New year, new everything, including Pantone’s Color of The Year! After all the “Greenery” from last year, the colour experts at Pantone have decided to go for Ultra Violet. This Pantone color communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking that points us toward the future.
PANTONE 18-3838 Ultra Violet is associated with mindfulness and connection. Historically, there has been a mystical or spiritual quality attached to Ultra Violet. The color is often associated with mindfulness practices, which offer a higher ground to those seeking refuge from today’s over-stimulated world. The use of purple-toned lighting in meditation spaces and other gathering places energizes the communities that gather there and inspire connection.
The Color of the Year is one moment in time that provides strategic direction for the world of trends and design. Nuanced and full of emotion, the depth of Ultra Violet symbolizes experimentation and non-conformity, spurring individuals to imagine their unique mark on the world, and push boundaries through creative outlets.
Enigmatic purples have also long been symbolic of counterculture, unconventionality, and artistic brilliance. Musical icons Prince, David Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix brought shades of Ultra Violet to the forefront of western pop culture as personal expressions of individuality.
Inventive and imaginative, Ultra Violet lights the way to what is yet to come. Ultra Violet suggests the mysteries of the cosmos, the intrigue of what lies ahead, and the discoveries beyond where we are now. The vast and limitless night sky is symbolic of what is possible and continues to inspire the desire to pursue a world beyond our own.
As individuals around the world become more fascinated with color and realize its ability to convey deep messages and meanings, designers and brands should feel empowered to use color to inspire and influence.