.
Tap into the psychology of bronze color.
The color bronze shares many of its psychological attributes with brown. As an earthy tone, bronze color evokes feelings of growth, stability, experience, and a connection with nature. The color bronze can also create warmth with its yellow influence, which also provides a sense of openness toward others.
Combine bronze with other colors.
The color bronze is often paired with white for a high contrast. The combination provides the coolness of clean white against the earthy warmth of bronze. For a more dramatic palette, use bronze with burgundy. For a youthful look, set bronze next to teal, jade, and turquoise. Bronze combined with royal blue or navy can be a powerful contemporary combination.
Information about bronze color.
The bronze HEX code picker is #CD7F32. This is the medium, earthy brown with added yellow warmth that imitates the color of its alloy namesake.
The color bronze can be achieved in a RGB space with 205 red, 127 green, and 50 blue. Bronze color can be achieved in a CMYK color space with 0% cyan, 38% magenta, 76% yellow, and 20% black.
The history of bronze color.
The origin of bronze color.
The color bronze is named after the metal alloy. The metal is made with about six sevenths copper and one seventh tin, and its invention marked the start of the archaeological Bronze Age. Bronze was used extensively in ornaments and weapons, and the brown-based medium orange color became recognized as a hue of stability and strength.
The color bronze entered English to describe more than its namesake.
The color bronze was first recorded in English in 1753. The elected shade imitated the age-old material already known and respected. Bronze color was identified as darker than amber but lighter than copper. “Bronzing” also came to mean the application of the color bronze to other materials, for example the patina applied to mirrors.
The color bronze today.
Bronze color is used as a decorative finish in interiors, design, and artwork today. From pearls to pipes and faucets, the color bronze gained recent popularity in kitchenware. Bronze is a rich shade that can give design too weighty a feel, so the pendulum of popularity will someday swing back and leave it as an accent color. The color bronze is an especially attractive accent in its shimmery, metallic form.
The color bronze across different cultures.
The era of bronze.
The archaeological period “the Bronze Age” is the second of three metal ages. It first took hold in the Middle East with the hallmark invention of bronze (around 3500 B.C.E.). Civilizations that adopted bronze had a distinct technological advantage. Other advances followed its adoption, like writing systems, year-round agriculture, and centralized governments. The color bronze is deeply rooted in this expansion. Today, bronze color simultaneously represents antiquity and progress.
The color bronze in the Olympic Games.
The tradition of giving a bronze medal to the third-place finisher started in the Olympic Games in 1904. The first-place winner received gold and second place received silver (in order of the cost of the precious metal). Bronze is notoriously inexpensive — one reason why it revolutionized an archaeological era. Bronze color medals are nonetheless symbols of award-winning athletic performance. Before the bronze medal was added, only first and second places received medals.
The color bronze in language.
The word “bronze” as the copper-tin alloy was first recorded in English in the 1700s, coming from the French word bronze, itself a loan from Italian bronzo. Multiple origin theories exist. It might have come from bronza, “glowing coals” in Venetian, or brunst in German, “fire.” It might have come from Persian birinj, “copper.” “To bronze” was used figuratively of feelings by 1726 in the sense of “hardening like bronze.” The verb “bronze” as in “to brown in color under the sun” dates to 1792.