.
Get your designs printed and delivered to your door - plus, enjoy 50% off your order until January 15th (See terms).
Redeem now

Inspiration in the color electric blue.

Learn the history and meaning of the color electric blue, the striking and energetic cyan-like hue.

Design with electric blue

Get inspired with electric blue design templates.

The color electric blue casts energy on everything around it. Play with electric blue to get attention and to make a statement.

Load more

What is the meaning of the color electric blue?

Electric blue is a dynamic shade similar to cyan or aqua. The color electric blue has represented energy as far back as antiquity when it was revered in the center of dancing flames. In more recent history, electric blue acquired its name (and a higher degree of energy) thanks to its association with electric currents. On the scale of blues, the color electric blue is lighter than royal blue but richer than baby blue.

The color electric blue brings a spark to design, fashion, and décor. Electric blue color is used to evoke energy and creativity.

The history of electric blue color.

The namesake of electric blue color was literal electricity.

Shades of bright electric blue have existed as long as flames have burned. The color name for electric blue color, though, was only adopted in 1845. The concept of the color electric blue arrived at a time when the likes of Edmond Becqerel (who discovered the photovoltaic effect) and Edward Davy (who invented the electric relay) were doing exciting electrical experiments. Electric blue color was named after the ionized air glow produced by electrical discharges.

The color electric blue’s height of popularity came shortly after.

The color electric blue had its heyday in the 1890s. The color came into vogue in décor and fashion at a time when consumer electricity was the talk of the town. Electric blue color even made it into a Sherlock Holmes story titled “The Adventure of Copper Beeches” published in 1892. The character Miss Hunter was described to wear an “electric blue dress.”

Electric blue color from forensics to the natural world.

Other than the quintessential neon signs that glow electric blue, the color is seen and recognized in several places now. Luminol, the chemical used to detect blood in crime scenes, glows electric blue. Anyone who’s a fan of crime TV shows has seen this applied. The color electric blue is also found in nature (in name and appearance), from the electric blue crayfish to the electric blue gecko.

The color electric blue across different cultures.

Electric blue color is associated with some specific things.

The color electric blue has taken on multiple meanings across time and space. In China, electric blue color is so similar to jade that the hue is highly valued. Jade represents wisdom and long life, and the color electric blue has taken on those meanings, too. In the West, electric blue color is a bright and happy blue considered far from the blue-inspired idioms like “feeling blue.” Instead, the color electric blue represents art, creativity, and pacifism.

Electric blue color in psychology.

The color electric blue is tied inescapably to electricity. Bright blue sparks are what inspired the name, and that energy vibrates wherever electric blue color is used. The color electric blue evokes action and excitement. Standard blue is generally linked to reliability, but the vivid shade of electric blue color accelerates that reliability to a steady state of inspiration.

Popular references of the color electric blue.

Other than the electric blue dress in the Sherlock Holmes story, the color electric blue also appeared in the 1998 retelling of Superman Red/Superman Blue. The new version of Superman in the graphic novel is known colloquially as “Electric Blue Superman.” David Bowie also sang about the color electric blue in “Sound and Vision,” whose lyrics include, “blue, blue, electric blue; that’s the color of my room; where I will live; blue, blue.”