IKEA Blue

IKEA's yellow shopping bag is one of the world's most common home-improvement symbols. Big, sturdy, and bright, it signals affordability, utility, and the possibility of transformation. Paired with blue, it makes IKEA stores instantly recognizable.

Swedish Blue evokes the Baltic Sea, the archipelago, and endless summer skies. The yellow cross on a blue field is said to derive from the royal coat of arms, and the color appears in Midsummer wreaths, Dala horses, and IKEA products.

Korean Cobalt Blue is the East color in Korea's "Five Directions Color" (Obangsaek) system. Derived from Chinese Five Elements theory but with unique Korean characteristics—blue (east), red (south), yellow (center), white (west), black (north). Korean architecture, hanbok, and even court cuisine follow this system.

Oxford Blue symbolizes British academia and elite spirit. In 1829, the first Oxford-Cambridge boat race was held on the Thames; Oxford chose dark blue uniforms—hence "Oxford Blue." Cambridge Blue is lighter and brighter. Oxford Blue permeates British culture—Oxford University Press logo, Conservative Party colors, and British trench coat linings.

Bauhaus Blue is cool and rational, joining red and yellow to form the visual grammar of modern design. From the Dessau building's glass curtain wall to Breuer's tubular steel furniture, it reminds designers that beauty comes from precise construction.

Bleu de France is one of France's national symbolic colors. In the Middle Ages, French royalty chose blue for heraldry—"Azure semé de fleurs-de-lis or." This was unusual, as blue was once considered a "barbarian" color. King Louis IX (Saint Louis) first used blue in royal arms. The tricolor flag's blue represents freedom and revolution.