The Pantone colour swatch is every designer’s Bible, so the entire design community was eagerly awaiting the company’ verdict on the hottest colour in 2020.
From literally thousands of tones based on every colour of the rainbow, Pantone selected Classic Blue (technical numer Pantone 19-4052) as the hue to change the world this year.
"We are living in a time that requires trust and faith,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, explaining this year’s choice.
“It is this kind of constancy and confidence that is expressed by Pantone 19-4052 Classic Blue, a solid and dependable blue hue we can always rely on.”
The colour, featured here on a Pantone collectible mug and in a concept for wrapping paper, is timeless and enduring. It has a deep resonance suggesting an anchoring foundation, instilling calm, confidence and connection, explains Eiseman.
“A boundless blue evocative of the vast and infinite evening sky, Classic Blue encourages us to look beyond the obvious to expand our thinking; challenging us to think more deeply, increase our perspective and open the flow of communication," he says.
He believes Classic blue, as the hottest colour in 2020, can aid concentration and bring laser-like clarity to designs. In design and art it is a restful colour, “bringing a sense of peace and tranquility to the human spirit, offering refuge”.
As technology continues to race ahead of the human ability to process it all, Eiseman believes it is easy to understand why consumers gravitate to colours that are honest and offer the promise of protection.
Pantone has selected a colour of the year for more than two decades. The colour swatches surrounding it, including complementary and contrasting tones and colours, have influenced product development and purchasing decisions in fashion, home furnishings and industrial design, as well as in product packaging and graphic design.
To choose the hottest colour in 2020, Pantone’s colour experts comb the world looking for trends and influences.
They take into account movies in production, travelling art collections, rising new artists, fashion, and all areas of graphic and interior design. They are also influenced by popular travel destinations, new lifestyles, playstyles, and socio-economic conditions and even sports events and social-media platforms to see what consumers are creating and responding to.
These specialists make up the Pantone Color Institute, a business unit of Pantone which forecasts global colour trends, consults to companies on branding and visual identity and highlights runway colour trends.
Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2019 was Living Coral (16-1546).
Leave Comment