Why so Blue?

Why are so many app icons blue? If you're using an iPhone or iPad, you're probably looking at blue Mail, Safari, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Photos, Weather and App Store icons along with countless others. There are a couple of schools of thought when it comes to the blue choice; according to TechCrunch's Natasha Lomas, who brings up the question of color on mobile interfaces, it's part copycat and part psychology,

The most popular social networks—Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn—all use blue as their primary color. So why not join the party? Lomas writes that startups may be choosing blue to associate themselves with established and popular apps.

Color theory also comes into play. Lomas writes that many color preference surveys favor blue as the most popular color for men and women around the world. Blue is associated with calmness in nature, whether you're gazing at a body of water or a clear sky. Dark blue shades create a sense of stability, and light blues are seen as relaxing. Earning user trust is the goal of every developer, and choosing blue appears to be a good start.

An interesting turn of events is the choice of Apple to adopt a more neon-focused palette for their new mobile operating system, iOS 7. Is Apple shifting because everyone else has gone so blue? Will developers follow suit?

Photo courtesy TechCrunch