When we’re kids, one of the first ways we can differentiate ourselves is by answering a simple question: What’s your favorite color? It’s such an innocuous question, and yet the answer has endless consequences. If you’re a small child who answers green, chances are you’re in for years and years of receiving green-tinged gifts until you feel confident enough to announce your preferences have changed.
Favorite colors are interesting because, ultimately, they can tell a lot about us, from our current mood to our overall disposition. Crayola, which has to be the world’s largest purveyor of crayons, decided to poll the world to find out how people feel about color, homing in on different generations and the hues (and crayons) they love most. They compiled the results in the first-ever Global Color Vote, and their findings? Interesting.
To understand more about the psychology of color and the Crayola findings, we spoke to Stefanie Mazer, PsyD, a licensed psychologist practicing in Florida, and Patty Johnson, PsyD, a clinical psychologist and founder of Nia Integrative Healing. Here’s what to know about how color shapes your generation.
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How did Crayola determine each generation’s favorite color?
Crayola asked one simple question: What’s your favorite Crayola color? But far beyond polling your kids, nieces and nephews, they asked that question of more than 63,000 people from 183 countries—94% of all the nations in the world!
The company asked folks to weigh in for October’s National Color Day to get a widespread idea of which colors appeal to people these days. They broke down the results by region and generation, as well as by overall worldwide favorite. The survey was conducted from July through September of 2025.
What is each generation’s favorite color?
It’s interesting, because while we think that much divides us by generation and ideology, the results were surprisingly united: Blue reigns supreme. Here’s the top-line view.
- Cerulean takes the top spot for Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z. Think of Cerulean as the ideal in-between blue—not as dark as navy and not as bright as turquoise. It’s like the color of a clear summer sky or the water you’d expect to see if you were vacationing in the Mediterranean.
- Sky Blue is the favorite for Gen Alpha. Veering just slightly off the color path of the three generations before them, Gen Alpha voted Sky Blue for their most popular hue. It was followed by Piggy Pink and Red, which separates them from the older generations, who largely stuck to the blue family for the rest of their top choices.
- Purple Heart is favored by Baby Boomers. While it can still be considered in the blue family (elementary school taught us that blue and red create purple), Boomers chose this regal color as their favorite.
- Robin’s Egg Blue finds fans in multiple generations. This particular shade of blue may not be any generation’s No. 1 choice, but it appears in the top three for Baby Boomers, Millennials and Gen Z.
Why are these colors so representative of each generation?
Color theory isn’t just for art students; it evolves with each generation’s culture and mood. While one era might embrace bold, saturated tones as a sign of optimism or rebellion, another may favor softer, muted versions of the same hues for calm or nostalgia.
Each generation’s color choices reflect its collective mindset that’s shaped by the world they grew up in. Here’s how the results reflect each generation’s outlook and history.
Baby Boomers
The Baby Boomer generation, which is considered those born between 1946 and 1964, collectively voted Purple Heart as their favorite color, followed by Robin’s Egg Blue and, simply, Blue.
“Purple Heart is an interesting choice for Baby Boomers because it’s a shade that’s dense with emotion, nostalgia and honor,” says Mazer. “Psychologically, purple has been associated with things like creativity, spirituality and wisdom for a long time. But this specific hue is rich and almost a little inward-looking. It adds a sense of sentiment and depth.”
Ultimately, purple resonates with people at stages in life when meaning outweighs trends, and authenticity takes center stage. It’s rich with emotion, depth and reflection, and over time, it becomes a color that symbolizes confidence and individuality shaped by experience.
Gen X
Gen X, considered to be those born between 1965 and 1980, is one of three generations in Crayola’s polling to choose Cerulean as their top crayon color. “Cerulean is a blue that feels emotionally secure but also bright and clear,” Mazer says. “People often associate that blue with calmness, dependability and openness—qualities that are harder to come by in a hectic, overstimulated world.”
Why would this particular shade of blue appeal to Gen Xers? “Gen X might be drawn to Cerulean because of its sense of stability and nostalgia,” Mazer says. “It’s reminiscent of open skies, fresh water and simpler times before the modern world got so digitized and distracted.”
