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Redeem nowInspiration in the color midnight blue.
Learn the history and meaning of the color midnight blue, a dark blue with a richness that can rival black.
Get inspired with midnight blue design templates.
The color midnight blue is profound, sensible, and sophisticated. Play with midnight blue color for dramatic effect.
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How to use the color midnight blue.
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The color midnight blue is timeless.
The color midnight blue is considered timeless in design, décor, and fashion. It’s a classic color for formal wear. It’s a color that never trends in or out in interior design. Because of its richness, midnight blue is often used as an accent color next to light neutral hues.
Tap the psychology of midnight blue.
The color midnight blue emits reliability and elegance. It provides authority. Midnight blue color also shares some qualities with black because they’re so similar, including depicting power and strength.
The color midnight blue versus navy blue.
The color midnight blue is sometimes compared with navy blue. Both are deep and dramatic shades of blue made by mixing blue with black. Midnight blue color, however, is darker than navy blue. The color midnight blue is so dark that it can sometimes be confused with black.
Combine midnight blue with other colors.
The color midnight blue pairs brilliantly with bright yellow, like so many stars in the night sky. You can also pair midnight blue color with neutrals like white, beige, cream, and khaki for timeless palettes popular in décor and fashion. Combine the color midnight blue with reds, pinks, or orange hues for a dramatic contrast. Midnight blue color can also look striking next to olive green, which is its complementary color on the color wheel.
Information about midnight blue color.
The midnight blue HEX code picker is #191970. This is the deepest shade of blue, made by mixing indigo with black.
The color midnight blue can be achieved in a RGB space with 25 red, 25 green, and 112 blue. Midnight blue can be achieved in a CMYK color space with 78% cyan, 78% magenta, 0% yellow, and 56% black.
The history of midnight blue color.
Midnight blue in a Starry Night.
The color midnight blue has been in use throughout the ages, though it only acquired its name in the early 20th century. Look to examples in art like the aptly named Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, painted in 1889. Midnight blue is swirled into the nighttime sky with other shades of blue, seemingly illuminated by the bright scattered stars.
The color midnight blue was brought to formal events in the 1920s.
Midnight blue color gained fame as an alternate color for tuxedos in the 1920s. Suits for daily wear and even formalwear for women began to use midnight blue as a popular alternative to black, too. At the same time, navy blue uniforms in North America slowly moved from bold navy to a deeper, almost black midnight blue the same color of Jazz Era tuxedos.
Crayola’s addition of Midnight Blue.
The famed Crayola crayon collection added the color Midnight Blue to the crayon box in 1958. The midnight blue color actually replaced an existing crayon called Prussian Blue, based on a dark shade of the classic indigo pigment.
The color midnight blue across different cultures.
Midnight blue in music.
The color midnight blue has been characterized extensively in music, starting in 1963 with jazz guitarist’s Kenny Burrell’s album titled Midnight Blue. In the 1970s, a song by Melissa Manchester called “Midnight Blue” hit the charts, followed thereafter by the Electric Light Orchestra of the same name. Lou Gramm released a single in 1987 called “Midnight Blue” as well.
Midnight blue color formalwear credited to the Duke of Windsor.
Edward VIII (1894 – 1972), the Duke of Windsor, was credited for introducing midnight blue color tuxedos and suits in the 1920s. Edward’s rationale was that the deep blue would allow photos to capture the tailoring details in suits that otherwise looked like black tunics in pictures. Pockets, lapels, and buttons could be fully appreciated in formalwear dyed with the color midnight blue.
Dark blue with dark meanings.
The color blue brings many meanings with it. Around the world, cultures have deep religious, cultural, and artistic associations with different shades of blue. The color midnight blue is made by mixing indigo with black. Because of its profound depth, it’s sometimes used to represent dark ideas. The Cherokee culture associates midnight blue with trouble and defeat. In Iran, the color midnight blue represents mourning.