Color Mint: Meaning, Symbolism and Psychology (2024)

Mint is a vibrant, light shade of green. Its name derives from the green plant mint. As green is a secondary color, in order to create mint green, you first need to make its base, color green. To do that, you need to mix colors blue and yellow. By adding white into the mix, you will achieve mint’s vibrant hue. Colors that relate to mint are green and mint blue.

Mint is similar to a seafoam color, which is why sometimes their names are used interchangeably. However, seafoam is a bit lighter and more neutral than mint. Therefore, they have different hex codes on web color charts used by web designers. The hex code for color mint is #3EB489, while the hex code for seafoam green is #94E9BE.

The history of mint

Being one of the colors that represent the natural world, color green has been around since the beginning of time. Even though, color green was a challenge for those who tried to manufacture it as a pigment for paintings because its pigments were some of the most poisonous in history.

In ancient Egypt, green was the symbol of regeneration, good health, rebirth, and was also associated with vegetation, vigor and growth. They have been trying for a long time to create a truly green pigment, but that happened thanks to ancient Romans who created verdigris, a green pigment that comes after weathering the metal. Throughout the Middle Ages and Reneissance, green represented a person’s social rank and profession, and could only be worn by the gentry.

During that time, more green pigments were developed, but colors would fade over time. In the 18th century, a bright green hue was invented, but with the toxic chemical, arsenite. As some believe, the toxic green shade was the cause of death of the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, as his bedroom wallpaper featured the deadly hue. Later on, green had become a political symbol of many countries, while today it stands for sustainability and eco friendliness.

The first recorded use of mint as a color name in English was in 1920. It was right at the beginning of what is now called the Art Deco era. Color mint was very trendy at that time, and combination of mint and black was the most popular color combination of the Art Deco movement. They were paired in order to create a striking contrast, and the combination of mint and black was mostly used for decorating kitchens and bathrooms.

The color psychology of mint

Green is considered as the color of nature, and it brings out emotional harmony, stability and endurance. It is associated with refreshment and peace. It can help people feel rested and secure. Because of its calming vibes, color green is often used in show business. People who are about to appear on a television program usually wait in a ’’green room’’ so that a green shade would help them relax. According to color psychology, green’s calming effects may be due to its associations with natural world.

Lighter shades of green, such as mint, also represent tranquility, health, and good luck. They are associated with freshness and creativity. People who favor color mint tend to be creative, and open minded. Mint can signify growth, wellness, fertility.

It is found that the human eye is able to differentiate more shades of green than any other color, which was explained by green’s long existence in the natural world. This helps with understanding why color green symbolizes security, renewal and growth. Other studies found that people were more likely to recall positive words that were written in green, which led to conclusion that color green carries positive emotional connotations.

People who favor color green are often considered laid back, patient, calm, extroverted. They are easy to get along with. They are also understanding, and are generally natural peacemakers. They are usually big nature lovers with a high IQ, and they tend to be family-oriented. It was found that people who choose color green over color red have a high need for achievement. Still, they are considered great listeners with a caring heart.

On the other hand, green can be perceived negatively. It can be associated with greed, jealousy, materialism, possessiveness. Green can also indicate envy, which explains the expression ’’green with envy’’. Shakespeare even described envy as ’’the green sickness’’. People who choose color green can be selfish and over-cautious.

The use of mint

Color mint pairs well with almost every other shade of green, but also with lilac and blue.

In fashion, mint goes well with colors white and brown, and has been a stylish color for polka dots and floral patterns. It can be found everywhere, from clothing to accessories, from makeup to nail polish.

Mint home décor can provide your home with freshness, and create a cool, calm living space. It can be practical, but at the same time a very elegant addition to any room of the house.

Information about Mint / #3EB489

In a RGB color space (made from three colored lights for red, green, and blue), hex #3EB489 is made of 24.3% red, 70.6% green and 53.7% blue. In a CMYK color space (also known as process color, or four color, and used in color printing), hex #3EB489 is made of 66% cyan, 0% magenta, 24% yellow and 29% black. Mint has a hue angle of 158.1 degrees, a saturation of 48.8% and a lightness of 47.5%.

Color conversion

The hexadecimal color #3EB489 has RGB values of R: 24.3, G: 70.6, B: 53.7 and CMYK values of C: 0.66, M: 0, Y: 0.24, K:0.29.