The Pantone 2017 Colour of the year!
The colour of the year 2017 is “Greenery” and has been elected by the Pantone Color Institute, guru of color trends for the last seventeen (17) years.
The colour of the year represents a symbolic selection, a colour snapshot of the perceptions of global cultures, or the colour expression of a trending mood or attitude.
Every December, designers of all disciplines eagerly await this announcement which is called to influence several sectors of business throughout the year to come. In fact this vibrant green has already settled in interior design and on fashion catwalks worldwide. Even prestigious automaker Mercedes-Benz included in this year’s offer, its model AMG GT-R in Pantone green, naming it no less than the maverick “Beast of the Green Hell”...
But who is Pantone?
Basically, Pantone is the company who developed in the sixties a standardized system of colours still used to date in printing systems: the PMS (No! not the PMS!) It actually stands for Pantone Matching System, an innovative system of identification, matching and communication between colours aimed at resolving issues of correspondence of colours in the printing industry.
Since then, pantone has extended its concept of system of correspondence of colours to other industries such as digital tech, textiles, plastics, architecture, interior design and painting, consolidating itself as the authority on the subject matter.
Seventeen years later, the Pantone colour of the year sets the trends in matters of product development, and influences consumer spending in several sectors such as fashion, industrial design, as well as graphic design.
How do they choose the Pantone colour of the year?
The selection process of the colour of the year requires mature reflection and trend analysis. In order to reach a consensus every year, experts of the Pantone Colour Institute ply the globe in search of new chromatic influences, from entertainment to motion picture industries, including arts collections, new artists creations, fashion, all other creative industries, trending touristic destinations as well as new ways of life, games and socio-economic conditions.
Influences also take root of advances in tech, materials, textures, social platforms and even future sports events which will magnetize attention during the upcoming year.
Discover "Greenery", the Pantone colour of the year
Greenery is a refreshing and revitalizing tone symbol of renewal, explains Leatrice Eiseman, CEO of Pantone. Green, she further explained, is the colour of hope…which we all collectively need, given the sometimes glim political and social landscapes worldwide. The green aims to satisfy our growing need of mindfulness and reconnection with nature and ourselves.
Greenery is also a nuance of fresh and sparkling yellowish-green suggesting the first days of spring, the first burgeoning leaves, nature in its revival, rekindled and renewed. We see the imagery of luxurious nature and prairies swept up with new life. Greenery evokes health, lungfuls of fresh air, with all life around flooded with new airs.
The green is the background colour of surrounding nature, an omnipresent colour. The more people are swallowed by daily routine and hassles of contemporary life, the more we feel the calling to immerse in bountiful and comforting nature. So by being the overarching colour of our mother-nature, green is propelled to the forefront for a common good…
The anecdote of Greenery
It’s not the first time the Pantone Institute serves us the green as colour of the year, but never was it a nuance of green so vibrant. The world was not yet ready for it, it seems.
However, greenery has made its debuts in the twenties, by making the cover of Vogue magazine, reflection of a time when women started making more daring choices, in fashion and in life.
The nuance disappeared when the United States entered the great recession in the thirties, followed by World War II, a time where vibrant colours were not called for. But then luminous colours were to come back with triomphant vengeance in the sixties, after which the vibrant green became a flagship colour of the “flower-power” movement in the seventies.
Will you dive in the green?
Thanks to its inherent neutrality, green may be used in high or small dose, alongside other colours as accent colour or as a base for other colour combinations. Not feeling ready to dive into the green? You can still go by small steps, with throw-pillows, deco accessories or simply a beautiful green plant.
Same goes for fashion! Green is generally a flattering colour for most people. Maybe all you need is to fit some green into your style, and not the opposite...
Click here for our inspirations
Make your world beautiful and their dreams possible.
