When you think of pastels, colour that is, not sweets, things like easter, babies or shades of the colour pink may spring to mind. However, there is actually so much more to these soft, muted colours than what first springs to mind. While pastels do lend themselves perfectly to a child or easter campaign, they can also be used for modern designs in a very sophisticated way.
Pastels are pale tones of rudimentary colours, which are made by mixing white into the original, brighter shade. This creates a lighter and softer tone. Technically speaking, any colour can be made into a pastel by adding white and the more you add, the lighter the pastel will become. As touched on, pastels have a softer look to their brighter counterparts and are typically described as ‘soft’, ‘washed out’, ‘pale’ ‘muted’ and ‘light’.
What pastels can achieve
Colour can be an extremely powerful tool, if used in the correct way, you can leverage it in any way you like to inspire feelings, emotions and associations in whoever is looking at it. Just like with any shade of colour, if you understand the emotions that pastels can achieve within the viewer, you can utilise the shade to your advantage making people feel whatever you want them to. Pastels do evoke different feelings and emotions to their brighter counterparts, however, they can be just as evocative.
Pastels tend to evoke feelings of:
- Peacefulness and calming - This is because they are less saturated than your rudimentary colours and are softer on your eyes. By using pastels, you inspire a calming, soothing and peaceful vibe for your audience.
- Romance - interestingly enough, pastels can evoke feelings of romance if paired with some romantic imagery
- Spring - as touched on earlier, pastels tend to make people think of spring, newly blossoming flowers, easter, happiness and the hope of new beginnings.
- Baby and childhood - You can't talk pastels without mentioning babies or young children, pale blue’s pink and yellows tend to be the most commonly used and upon seeing them, generally speaking people’s mind tend to make the association with babies and childhood. If you are looking for a child or baby shoot, pastels are the way to go.
1st Option and pastels
Here at 1st Option we have a large selection of properties that feature different shades and tones of pastels allowing you to achieve the exact look you are after. As noted, pastels do tend to be synonymous with childrens bedrooms as well as shabby chic decor, if you’re brief requires either then worry no more as we have a wide array of locations that fit the bill. Whether you are looking for a spring shoot that incorporates all shades ranging from blue to yellow, or something more specific utilising just one pastel shade, we will have something for you. If you are after an all over pastel decor like Minton House or Optical we have you covered or perhaps a location with hits of pastels here and there like Concord or Carlton House is more to your liking, well we also have you covered. So get in touch today and let us provide you with your dream shoot!