Cool or warm pastel pink
Pastel pinks split into two camps. Cool ones lean toward lilac and look crisp next to gray, silver and blue. Warm ones lean toward peach and look natural with cream, gold and wood. Holding two side by side is the quickest way to see which suits a project; mixing both camps in one palette can look slightly off.
Where pastel pink shines
- Weddings and invitations: with ivory, sage and gold foil.
- Baby and children's products: usually the cooler, lighter pinks.
- Beauty and skincare packaging: warm, peachy pinks feel close to skin.
- Interfaces: as a soft background for a highlight or a promotion card.
Text and contrast
Pastel pinks are light, so text on them must be dark. Charcoal, deep plum or dark rose all read well. White text fails on every swatch here.
Building a palette
Start from one pink, then add a neutral (warm white or soft gray), a deeper partner from the same hue for text, and one contrasting accent such as sage or navy. The palette ideas above follow this pattern.
For more saturated pinks, see shades of pink; for peachy tones, peach color; and for every pastel hue together, pastel colors.