What do light pink, butter yellow, and robin’s egg blue all have in common?
They’re more than just pretty shades on a mood board—they’re pastel powerhouses that have helped define some of the world’s most iconic brands. Light pink became the signature color of Glossier’s minimalist aesthetic, butter yellow gave Post-it notes their cheerful, functional vibe, and robin’s egg blue is practically shorthand for Tiffany & Co. Over time, these pastel colors have done more than catch the eye—they’ve shaped entire trends and cultural moments (just think back to the millennial pink explosion).
If you’re curious about how these soft shades can make a bold impact on your own brand, you’re in the right place. Let’s dive into the pastel palette and discover how to use it effectively over time to leave a lasting impression.
What are pastel colors?
You can create pastel colors by adding a significant amount of white to a solid color or hue. This produces a softer, paler, and more muted color overall. Pastel colors are “tints,” and they aren’t formally part of the color wheel. Instead, they form their own color family of washed-out, less saturated alternatives to primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. Pastel colors evoke certain emotions depending on the palette used, but they’re typically deployed in cheerful, pleasant, and harmonious ways, whether you paint your store walls in pastels or incorporate pastel in a product image.
Graphic designers use pastel colors because they’re nonintrusive and aesthetically pleasing. They can evoke specific emotions depending on the type of palette a brand uses and the way they pair them with other pastels. Thanks to their soft, muted nature, pastel colors also tend to complement product photos—they don’t detract from the item and can create a neutral contrast to spotlight the subject.
Understanding color theory and the psychology of pastel colors
Color theory is the study and education of how colors impact human emotions and moods. The core idea of color theory—that colors can influence moods and, thus, consumer choices—is useful in a litany of different ways. Brands specifically use color theory to evoke certain feelings that shoppers may then associate with a company and its products. Each primary color has a specific meaning associated with it, which may tie to a broader comment or reflection of the world. As derivative tints, pastels can establish more muted, softer versions of these moods, helping to create a certain vibe or energy. Pastels pair with other pastels to make custom, complementary color palettes that marketers use to set the tone for a brand.
Just like the color red can convey a sense of urgency or yellow can evoke happiness, pastel colors elicit soothing, calming, and peaceful feelings. While they often are associated with holidays like Easter or newborn babies, they can also give off a romantic vibe or indicate fresh starts and new beginnings. In branding, this same color psychology applies. It’s why you often see things like warm, bright pastel colors for intimates or beauty brands, and cool pastels for more utilitarian personal care brands.
Tips for using pastel colors in your branding
There are countless options to use pastel colors to bolster the impact of your branding and sharpen your marketing efforts. Here are some tips to get started:
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Add contrast by incorporating pastels. Pairing pastel colors with dark colors creates a more dynamic color palette. This provides a visually pleasing contrast for consumers. Using pastels as an accent color can help draw the eye and make your brand stand out.
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Choose pastels that align with your brand identity. Since pastels often evoke feelings like freshness, romanticism, hope, and peacefulness, you want to make sure they match with the product you’re selling. For example, the subdued, relaxed aesthetic of a pastel color palette may not be the right style for a high-energy athletic brand.
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Avoid using too many pastels. Pastels may be pretty, but using too many pastels can drown out your product and muddy your brand aesthetic. Best practice is to make a choice when it comes to one or two pastels, then mix them with traditional primary, secondary, and tertiary colors.
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Consider accessibility. While pastels might look nice on your product packaging or brand photos, they can be exclusionary if not used properly. Using pastels as text or highlight shades on your company website, for example, may make your pages difficult to read for some shoppers. You want to make sure your content is inclusive and accessible, which means it needs to be legible and displayed in high-contrast colors.
Examples of pastel colors in branding
- Mixed pastel color palette
- Muted pastel color palette
- Pastel as a pop of color
- Warm pastel color palettes
- Cool pastel color palettes
There are several different types of pastel colors used in branding. These are a few of the most prominent to keep in mind:
Mixed pastel color palette
A mixed pastel color palette typically involves using two or more related pastels within the same color family, along with an additional accent pastel for some extra punch and whimsy. The mixed pastel approach tends to give a more dynamic and energetic note to branding.
Ottawa-based Dominion City Brewing uses a mixed palette for its line of non-alcoholic seltzer waters, matching the playful feeling of these fizzy drinks.
Muted pastel color palette
While most pastels are muted versions of foundational colors, there is an even more muted palette of pastels that can cultivate a more subdued vibe or relaxed energy from your brand. These include tones like butter yellow, lavender, and nude.
On Instagram, the shoewear brand Maguire uses two shades of pastel colors in its logo to lend a calm, subdued element to the brand profile. The pastels carry through in the product packaging, too, where shoes arrive encased in a light gray packing paper inside the shoeboxes.
Pastel as a pop of color
While the mixed pastel color palette leans on an accent pastel within a group of other pastels, the pop of color approach does the same, but instead uses the pastel against more traditional, saturated colors.
The buzzy olive oil brand Graza employs a pastel olive green on one of its bottles to add dimension and help that product stand out amongst the more saturated colors.
Warm pastel color palettes
Warm pastel color palettes involve tints with more of an orange hue in them, such as pastel pink, orange, and yellow. Hero Packaging, for example, uses a warm palette across its products and brand marketing as a way to generate a playful and lively feel.
Cool pastel color palettes
Cool pastel color palettes involve tints with more of a blue hue in them, such as pastel purple, blue, and green. Undefined Beauty uses this type of palette in its brand marketing, building off the pastel purple of its brand logo.
Pastel colors FAQ
Are pastels Easter colors?
Pastels are indeed popular Easter colors, but they aren’t only used for Easter. Because of their unobtrusive nature and visually aesthetic properties, they are popular for branding and marketing and appealing across a variety of demographics around the world.
What skin tone do pastels look good on?
Pastels can look good on any skin tone, but some pastel palettes complement certain shades better than others. Individuals with cool undertones, for example, tend to look better in cool pastel color palettes, in shades of blue, purple, and green. By contrast, those with warm undertones often appear best in warm pastels like orange, yellow, and pink.
What are good pastel color combos?
There are countless options to pair pastels in visually satisfying ways. You can create palettes that use mixed pastels, warm pastels, cool pastels, or even isolate a pastel to use it as an accent pop of color. For brand marketing, the key is to make sure the colors you use match your brand identity and feel true to your company.
