This year, not only one but two colors were presented with the biggest prize in the Pantone world: Color of the Year. In one corner we have 17-5104 Ultimate Gray, a “practical and rock-solid” shade, and in the other corner, the “one of strength and positivity” 13-0647 Illuminating.
Two very different and independent tones define this year’s mood, showing us how unlike elements can complement each other, enlightening its bests assets.
“It is a story of color that encapsulates deeper feelings of thoughtfulness with the promise of something sunny and friendly. […] As people look for ways to fortify themselves with energy, clarity, and hope to overcome the continuing uncertainty, spirited and emboldening shades satisfy our quest for vitality.”
In a year where the world is still coping with the Covid-19 pandemic, these shades couldn’t be more on point as they are a celebration of resilience and positivity.
Being the color of sunflowers, the yellow tone immediately takes us to a happier place, filled with optimism, where we feel warm, safe, and energized! Did you know that yellow is the most luminous of all colors in the spectrum and that it catches our attention as no other color does? It encourages activity, creativity, and interaction.
On another note, gray is more of a neutral shade, perfect to mediate brighter tones. It is known as the color of balance, in between the perfect white and the pitch black, and is set to help us keep things under control as we dream of the sunnier days to come. Emotionless, moody, and conservative, gray is just what we need to keep the equilibrium in a time of big expectations but still so much incertitude.
“The union of an enduring Ultimate Gray with the vibrant yellow Illuminating expresses a message of positivity supported by fortitude. Practical and rock-solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, this is a color combination that gives us resilience and hope. We need to feel encouraged and uplifted; this is essential to the human spirit.” – Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute.
“A combination of color whose ties to insight, innovation and intuition, and respect for wisdom, experience, and intelligence inspires regeneration, pressing us forward toward new ways of thinking”.
by Cláudia Noversa
