Frankie Thomson
Refresh everything from your home decor to your small business branding using 2021’s unconventional and inspirational Spring Color Palettes. Spark joy in 2021 with these Spring color trends for your design and photography projects. Unconventional Spring palettes, including moody Tidewater Green, traffic sign red, and acid pastels, offer an unashamedly fun mood. We’re also increasingly looking to color to boost our mood through our home décor and clothing, with many of our palettes themed on optimism, well-being, and self-expression. Color has been scientifically proven to have a significant effect on our mental and physical health. Chromotherapy is the science of using colored light to adjust vibrations in the body to frequencies that are believed to result in improved health and harmony.
For example, orange is able to boost energy and creativity, while green has healing and calming qualities (the reason why it is used almost ubiquitously across pharmaceutical branding). In 2021, we could all do with a little boost, and color is an instant and effective way of not only improving our personal wellbeing, but also of leading consumers to feel more positively towards designs, brands, and marketing communications. A rich, jewel-toned palette that allows lovers of darker shades to keep using their beloved moody tones well into Spring. Pale dusky pink lends a lighter tone, giving this alternative Spring palette a fresh and vibrant feel.
While dark shades are not usually the conventional choice for Spring, they can make for exceptionally sophisticated, grown-up schemes. This cheering palette is inspired by Versace’s 2020 show, which took the 1970s and glam rock culture as a starting point, then dialed up the color to maximum.
Deep orange and apricot make a nod to the era of flares and Bowie, while emerald green and azure blue bring nature-inspired freshness and boldness. In this palette, Illuminating acts as the anchoring accent, and can be used in small doses to bring Springtime sunlight and vibrancy to an otherwise urban, somber scheme. Mixing cool, warm, and dark tones together gives this scheme an off-beat, fashion-forward feel. However, after a long period of uncertainty, color can be used as an empowering tool in our forays back into real life.
Street style regulars have been seen wearing a variety of shades of red from head to toe, making a statement in this powerfully feminine hue. Calming and grounding, this color palette is a contemporary take on traditional Spring schemes, and is a perfect fit for lifestyle or health brands, as well as soothing editorial designs for magazines or brochures.
For a paler, brighter scheme, why not try combining these hues with one of our 2021 Color Trends, Set Sail Champagne? On tentatively sunlit early Spring mornings, is there anything more comforting than the promise of coffee and a hearty breakfast? It combines a deeper olive green and navy blue with rich mustard yellow and gray-hued pink. A comforting and homely color scheme, this palette can be used effectively on designs that aim to provide a friendly, cocooning feel.
Restaurant menus and café signage will feel modern, yet welcoming, with this earthy palette. Clockwise, from top left: Packaging design for Pineapple Collaborative by STUDIO L’AMI.
This elegant color palette anticipates the summer months ahead, with a combination of earthy tones of terracotta, deep brown, and tan. Architecture and interior designr Rina Lovko Studio used this ultra-desirable blue and terracotta scheme for an apartment in Kyiv, Ukraine, which demonstrates how this strikes the perfect balance between earthy and playful colors. Enter Acid Pastels—a high-octane, sugar-sweet palette inspired by retro candy and 1980s colors.
Parma violet, pale lime, bubblegum aqua, and candy pink make for a flagrantly fun and nostalgic scheme that brings playfulness to websites, brands, or 3D illustrations.
For an extra dose of 2021 on-trend style, seek out inkscapes with acid pastel tones, which make for impactful backgrounds on landing pages and social posts. But here, concrete gray, ink black, and crisp white gives it an urban edge.
Proven to improve our mental wellbeing, color can be an amazingly effective way to boost low moods and spark joy! The ten Spring color palettes above will bring optimism and energy to your design projects, helping to spread the joy to your clients, as well.
