For the first time, Pantone’s Colour of the Year is a blending of two shades – Serenity and Rose Quartz.
For the first time, Pantone’s Colour of the Year is a blending of two shades – Serenity and Rose Quartz.
Global colour authority Pantone, an X-Rite company and provider of professional colour standards for the design industries, announced that a blending of Pantone 15-3919 Serenity and Pantone 13-1520 Rose Quartz - a harmonious pairing of inviting shades that embody a mindset of tranquility and inner peace - was the Pantone® Colour of the Year selection for 2016.
As consumers seek mindfulness and well-being as an antidote to the stress of modern day lives, welcoming colours that psychologically fulfill the yearning for reassurance and security are becoming more prominent. Weightless and airy, like the expanse of the blue sky above us, Serenity comforts with a calming effect, bringing feelings of respite and relaxation even in turbulent times. Rose Quartz is a persuasive yet gentle tone that conveys compassion and a sense of composure.
“With the whole greater than its individual parts, joined together Serenity and Rose Quartz 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,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the US-based Pantone Color Institute.
“In many parts of the world we are experiencing a gender blur as it relates to fashion, which has in turn impacted colour trends throughout all other areas of design,” said Eiseman. “This more unilateral approach to colour is coinciding with societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity, the consumers’ increased comfort with using colour as a form of expression which includes a generation that has less concern about being typecast or judged, and an open exchange of digital information that has opened our eyes to different approaches to colour usage.”
To arrive at the selection each year, Pantone’s colour experts comb the world looking for new colour influences. This can include the entertainment industry and films in production, traveling art collections and new artists, fashion, all areas of design, popular travel destinations, as well as new lifestyles, playstyles and socio-economic conditions. Influences may also stem from new technologies, materials, textures and effects that impact colour, relevant social media platforms and even up-coming sporting events that capture worldwide attention. For 16 years, Pantone’s Color of the Year has influenced product development and purchasing decisions in industries including fashion, home furnishings and industrial design, as well as product packaging and graphic design.
Pantone said the combination of Serenity and Rose Quartz was featured on the runways for both men and women and highlighted in the Pantone Fashion Color Report Spring 2016 with Emilio Pucci, Leanne Marshall, BCBG and Richard James, among others who incorporated this colour pairing into recent collections.
Past selections for Colour of the Year include:
PANTONE 18-1438 Marsala (2015)
PANTONE 18-3224 Radiant Orchid (2014)
PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald (2013)
PANTONE 17-1463 Tangerine Tango (2012)
PANTONE 18-2120 Honeysuckle (2011)
PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise (2010)
PANTONE 14-0848 Mimosa (2009)
PANTONE 18-3943 Blue Iris (2008)
PANTONE 19-1557 Chili Pepper (2007)
PANTONE 13-1106 Sand Dollar (2006)
PANTONE 15-5217 Blue Turquoise (2005)
PANTONE 17-1456 Tigerlily (2004)
PANTONE 14-4811 Aqua Sky (2003)
PANTONE 19-1664 True Red (2002)
PANTONE 17-2031 Fuchsia Rose (2001)
PANTONE 15-4020 Cerulean (2000)