Dark Blue Color Meaning: Pros, Cons of Dark Blue in Design

Though sometimes confused with navy blue, dark blue represents a specific color code. In the RGB color space, dark blue (hex code #00008B) contains 54.5 percent blue and no red or green, while in the CMYK color space, dark blue contains 100 percent cyan, 100 percent magenta, no yellow, and 45 percent black. In color symbolism, dark blue color meanings include:

• Cool temperatures: All shades of blue, including dark blue, signify cold temperatures. Cool colors on the color wheel include blue, green, and purple. Additionally, blue skin can indicate a low body temperature.
• Intelligence: Many people associate blue shades with knowledge, intelligence, and concentration.
• Loyalty: Having a “true blue” friend implies commitment and dedication to the relationship.
• Masculinity: Historically, the lighter blue tint of baby blue signifies the male gender; however, all shades of blue, including light blue, medium blue, dark blue, and navy blue, suggest traditional forms of masculinity.
• Night sky: Whereas you associate sky blue with a daytime sky, dark blue signifies the sky at night. Midnight blue connotes a moonless night, with a heavy saturation of black combined with a deep blue.
• Predictability: The phrase “out of the blue” means the occurrence of an event you weren’t expecting. In a similar vein, “once in a blue moon” implies an event that doesn’t happen very often.
• Sea: You can use dark blue to symbolize a stormy sea or a deep body of water. Though many shades of blue signify water, including blue-green or aqua for tropical waters, dark blue suggests a more mysterious depth or ominous quality.
• Power and authority: Dark blue signifies power and responsibility. Police officers often utilize dark blue or navy blue colors for their uniforms. The slang term “boys in blue” refers to the police.
• Sadness: To “be blue” or “feeling blue” means you feel sorrow or despair. In Korea, dark blue is the color of mourning.
• Social prominence: A “blue blood” defines a socially prominent person or someone born into nobility.

Egyptians first used blue pigment. They created a lighter blue shade from ground limestone and copper minerals. Dark blue pigments didn’t appear until the sixth century with ultramarine, a deep blue color pigment made from grinding up the mineral lapis lazuli.

Ultramarine proved popular with medieval European artists for its deep blue quality, but its expense made it accessible only to the wealthy. Cobalt blue became the more affordable and popular blue pigment amongst artists in the eighth and ninth centuries, particularly in Chinese porcelain and later with Dutch Delft porcelain. Artificial ultramarine appeared in the mid-nineteenth century, replacing the more expensive version.

Indigo dye became popular in the sixteenth century, becoming the color of the Beau Brummell blue suit in the eighteenth century and blue jeans in the nineteenth century. The British Royal Navy adopted navy blue (also known as marine blue) for their uniforms in the nineteenth century. Prussian blue, a vibrant darker blue, appeared in the early 1700s and became Pablo Picasso’s pigment of choice during his Blue Period.

Dark blue implies professionalism and reliability, which explains its use in graphic design by many banks and corporations. In design, dark blue:

1. 1. Complements darker rooms: Acclaimed interior designer Corey Damen Jenkins encourages you to work with your room’s natural lighting rather than fighting it. When decorating a low-light room, “go for the more smoldering, rich, dark, sexy colors that actually enhance the lighting,” like shades of dark blue.
2. 2. Connotes authority: Dark blue works well as a design choice if you want to exude strength, expertise, reliability, and trust with your design.
3. 3. Serves as an alternative to black: If you need a darker shade in your work but want to retain color, a dark blue color scheme offers a workable solution.
4. 4. Works well in color combinations: Use dark blue with complementary colors such as orange to create an appealing color scheme. Or play with other shades of blue, such as light blue or teal.

Though you can use dark blue in your designs without worry, keep these possible negative traits in mind as you work:

1. 1. Absorbs heat: If your project involves something significant in size, remember that dark shades like dark blue absorb heat and can make a room or enclosed space feel warm.
2. 2. Can fade: Dark blue–painted art or objects fade in saturation over time, particularly in sunlight. Potential fading makes dark blue a better choice for low-light rooms than for rooms with lots of bright sunlight.
3. 3. Can feel oppressive: Too much dark blue can make you feel as if you’re surrounded by darkness, especially in a small room. Walls painted dark blue can make a room feel more cave-like.
4. 4. Shows scratches: Like all dark colors, dark blue shows every scratch, chip, or imperfection, and you may have trouble getting touch-ups to match.

Grab the MasterClass Annual Membership and plumb the depths of your creativity with the help of modern artist Jeff Koons, abstract artist Futura, and stage designer Es Devlin. Our exclusive video lessons will teach you to do things like utilize color and scale, explore the beauty in everyday objects, and so much more.