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From Cerulean to Mimosa to Marsala (yes, those are all names of colours) the Pantone Colour of the Year is more than just a trendy colour, it sets the tone, inspires moods and jumpstarts creativity. But these Pantone guys, though. Why do they get to choose the colour of the year, anyway?
If you’re in the print, packaging, fashion or product design industries, you’ve heard of Pantone. If you’re not, trust us, they’re a pretty big deal.
Think of them as Colour-Linguists. As Brand Engagement Architects we know that colour plays a huge part in affirming a Brand Identity, so we need an institute that
speaks multiple colour languages, studies ways in which colour can communicate, and translate codes and secrets hidden inside the way we interpret and interact with colour. And that’s exactly what Pantone have committed to doing.
So yes, Pantone, and their consulting arm The Pantone Colour Institute, are the authorities and are generously qualified to select forecast the next big colour trend, that’s why it’s named the Pantone Colour of The Year, after all.
The Pantone Colour Institute motto is: When 80% of human experience is filtered through the eyes, we understand that the choice of colour is critical.
For every industry to make this critical “choice of colour” and communicate the choices amongst each other, from brands to designers to suppliers and printers and packagers we all need to speak the same colour-language; and the industry standard since 1963 has been the language that Pantone developed.
As a creative agency, us heroes here at Whaam Concepts constantly makes use of the Pantone books, guides, colour consulting services, thousands of colours and references. They make choosing the precisely-perfect colour simple because no matter how unique a colour is Pantone has assigned it an equally unique numeric code as well as effervescent name. For example, Pantone Colour of the Year 2018 was called: 18-3838, Ultra Violet, an eclectic colour for dreamers and the conjurers of the impossible.
Heard of Minion Yellow or Tiffany Blue? The Pantone Colour Institute customized and standardized these colours by working closely with the brands – Illumination Entertainment and Tiffany & Co. respectively – in order to ensure that no matter where in the world you go, when you see that colour the emotions you associate with the brand immediately fill you up. They may not have been named Pantone Colour of the Year, but you know they are unique to the brand and are forever tied to the special emotions that those brand makes you feel.
The Pantone Colour institute makes it their duty to offer such consulting services to any brands who want to make a name – or rather a colour – for themselves; even working with TV network A&E to make customize a Bates Motel Blue for their series on the origin of everyone’s favourite Psycho.
With all this knowledge and prestige gathered over the past decades, we can see what gives The Institute the authority to predict the hue that will define a year by announcing the Pantone Colour of the Year. The colour they choose goes on to inspire every type of fashion, art, and style movement, and has the potential to be a global event that can bring together people of every background as long as they have a love for beautiful things in common. Here is an index of the past of the Pantone picks that have embraced unconventionality.
In 2018 Ultra Violet, the colour of nebulae – where stars are born, inspired those who think thoughts that no-one else has dared and have sculpted a culture with their passion.
In 2019 Living Coral energized and enlivened us all. It’s an animating colour with a softer edge that reminds us that in this digital age to always seek out authentic experiences.
In 2020 Classic Blue washed over us all. Instantly calming, it forges bonds of trust and inspires the confidence that we all need as we journey upward and gives us a stable and dependable foundation on which to build our legacies.
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