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Pantone Color of the Year

Pantone Color of the Year: A fortune cookie in disguise?

Pantone has been making a Pantone Color of the Year proclamation in early December since 2000. And although other paint manufacturers have copied the New Jersey-based company’s practice, Pantone’s pick reigns supreme. Pantone is, after all, the global authority on color as the creator of the Pantone Color Matching System.

Does color trend forecasting influence your purchasing decisions?

Do you make a purchase based on whether a color is in vogue or passe?

Do you know the current Pantone Color of the Year?

Can you remember any Pantone Colors of the Year?

Before deciding on a color for the upcoming year, a 20-person Pantone Color Institute team spends almost nine months traveling the globe. They document trends and identify colors in fashion, film, cars, music, art, cosmetics, entertainment, travel, social media, and everyday life situations. The team meets twice before making a paint color selection that is meant to be a “snapshot of what we see taking place in our global culture that serves as an expression of a mood and an attitude.” (Pantone)

A massive marketing campaign adds to the hype surrounding this annual announcement. Pantone enters into sundry licensing agreements every year for products from mugs to nail polish to bicycles sporting the Color of the Year.

For example, in 2012, Pantone partnered with Sephora to design a makeup line based on the 2012 Color of the Year, Tangerine Tango, and just last year, they manufactured a selection of the previous colors on soda cans.

“85% of consumers base their purchasing decisions on a product’s color.” – Color Marketing Group (2015)

After the big reveal, however, the process begins anew since Pantone’s Color of the Year is designed for obsolescence after 365 days.

This color-driven consumerism explains why we feel the need to change our homes’ interiors, update our wardrobes, or switch out our iPhones so frequently.

It’s also the reason we experience buyer’s remorse as we hide that Ultra Violet dress we first spotted on Pinterest in 2018 in the back of a closet or repaint the accent wall painted in Living Coral in 2019 after a designer’s recommendation.