Cerulean blue color and the trickle-down effect

There are many famous lines from the 2006 iconic fashion movie The Devil Wears Prada, but none are as renowned as the lines from the ‘cerulean blue scene.’ You know, the one where editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly explains to an unschooled assistant, Andrea Sachs, that the color of her sweater is not just blue, not turquoise, nor lapis, but actually cerulean.

But what is cerulean, and how are designers and brands using it today? Let’s explore the color cerulean, its history, its impact on our culture, and the famous “trickle-down effect” mentioned in the movie.

Cerulean is a wonderful blue that falls somewhere between a sky blue and a saturated azure. It is one of those pigments and color names from color theory that reaches way back in our collective histories and is ever present in our art, fashion, and daily life.

Use these cerulean blue color codes to select the perfect cool blue background color or build your own cerulean blue color palette.

The CMYK cerulean blue color code used in printers is 83% cyan, 33% magenta, 13% yellow, and 10% black.

Because of its association with water and the sky, cerulean’s cool and soothing tones are imprinted in our psyches and evoke feelings of calming peace and tranquility. In some cultures, cerulean blue is associated with luxury, prestige, and spirituality.

The word cerulean comes from the Latin word caeruleus, which means dark blue or blue-green. It is thought to be derived from caelum, which means heaven or sky.

The actual cerulean color, though, has deep roots in ancient civilizations. For example, in China, the shade of blue was highly valued and affiliated with luxury and prestige. It was often used to create intricate blue and white designs in porcelain.

In Europe, the birth of the color began with the discovery of the pigment cobalt blue in 1802 by French chemist Louis Jacques Thénard. Three years later, Swiss chemist Albrecht Höpfner, inspired by the blue hues used in Chinese porcelain, created cerulean blue from cobalt stannate. However, it took several years for the pigment to become commercially available. It wasn’t until the mid-19th century that the Englishman George Rowney marketed cerulean blue under the name ‘coeruleum’, and the pigment became popular with artists.

If you’re ready to use cerulean blue in your designs, here’s some color palette inspiration to help you create different looks and moods with this flexible color.

This ocean-inspired palette creates a cool, harmonized look. The hex codes for these shades of blue are:

With its range of deep to light blues, this wonderful palette offers a refreshing yet calming touch perfect for home decor, wellness, eco-friendly businesses, and more.

This sunset-inspired palette can help you create a cheerful and vibrant scene using cerulean’s compliment colors. These are the featured warm color hex codes:

If you want to give it a tweak, hot pink or mustard yellow shades are great additions to this palette. The warm and dramatic combination is an excellent product design and home decor choice.

If you love neutrals, you will appreciate this cerulean neutral palette featuring these earthy hex codes:

It combines neutrals with pops of cerulean to achieve a balanced and cohesive look. Use these neutrals for wall colors in home decor and cerulean for rugs and throw pillows.

You can even try adding the trendy Mocha Mousse or a subtle touch of lavender color to make it more unique.

Cerulean blue paint was an especially popular choice of color among impressionists (like Berthe Morisot) and post-impressionists (such as Vincent van Gogh), who used it for natural elements like sky and water. They also incorporated shades of the hue to add depth and contrast to their work, create a sense of tranquility, and evoke emotions. Unarguably, the creation of cerulean blue paint made an indelible mark on art history, with paintings like Morisot’s Summer’s Day and Claude Monet’s La Gare Saint-Lazare being just two examples of the use of the color.

This vibrant blue has continued to be a favorite color in modern times. It can be found in various fields of design and contemporary art. It’s often used to evoke a sense of calm, tranquility, and nostalgia.

Cerulean blue has significantly impacted the worlds of design and fashion. When the monarchy of France began to wear blue in the 1600s, the color became associated with royalty and developed into a trend adopted by royals from other countries. However, it was cerulean’s mention in the film The Devil Wears Prada that catapulted the hue to household recognition.

According to editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly, in this scene, color trends begin within one designer collection and are reinterpreted by other designers. From there, a group of editors at top magazines determine which trends are worthy. This informs department stores how to stock their shelves, and the average consumer buys the stock at some point in its shelf life. So, no matter how oblivious and disengaged you are, a few key players in the fashion world dictate your sartorial choices without you being aware.

Though the film-going public accepted Priestly’s claim as gospel, designers dismissed it as an oversimplification. Oversimplification or not, it was definitely outdated in 2006, and it is definitely outdated in today’s social-media-dominated world. Most designers agree that color trends are less trickle-down and more a mixing and melding of influences from inner-city culture to social media, fast fashion brands, and more.

If you want to incorporate cerulean into your projects, check out this collection of helpful resources from Envato.

This gorgeous minimal blue business card design offers clean and professional templates that are easily customized in Photoshop. Written instructions and font file web links are provided.

If you’re a fan of watercolor, you’ll love this fabulous collection of 20 watercolor textures. The hand-painted pack includes 10 rectangle shapes and 10 strokes that are excellent for creating all sorts of web or social media projects and printed projects.

Create a stylish print magazine using this handy ocean-themed template featuring 15 page layouts and a strong dash of cerulean blue.

Check out the stunning Blue Angel typeface, which consists of three different styles plus ornamentation. Each alphabet character has a few alternate sets, enabling designers to create unique letters.

This collection of 20 Lightroom presets, and LUTs is just what you need to give your portraits and travel photographs a cool blue undertone. The collection includes desktop presets, mobile presets, Capture One profiles, and video LUTs.

You now know what cerulean is and the history of color in art and fashion! Whether you use it in your print or web projects, home decor, or fashion, cerulean will consistently deliver a calming yet eye-catching pop of color. For more color inspiration, check out:

Head to Envato for more inspiration for an excellent collection of Cerulean creative assets.