Pantone Unveils Living Coral as Color of the Year 2019

December 10, 2018  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry   

Pantone described Living Coral 16-1546 as “an animating and life-affirming shade of orange with a golden undertone” that “embraces us with warmth and nourishment to provide comfort and buoyancy in our continually shifting environment.”

The firm said the color is seen in social media, graphic design and packaging, food, fashion, beauty products and home décor.

“Color is an equalizing lens through which we experience our natural and digital realities and this is particularly true for Living Coral,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “With consumers craving human interaction and social connection, the humanizing and heartening qualities displayed by the convivial Pantone Living Coral hit a responsive chord.”

To arrive at the selection each year, Pantone’s color experts comb the world looking for new color 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 color, relevant social media platforms and even up-coming sporting events that capture worldwide attention.

“Color enhances and influences the way we experience life,” said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute. “As a shade that affirms life through a dual role of energizing and nourishing, Living Coral reinforces how colors can embody our collective experience and reflect what is taking place in our global culture at a moment in time.”

Pantone has been choosing a Color of the Year since 2000. Past selections have included Ultra Violet in 2018; Greenery in 2017; Serenity and Rose Quartz in 2016; Marsala in 2015; and Radiant Orchid in 2014.