Pantone reveals 2016 Colour of the Year
The highly anticipated announcement for Pantone’s 2016 Colour of the Year has been made. This year, Pantone have selected not one colour, but two colours. Graphic design records may have been broken with this year’s two colour choice of Rose Quartz and Serenity.
The highly anticipated announcement for Pantone’s 2016 Colour of the Year has been made. This year, Pantone have selected not one colour, but two colours. Graphic design records may have been broken with this year’s two colour choice of Rose Quartz and Serenity.
The merging of these shades goes against design convention, with the two colours out of the traditional colour unification spectrum. However, both of these two Colours of the Year offer unique pastel branding opportunities that we have never seen from Pantone before.
“Joined together, Rose Quartz and Serenity demonstrate an inherent balance between a warmer embracing rose tone and the cooler tranquil blue, reflecting connection and wellness as well as a soothing sense of order and peace,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute.
Rose Quartz is a persuasive but also a gentle tone that conveys compassion and a sense of composure. Serenity is weightless and airy, like the never ending expanse of the blue sky above us, bringing feelings of respite and relaxation even in turbulent times. The pairing of Rose Quartz and Serenity brings calm and relaxation.
Pantone Colour of the Year
The annual Pantone Colour of the Year began as a marketing strategy in the year 2000. Pantone itself has been making colours out of their New Jersey factory for over fifty years.
In the factory, dozens of technicians spend their days in a lab, working on colours that will ultimately go into the dyes for fashion’s most sought after fabrics, home textiles, and even in our kitchen wear and jewellery.
And once a year, one of those shades goes on to become the Colour of the Year, a global marketing initiative that is a significant media and cultural event for graphic designers, marketers, consumers and brands.
How do they choose the Colour of the Year?
Pantone follow a complex process to select their prestigious Colour of the Year.
“The complexity of the logic behind Color of the Year is greater than interior design or fashion — it’s a forecast, a reflection of what’s happening in the world,” explained Ron Potesky, senior VP and general manager at Pantone. “These colours were seen together almost like two sides of a coin — they were showing up in many different places together.”
The complex process is a forecasting of what is going to be the next season’s colour. By the end of the year, you won’t be able to leave the house without seeing this striking colour combination. Of course, it is more than a forecast, as Pantone have deciphered an effective marketing strategy that leaves them the trend setters for colour as we know it.
Laurie Pressman, VP of The Color Institute, denies the power of Pantone’s Colour of the Year as a marketing strategy. “Some might say this is marketing, but for us, it’s coming from a purist view. We’re not sitting here wondering how the public will react and if it will sell products.”
iFactory understand that design impacts our branding and our everyday lives. If you want to grow your business through branding and graphic design, connect with colour by contacting iFactory today.