Royal Purple came in second, with Blue rounding out the top three. This signifies a link to the Boomer generation in the sense that there’s a growing sentiment of reflection and depth as we age. But Cerulean shows Gen X also forging their own path of life experiences.
Millennials
For their part, Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) continue the trend of voting Cerulean as their generation’s favorite crayon color, with Robin’s Egg Blue and Wild Strawberry in second and third place, respectively.
“Various shades of blue are a popular color across generations due to the color’s calming effects,” says Johnson. “Our brains are receptive to the calming effects of nature and stimuli that replicate it, such as the color blue and its tie to water and sky.” Further, Johnson says “certain color palettes can soothe the nervous system because visual stimuli may decrease stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline.”
But there’s more than meets the eye with the Millennial picks. “Millennials have been searching for balance for so long that this blue might be speaking to them as a calm signal of being centered, honest and reset,” Mazer says.
Gen Z
Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2010) once again chose Cerulean, but close behind are Wisteria (a lavender) and Robin’s Egg Blue. “For Gen Z, it’s all about mental health and emotional wellness,” Mazer says. “They value being calm instead of chaotic and being authentic over picture-perfect. Cerulean embodies that as well.”
This is the last of the studied generations to put Cerulean above all other Crayola crayons. “Cerulean is like a breath of fresh air, deep and cool enough to center you but light and bright enough to offer hope,” Mazer says. “That’s where many people are right now emotionally: searching for calm, connection and optimism that they can believe in.”
Gen Alpha
Last, but certainly not least, Gen Alpha spans those born from 2010 through 2024. Their favorites show the most range, with Sky Blue ranking No. 1, Piggy Pink (naturally, a light pink) in second and Red in third place. That’s right, only one blue in the whole bunch.
“Gen Alpha may lean toward Sky Blue specifically because neutral pastels have become more popular during this generation,” Johnson says. “Bolder colors were tied to previous generations, particularly Gen X.” And what young generation doesn’t want to forge a new path?
How else do people respond to color?
Color hits us on both an emotional and instinctive level. It can calm us down, lift our mood or spark a memory in an instant. We might not always notice it, but the colors around us quietly direct how we feel and what we’re drawn to.
This idea of inner reflection can be seen in the study’s findings. The most common feelings named by the participants about their favorite color were happy, comforted, calm, creative and nostalgic. Not only that, Crayola found connections between certain colors and particular emotions.
For example, those who chose Canary as their favorite crayon were more than twice as likely to feel happy as other emotions, while Sepia brought a sense of calmness. Meanwhile, old favorite Burnt Sienna evoked huge feelings of nostalgia (a whopping four times more than other emotions).
What else did the study find?
Crayola’s Global Color Vote went beyond just looking at the favorite colors of different generations. They also tallied the favorites among eight of the countries surveyed. Still, you’ll see Cerulean mentioned a lot.
- United States: Cerulean, Robin’s Egg Blue, Wisteria
- Canada: Cerulean, Robin’s Egg Blue, Wild Strawberry
- United Kingdom: Cerulean, Wisteria, Wild Strawberry
- Mexico: Lavender, Turquoise Blue, Wisteria
- Italy: Sky Blue, Yellow, Violet
- Philippines: Blue, Red, Yellow
- Spain: Lavender, Fuchsia, Robin’s Egg Blue
- Australia: Cerulean, Wisteria, Violet
Considering all the colors that exist, it’s pretty surprising that there’s so much overlap among our favorites. (Clearly, people around the world love blue.) Whether its years or miles that separate us, we’re all attracted to the colors that speak to us and play a role in our everyday lives.
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Sources:
- Stefanie Mazer, PsyD, psychologist and creator of Mindwise, Inc.; interviewed, Oct. 30, 2025
- Patty Johnson, PsyD, clinical psychologist and owner of Nia Integrative Healing; interviewed, Oct. 30, 2025
- Crayola: “Color Vote Results”
- PR Newswire: “Crayola’s First Global Color Vote Reveals Universal Love for Blue”
The post The Winners Are In! Find Out the Crayola Color Each Generation Voted as Its Fave appeared first on Reader's Digest.
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