One color apparently isn’t enough for the complex year we’re about to head into.
As 2020 nears its tumultuous end, the Pantone Color Institute has taken up its annual task of forecasting the color that will best reflect the year ahead. And, in a decision befitting a complex time, the color authority — which standardizes swatches for the design industry — has revealed not one, but two hues for its Color of the Year: the neutral Ultimate Gray and vibrant yellow Illuminating. Though Pantone selecting two colors might be seen as hedging its bets — a gray or yellow, depending on how 2021 unfolds — Pressman and Eiseman want people to consider the colors’ impact as a unified pair, hinting at the importance of solidarity in the coming year. “Two extremely independent colors highlight how different elements come together to express this message of strength and hopefulness,” said Pressman. Pantone’s Color of the Year reflects color trends in fashion, beauty, design and home decor, and since the beginning, the initiative has also served as a mood ring of sorts, selecting the hues capturing the spirit of the time. In years with undercurrents of uncertainty — such as 2020’s global pandemic — that has often meant choosing colors that are meant to soothe, calm or uplift. Serene blue shades have made several appearances over the past two decades, but the only other time an optimistic yellow hue has been selected was during another widespread economic crisis. For 2009, Pantone chose the lively Mimosa, projecting a sense of hope as the Great Recession of 2008 rocked North and South America and Europe.
