Every year since 1963, interior decorators, painters, fashionistas and a whole lot more people than actually makes sense to me eagerly await the announcement of the Pantone Color of the Year, a color that supposedly serves as a snapshot of what we see taking place in our culture that serves as an expression of a mood and an attitude.
Still confused? Me too! Let’s back up a bit. According to the best online definition I could find, Pantone is a standardized color matching system, utilizing the Pantone numbering system for identifying colors. By standardizing the colors, different manufacturers in different locations can all reference a Pantone numbered color, making sure colors match without direct contact with one another.
Pantone colors are used a lot by graphic designers, which I think is a bit weird (there are over 1000 different shades, yet we can only see about 250 on our computer screens), but the system has caught on and held fast for whatever reason. This year, Pantone switched things up and, for the first time ever, designated two colors of the year: Rose Quartz and Serenity.
Butreally? These two colors are going to transform our world? And set the tone for every wall we paint, every throw pillow we toss on our couches and every sweater we slip on from here until 2017? I kind of think they look like you’re decorating for a baby shower, but according to Pantone, the rose-tone pink and tranquil-blue colors convey compassionrespite and relaxation even in turbulent times. I don’t know about you but shoes, in any color, do the same for me!
As you can tell, I’m totally skeptical, and Wired is completely on my side: This is, let’s face it, nothing more than a marketing ploy to drum up excitement and sales within the beauty, fashion, and design worlds, the mag wrote in an article devoted to a discussion of the selections (which then went on to analyze their relevance in a fairly-lengthy piece).
Unless you are a color communicator, Pantone will just co-exist with you in this world. I wish colors would make people more “compassionate” and cause them “relax”, as the 2016 colors of the year claim to have the power to. If that was the case, I would carry cards with these colors around in by handbag handing them out people who need it.
So, whatever, it’s a bit silly but still kind of fun, I mean, I also just devoted an entire post to these elevated versions of baby pink and pastel blue. What are your thoughts: do you love these colors? Hate them? Or just plain don’t give a darn? Let me know!