Turn back the clock with retro color palettes that take their creative inspiration from each decade of the 20th century.
Every era has its defining colors—the conservative khakis and browns of the 1940s, the earthy mustards and oranges of the 1970s, etc. These ten free color palettes will transport you to eras like the Summer of Love or the Jazz Age in an instant, featuring color combinations that characterized the fashion and styles of the time. Use these vintage schemes for nostalgic designs that pack a contemporary punch.
Read on to find color palettes with a distinctively retro flavor. Discover their colorful contexts, including why pale green was so popular in 1910, the industrial reasons behind the cheerful pastels of the 1950s, and so much more.
The 20th Century in Color: A Palette for Every Decade
Your free palettes can be used to bring color to designs for print or online, including social media posts, web banners, or emails.
Simply right-click and save a palette to your computer, or pin to a mood board for inspiration later.
Each vintage palette includes HEX codes that can be applied instantly to digital designs, or easily convert your swatches to CMYK for use on print designs.
1. 1910s: Art Nouveau
The early 1910s mark the tail end of the Belle Epoque era. This was defined aesthetically by Art Nouveau, an ornate and naturalistic design style.
Although the First World War spelled the end of Art Nouveau, which by that point appeared out of sync with the dramatic and brutal modernization of warfare, it was still a prominent design style at the outset of the decade across Europe.
This palette takes its inspiration from Art Nouveau, with naturalistic green and romantic rich red. Ornate gilding was a common feature of the Art Nouveau style, which is why verdigris copper green and metallic gold were such prominent and popular colors in this period.
2. 1920s: Art Deco
After the end of the First World War, consumers were hungry for a completely fresh start and a new aesthetic style to go with it.
Art Deco emerged as an internationally popular style, which featured geometric designs, jewel-like colors, and ornate details.
The style was associated with the boom period in America, and still remains a byword for glamor and luxury today.
The color palette below pays tribute to the Art Deco style of the Jazz Age, with jewel-like teal blue, moody midnight blue, antique gold, and copper evoking a speakeasy setting.
3. 1930s: The Great Depression
Following the stock market crash in 1929, a worldwide economic depression set in for a ten-year period. This era was a sharp contrast with the boom years of the 1920s.
Aesthetics and colors followed the subdued social mood over this period, with a more muted take on the Art Deco style emerging over the 1930s.
This wasn’t to say that the colors of the 1930s are not worth a look. They’re beautiful in their own muted method.
Bottle green, brick red, and dark woods became hallmarks of the country club style, which is still considered aspirational and quietly luxurious now.
4. 1940s: The World at War
When war erupted once again in 1939, daily life changed for most individuals across the globe. Military aspects trickled down into many facets of everyday existence. Even the colors that define this era are reflective of wartime influence.
Practical khaki green and flag-worthy red were notable colors of this decade. Muted pastels were also popular for home decor and products.
Buttermilk yellow and pale mint green lend a lighter mood to otherwise militaristic hues.
5. 1950s: Americana
In the post-war period, a huge color revolution was underway. Hollywood started using Technicolor technology more widely, bringing ultra-colorful cinema to American audiences.
Meanwhile, massive industrial advances in the plastics and manufacturing industries made rainbow-hued domestic products available.
In this decade, optimistic color palettes helped to shape a new forward-looking America. Paintbox brights and saccharine pastels contributed to this cheerful Mid-Century palette for clothing, cars, and diners.
6. 1960s: Psychedelia
The early 1960s still clung to the tail-end of Mid-Century Modern interior design and products. By the mid-1960s, a radically different style was gathering pace.
Psychedelia was inspired by the mind-tripping experience of taking hallucinogenic drugs, but became much more than an acid trip.
Heavily inspired by the liberal and free-thinking music scene that was emerging through the likes of The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, psychedelic design used neon colors, swirling patterns, trippy cartoonish illustrations, and stylistic references to Art Nouveau.
Transport your viewers to the Summer of Love with this psychedelic scheme, which merges yellow, orange, rhodamine red, and vivid turquoise blue into a free-spirited tribute to the Swinging Sixties.
7. 1970s: The Hippie Trail
By the 1970s, a more muted and grounded color palette was in vogue for fashion and decor. Influenced by the hippie movement, and in particular the Hippie Trail—a pan-Asian travel route taken by many young people over this period—this decade popularized nature-inspired tones.
Mustard yellow and burnt orange were hallmark colors of this era. These were inherited from the late ’60s. They can be teamed with teal blue and pistachio green for a relaxed and earthy ’70s palette.
8. 1980s: Club Life
The era of home workouts, power shoulders, and VHS tapes, the 1980s was a decade of brash excess and even brasher color schemes.
Purple, pink, and aqua blue was a particularly favorable color combination in this decade, adorning tracksuits and blazer suits alike.
This palette lends a club-ready flavor to any design. It’s an instant way to make designs feel more optimistic and fun.
9. 1990s: Smells Like Teen Spirit
The extreme flashiness of the 1980s had reached exhaustion point by the early 1990s. In music and fashion, a new aesthetic was emerging.
Grunge was authentic, earthy, and undeniably cool. It was a reaction to the artificiality of the decade before.
Spearheaded by grunge rock band Nirvana, the new penchant for grime-y, post-punk grunge trickled across into fashion, pop culture, and design.
This palette pays tribute to the gritty aesthetic of the grunge era. Its subdued colors have a brown or gray undertone, including faded blue and muddy mauve.
10. 2000s: McBling
In the endless cycle of boom and recession, a cultural style overhaul is never far away. In the 2000s, often coined “The Noughties” or “The Aughts,” a slow-burning recession was brewing.
However, this decade in decline produced one of the most overt counter-reactions to a recession, in terms of design and popular culture.
McBling is a term used to describe the flashy, money-centric aesthetic that dominated music videos and television shows between 2003 and 2008. Think Paris Hilton, Juicy Couture tracksuits, flip phones, and an embarrassing excess of pink and rhinestones.
This flamboyant palette takes its cues from the McBling era, with hot pink, baby pink, aqua blue, and coral blue teaming up to create a scheme Regina George would be proud of.
License this cover image via Maurese.
