Cerulean: The Millennial Color
When you ask a Millennial what their favorite color is, and they respond with “blue,” you can be almost sure that soon after, they will clarify “Cerulean blue.” It’s like the James Bond of colors. Blue, Cerulean blue. But what is the origin of Cerulean blue? Why is it seen as one of, if not the, most popular color amongst Millennials? In a recent doom scrolling session through TikTok, I found myself on a video conspiring that Crayola has altered the colors of their crayons over the years (spoiler, they haven’t). With over 500k likes, the video has gained quite a good amount of traction. But the most exciting part of this video was in the comments section, where everyone explained how it was due to Crayola crayons that they discovered Cerulean was their favorite shade of blue. In 1990, “Cerulean” replaced “Green-Blue” in the Crayola color palette, quickly becoming famous among grammar schools nationwide. As a member of the Cerulean cult myself, I can direct my source not only to Crayola but to a particular Pokémon video game released in 1998 that had an area called “Cerulean City,” which was always my favorite. But I must admit, my encounter with the crayon came before I met Pokémon. I vividly remember that Cerulean was always the most fought-over crayon in grammar school. If you had Cerulean, then you had the world in your hands. But what is the origin of Cerulean blue, and why does it still have a stranglehold on the Millennial generation?
Albrecht Höpfner, a Swiss chemist, created Cerulean blue from cobalt stannate in 1805. Its name comes from the Latin caeruleus, meaning dark blue caelum, caelum most likely deriving from caelulum, meaning sky/heaven. The popularity of Cerulean amongst artists was so widespread since it does not react to light or chemicals. Upon its discovery, this attribute made it a staple in any artist’s palette. Given the way that it perfectly captured the color of the sky, artists flocked to it. Even Monet himself used the color in his La Gare Saint-Lazare. In the 90s, designers such as Christian Lacroix and Armani employed Cerulean blue in their collections. Even Washburn came out with a Cerulean blue electric guitar simultaneously. Of course, we can’t forget the hit show “Legends of the Hidden Temple,” which featured a team named “Blue Barracudas” represented by the color Cerulean blue.
Then again, in the wildly popular Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep’s character has her infamous monologue about Cerulean blue. In the year 2000, Pantone even named Cerulean the color of the millennium due to its calming effects and the peace that staring at the sky brings to people.So what about Cerulean has solidified it as a staple color amongst the Millennial generation? Is it the cultural relevance throughout the 90s and early 2000s, or is it something deeper?
In a book by Wallace J Nichols titled Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do, he argues that the water aids in the healing of the soul that humans seek out when they feel overwhelmed by the rat race of modern living. Is the connection to blue, in general, just something we think of as calming, and the Cerulean shade is an anchor to a certain calming nostalgia? As we continue to be bombarded with more and more existential threats, maybe the memories of Cerulean are simply a way to cope, to bring ourselves back to a time when the world seemed a little bit less intimidating. Before we had to deal with 9/11, student loan debt, and pandemics, we had Lisa Frank, video games, and Cerulean crayons. So the next time a Millennial tells you that their favorite color is Cerulean blue, understand that it was a staple of the 90s culture and is our little slice of peace that we fondly think back on in the face of a very non-Cerulean world.
