Alyana Beg
Earlier this month, Pantone announced their 2023 colour of the year: Viva Magenta. The brand describes the shade as a “crimson red tone that presents a balance between warm and cool. Viva Magenta is brave and fearless, and a pulsating colour whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration, writing a new narrative. This colour code is 18-1750. Incorporating both warm and cold tones, Viva Magenta is a vivid and nuanced shade of blood red that is a study in contrasts. Viva Magenta is a composite colour that harmoniously spans the real and virtual worlds and evokes our multidimensional reality.
It is a carmine red that is assertive but not aggressive and uses a “fist in a velvet glove” approach rather than dominating outright. It is described as a powerhouse that revels in pure joy and encourages standing out in a crowd via experimentation and self-expression. This is the 23rd year in which Pantone has chosen a ‘colour of the year, and in honour I am going to discuss the history of ‘colour of the year’, how the colour is ultimately chosen and its impact.
Pantone can also be seen as one of the first companies to associate emotions, stories, and worldly events with colours in such an in-depth way
The Pantone Colour Institute created the Pantone Colour of the Year educational program in 1999 to engage the design community and colour enthusiasts around the world in a conversation around colour. It is a means of trendsetting for branding and marketing by somewhat specialising and creating a colour trend in the realm of fashion and design goods. Pantone can also be seen as one of the first companies to associate emotions, stories, and worldly events with colours in such an in-depth way and making colour affect how we feel and think, with 2023’s Viva Magenta considering the largescale difficulties all human life had to go through with the pandemic.
At the turn of the Millenia, Pantone announced their first colour of the year, Cerulean Blue. They described it as a ‘sky blue colour that reflects what some called at the time an inner peace and spiritual fulfilment with the coming millennia.’ Since Pantone announced it, many utilized the colour to stay trendy and modern. From 2007 onwards Pantone started to issue official press releases for the colour of the year.
2010’s colour of the year was Turquoise, and this was a colour that remained a staple in home products for years after its announcement. This showed a change in how the colour of the year was received, with more and more industries trying to capitalize off it.
2012’s Colour was Tangerine Tango, a colour that is supposed to create excitement and promote sophistication and energy. In 2021 we saw a blending of two shades chosen for colour of the year, Illuminating and Ultimate Gray.
2022 was the first year a colour, Veri Peri, was created for a universally life-changing event: the Covid 19 pandemic. All the previous colours already having existed in the Pantone colour system.
The Colour of the Year is chosen through a committee of analysts who look across a variety of industries as to trends. Trends are analysed and patterns are recognized as everyone looks to the coming year and what the design trend will create. For example, the first colour of the year was decided by the Pantone Institute at the time which had data to support the colour blue was the leading colour among designers and that it was reducing heart rates and blood pressure. They take into consideration all aspects of society: fashion, marketing, social media, and even politics.
The hue chosen as Colour of the Year has become increasingly influential in the vast world of design and brand marketing. Nowadays, when a new colour is announced, Pantone offers colour lovers an array of inspirational products and colour combination palettes designed especially with the corresponding colour in mind.
Due to how influential colour of the year has become, many brands and businesses have incorporated the colour into a variety of their products to keep up with the trends. It in fact saves businesses countless hours of their own marketing research. Whenever Pantone initially announces a new colour of the year, they release many products in the said colour to go with it.
Companies now partner with Pantone to release special-coloured versions of their products with the colour of the year. If you google the specific Pantone colour’s products you will get a wide array of results. For example, Motorola Releasing the edge 30 fusion in Viva Magenta, Artechouse creating an immersive art experience that allows guests to feel the power of a hue scaled to fantastical proportions and Cariuma releasing sneakers in the colour.
Alyana Beg
Featured image courtesy of Han Tu via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image 1 courtesy of Pantone via Instagram.com. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image 2 courtesy of Cariuma via Instagram.com. No changes were made to this image.
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