Pantone's color of the year.
Every year I look forward to the announcement by the Pantone Color Institute. I love it! It’s like a horoscope...what will the future hold? Will I like it? Will it be popular? But the best part about the color announcement is the description! Oh, they have some brilliant word-smiths at Pantone! (You’ll see) They do not randomly pick the color by shuffling a deck of paint chips and drawing one, this is 9 months of research! A global research team looks for reoccurring colors and patterns in daily life. A “color snapshot of what we see taking place in our global culture that serves as an expression of a mood and an attitude”- as the institute explains it. This team combs the world looking for new color influences from entertainment, fashion, travel, socio-economics, technology, social media, and even sports. All of that to choose the color of the year! So what makes them the experts? The Pantone Color Institute literally wrote the book on color matching. They originated a system in 1963 to solve the complicated problem of color matching in the printing industry. They assigned a number to every color, in every tone and tint, to classify it. For 59 years Pantone has been the go-to color-matching system not only for the printing industry but for all product and design industries. So basically, they pick a color and all of the other industries (think fashion and home goods) make sure they have that color represented in their products asap! Yes, they are controlling the narrative here, but remember all that research they did - they were already seeing it.
We will see more of Viva Magenta 18-1750 by the spring. And finally, here is the brilliant description as told by the writers at Pantone.
"What is Viva Magenta?
Pantone’s Color of the Year, Viva Magenta 18-1750, vibrates with vim and vigor. It is a shade rooted in nature descending from the red family and expressive of a new signal of strength. Viva Magenta is brave and fearless, and a pulsating color whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration, writing a new narrative. This year’s Color of the Year is powerful and empowering. It is a new animated red that revels in pure joy, encouraging experimentation and self-expression without restraint, an electrifying, and a boundaryless shade that is manifesting as a stand-out statement. PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta welcomes anyone and everyone with the same verve for life and rebellious spirit. It is a color that is audacious, full of wit, and inclusive of all."
Wow. Who doesn't want to be all that?! Viva Magenta!