Get inspired with light blue design templates.
Light blue brings out the best of the color blue.
Inspiration in the color light blue.
Learn the history and meaning of the color light blue — and how it takes blue color to the next level.
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How to use the color light blue.
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Light blue color inspiration found in nature.
The first thing most think of in the color light blue is the sky. Look up on a clear day, and light blue will shine luster at you. Other natural inspirations in light blue include the flames of a gas stove, thistles, and a marine bird with light blue feet called the Blue Footed Booby.
Light blue color brings out the best in other blues.
Light blue color can offset the richness and complexity of darker blue. Colors like navy blue can look gloomy in big doses, but paired with light blue, it draws helps you feel relaxed.
How light blue color plays with others.
Light blue can be matched with different colors for different effects. Combine light blue with purple for a dreamy look. Light blue color can keep things fresh next to warm rose or coral. Light blue creates a soft expression when paired with light pink. To use light blue for its “truest blue” effect, pair it with cream so that the light blue color can take the message over.
Use light blue color liberally.
Light blue is easy on the eyes. It inspires tranquility. Its relaxing effect means you can use light blue abundantly. If you want light blue color to be the main color in something, it can be. It can also be a soothing accent color where other bolder colors are in use.
Information about light blue color.
The light blue HEX code picker is #ADD8E6. Light blue is pale enough that it can be used well in backgrounds and also in individual elements of your work.
Light blue can be achieved in a RGB space with 173 red, 216 green, and 230 blue. Light blue can be achieved in a CMYK color space with 30% cyan, 3% magenta, 7% yellow, and 0% black.
What is the meaning of light blue color?
Light blue is made by adding blue and white. It’s the paler version of blue color, yet it has a stronger association with many of blue’s core meanings. Blue is tied to tranquility and peace, but it also represents nobility, royalty, and coldness. Light blue holds onto the meaning of tranquility and peace but leaves royalty and the cold behind.
Light blue is sometimes described as baby blue, powder blue, and pastel blue. Each of these names mirrors the softness and serenity that light blue color inspires.
The history of the color light blue.
Light blue is as old as the sky above, but its name is not.
Look up and you see light blue in the sky on a clear day. That light blue color did not always have a name, though. Historically, light blue was rarely present in pigments or clothing dyes because its source color, blue, was hard to come by. Blue color was tied to royalty for centuries because it was so expensive to make. When synthetic blue pigment was invented, light blue color made its biggest entry into art and fashion.
Light blue color was seen as cheerful and provocative.
Light blue made its biggest appearances in the Rococo era in France (1730 – 1760). It was used often in paintings of beautiful women that depicted the fashionistas of the day. The color light blue was seen as cheerful and provocative, much like the women who wore it. If colors had a patron saint, light blue color would look to Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of King Louis XV, who famously was known to combine light blue and pink in her fashion over this period.
Light blue was not always the color for baby boys.
Until the 1950s, pink was seen as the color for baby boys. Because red was long thought of as a vigorous and manly color, pink was considered the diminutive of red. The colors pink and blue for babies were swapped in the 20th century when fashion magazines started dressing girls in pink. Light blue today is commonly used for newborn boys and represents the purest parts of boyhood: innocence, youth, and infancy.
Light blue color across different cultures.
Light blue (the term) is surprisingly new in English.
The term “light blue” was first recorded in English in 1915. Light blue color has existed as there’s been a light blue sky, but the name came about 200 years after blue dyes became commonplace. In some languages, there is no word for “light blue color” because there is no word for blue. In Japanese, Vietnamese, and Lakota Sioux, the colors blue and green are seen as different hues of the same color.
Some languages have multiple names for blue including one dedicated to the color light blue.
In Russian, there is no single word for blue. One word is used only for light blue color, and another word is used for dark blue. Hebrew and Greek also each have a dedicated word for light blue color. In Ancient Greek, the word used for light blue could also mean light green, gray, or even yellow.
Light blue color is a color of tranquility in the West, but it has other meanings around the world.
In Hinduism, Shiva is depicted in light blue tones and is even called “neela kantha” (“blue-throated”). It is said that Shiva swallowed poison to try and turn a battle in favor of the gods, which created the light blue throat. The color light blue was prized by the Ancient Egyptians, who used it in jewelry and decorations. Light blue color is also featured today in the flags of Fiji, Argentina, and Botswana.