A new analysis by researchers argues that a person’s favorite color can indicate their age. Professor Sabine Ruaud, a marketing professor at EDHEC Business School, and Rose K. Bideaux, a researcher at the University of Paris, describe color as more than a matter of taste in a piece for The Conversation. They map color leanings to five generations from baby boomers to Gen Alpha, arguing that color choices reflect shifting values, beliefs and aspirations over time. For baby boomers, they say, neutral and pastel palettes dominate, with greens, browns and rust reds common. Lime green is flagged as a telltale sign of Gen Z, and pink is associated with millennials, who helped popularize millennial pink in the 2010s. The result is a view of color as a social language that communicates age, identity and style.
The authors describe color codes as more than personal taste; they say color preferences reveal patterns about history and culture. Colors are markers of a collective relationship to time, shaped by values, beliefs and behaviors that shift across generations. Segmenting by generation is meant to reveal patterns that go beyond individual taste, offering a way to observe how aesthetics evolve with social change. They emphasize that color codes are not fixed; they circulate, evolve and reinvent themselves, returning in cycles similar to fashion. This fluidity, they argue, gives color power in communications by anchoring a brand in its era while allowing reinterpretation by later audiences.
The piece traces how palettes shifted since the mid-20th century. After World War II, many consumers gravitated toward neutral and pastel tones, while greens, browns and rust reds grew in popularity in the 1970s as earthy hues connected people to nature. Millennials, born roughly between 1980 and the mid-1990s, embraced pink as an iconic color, a shade that became a symbol of lightness, optimism and a challenge to traditional gender codes during the 2010s. Gen Z, born from 1995 to 2010, favored bold, high-contrast options such as yellow and purple. The analysis notes that lime green has gained unexpected prominence in recent years, a trend linked in part to Charli XCX.
Green’s broader role is also noted. The researchers say green has gained ground in public discourse as a sign of ecological concerns and political debate, and a newer screen-bright variant nicknamed brat green has circulated in popular culture around 2024, thanks to Charli XCX. Gen Alpha, still in its early years, appears to move between two poles: a pull toward natural, comforting tones and early immersion in saturated, artificial colors tied to the digital world. The researchers caution that these markers should not be treated as fixed destinies; color codes may drift as new technologies, media and social movements shape taste.
Beyond generational boundaries, the study notes that color serves practical functions in branding and media. Color choices can anchor a product or personality to a particular era while still allowing reinterpretation as audiences redefine aesthetics. The piece also nods to contemporary social media dynamics. In a separate TikTok context, videos from creators on TikThought suggest color preferences map to personality traits: green signals calmness and willpower, blue signals honesty and dependability, purple signals imagination, and yellow signals creativity and a childlike sense of play. While these tests have gained attention on social platforms, the authors caution that individual color psychology should be read in light of broader cultural patterns.
Taken together, the color codes are presented as a cultural artifact rather than a rigid taxonomy. They illustrate how color can function as a communication tool in culture and entertainment, shaping fashion, design and media campaigns. The researchers stress that color is dynamic, echoing the changing aesthetics of each era while allowing brands and storytellers to reach audiences with nuance. In short, color does more than decorate; it speaks to who we are at a given moment and who we may become as new generations come of age.